A message from Joanne Bakker, associate dean, Workforce Development:
After nearly 37 years, Shirley Tomovic has made the decision to retire from her work at Niagara College. She has spent all of those years working in Part Time Studies (formerly Continuing Education) making a difference in the lives of many community members. Some of her notable accomplishments are as follows:
Together with the Canada Safety League and the Ministry of Transportation, Shirley established and developed the Niagara College Motorcycle Training Program in 1984. The program has been running consistently and successfully for over 35 years. Most recently she spearheaded an agreement with Bombardier so that Niagara Colleges is now able to offer Spyder and Ryker training.
She designed and developed the Niagara College Sailing School which operated out of the Port Dalhousie Inner Range Lighthouse for 21 years from 1991 to 2012. The Sailing School was a member of the Ontario Sailing Association, the Canadian Yachting Association, and the American Sailing Association, and was licensed to train and certify sailors within each of these organizations.
In addition, Shirley spearheaded the Casino Dealers’ Training Program in 1994 to assist with the Gaming training needs established with the opening of two provincial casinos in Niagara Falls. Together with our counterparts at St. Clair College and Georgian College, she also established the Gaming Educator’s Tri-College Consortium and designed the provincially recognized basic training standards for all Casino Dealer training organizations throughout Ontario.
Finally Shirley developed over 1,000 courses, seminars and workshops in subject areas including Fine Arts, Business, Culinary and Hospitality, Language Studies, Horticulture, Photography, Transportation, Sports, and General Interest activities, including the college’s annual Tall Ship Historical Cruises on the Niagara River, which ran for 35 years.
Shirley has spent her entire career at Niagara College, encouraging and supporting a variety of personal and professional development learning for members of the greater Niagara community.
On behalf of all those learners, I say “thank you” and wish Shirley all the best for years ahead.
