HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1995-04-26, Page 5An inspiration in time management
Conservative candidate Helen Johns,
manages her busy life
Ingrid Nielsen
T -A Staff
Rubbing her eyes wearily, she
turns off the alarm. It's 6:45am. The
first thought of the day is a run-
down of the upcoming itinerary.
Meetings. Luncheon. Speech. Cam-
paigning. Phone calls. Letters. Pho-
to shot. Interview.
But first, her family.
This is a brief glimpse into what
life is like for Helen Johns, a wife
and mother of two, who is the Con-
servative candidate for the up -
corning provincial election for the
riding of Huron.
"We all get up and have breakfast
together. Then I usually spend the
morning with the boys. We take
them to the babysitter for the after-
noon, and then we pick them up at
5:00. We try to have dinner togeth-
er, but that doesnt always work.
After dinner, I go out and do
door-to-door campaigning, or have
meetings. Larry comes to those
meetings, or he stays home with the
boys, or he does his own business.
Then I conic back to the office and
I work here. I usually work till mid-
night. Then I go home to bed."
And then it starts all over again.
While she says that she doesn't
really have a "typical day", she still
presents an inspiring case of time
and priority management.
It all began quite recently for
Johns. She had never been involved
in politics before, aside from a little
campaigning from the sidelines.
She watched others deal with the is-
sues, and hoped for the best.
However, that "best" fell far
short of Johns' standards. Three
events affected her so deeply that
she could no longer just stand by
and watch.
"I have little kids," says Johns,
"My husband and I put money
away each month for them to go to
university, because they say it is
going to be so expensive. At the
same time, the government is put-
ting debt on these kids that more
than matches what we can possibly
put away. It really bothers me."
Beina mother, Johns was also
disturbed by the way education is
being handled in this county, and
this country.
"Last year, I volunteered at the
school. My little guy's teacher is a
great teacher, and I know she's tak-
ing money out of her own pocket to
make things with the kids that the
school doesn't have money for. I'm
thinking where is all this money go-
ing that you and I are paying?
When they say things like 46 per-
cent of all the money spent isn't go-
ing to the classroom, I'm thinking
Holy Cow!"
The third incident involved
Johns' mother. She needed to have
heart valve surgery last year, and
the family couldn't get her into a
hospital for care.
"It really started to bother me,"
says Johns. "People like my parents
have paid their whole life into
health care, and then they get there
and it doesn't work for them."
"I started at that point, and
thought, this just isnt right."
The nomination took place on
November 30, 1994 but the Johns
family had already decided in Oc-
tober that Helen was going to run.
Larry, Helen's husband, was the
campaign manager leading up to
the nomination and is still very ac-
tive in her campaign.
"We are a team," says Johns. Lar-
ry has never been involved in pol-
itics either, and the two are ap-
proaching the new challenge as a
business venture, with a marketing
strategy and making full use of
their business background.
Johns got her Masters of Busi-
ness Administration (MBA) from
Simon Fraser University in British
Columbia, and her Bachelor of
Commerce from York University in
Toronto. She has also worked as a
controller of small and medium
size businesses, with experience in
the stock brokerage and man-
ufacturing industries.
One issue that often arises for
women in politics, is the difficult
dilemma of the public's perception.
If a woman is seen as tough, that's
bad. If she's not seen as tough,
that's bad too. As the first woman
to run for the Conservative party in
Huron County, Johns recognizes
this challenge.
"They probably view me as tough
right off the front, and I try very
hard to listen to all sides of the is-
sue, so that I am not seen as being
cold-hearted. From the image per-
spective, we try to make sure that I
dont come off as looking too tough
either. I have strong features, and
this can be difficult," says Johns.
"I like to think that people wont
be affected by my being a woman.
I'd like to think that they will just
vote for the best person," says
Johns.
She admits that in the beginning,
she was a definite eye -raiser.
"On the night of my nomination,
someone came up to me and said,
"I'd never vote for a woman in Hu-
ron County." He was the only one,
and Ive talked to him since and he
seems to be right on side."
Through the long, busy days
coming up, Johns says that "the
paramount issue for us is our
boys."
"We have had to set some things
aside, like we don't care about the
house or we have someone come in
and clean it.We have more of a
concerted effort for quality time
now."
When asked about when she
thinks the upcoming election will
be called, Johns laughs.
"We expected it to be last week,
so I'm already wrong. I'm thinking
it will be in the next couple of
weeks."
Juggling several tasks at once, Johns takes a quick
phone call while working on the computer at her office
on Main Street, Exeter.
Co -Op store s
become
Do -It
Centres
HENSALL-Some stores un-
der the Hensall Co -Op umbrel-
la will become franchised
"Do -It -Centres".
General manager Earl Wag-
ner said stores in Zurich, Sea -
forth, Ailsa Craig, Ilderton,
Parkhill and Forest will be
making the change while the
Exeter and Hensall stores are
not undergoing the Do -It con-
version. "`" `"
Wagner said the board of di-
rectors for Hensall District Co -
Op will decide soon whether
to proceed to build a new Do -
It Centre at the north end of
Exeter and close the Hensall
store.
"Both members and custom-
ers will experience an exciting,
innovative merchandising con-
cept at the soon to be renovat-
ed stores where grand open-
ings are slated for June 22, 23
and 24," Wagner said.
"We're concentrating on im-
proving customer service,
products, advertising and pric-
ing with a renewed commit-
ment. The new franchise con-
cept will help HDC Do -It
Centres better meet custom,. rs'
needs," Wagner continued
Plans call for improvir the
merchandise selection in the
combination farm -supply,
hardware, building supply
stores. Inventory will be maxi-
mized in each store which will
also have the backup of How -
den's 230,000 square foot
warehouse located on White
Oaks Road in London.
Howden supplies Pro Hard-
ware stores across Canada and
has a warehouse inventory of
over 30,000 products.
Wagner says Howden also
participates in many manufac-
tures' direct shipment pro-
grams to help lower selling
prices. HDC also belongs to
the Castle buying group.
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InVestni0*
1 Yr. - 7.50%
3 Yr. - 7.75%
5 yr. - 8.0096
Segregated
Funds
2YR, -8.20%
3YR. •7.94%
4YR. -8.81%..
John Horn, a concerned Exeter citizen, listens to
Johns explain the Conservative position for the up-
coming provincial election. •
Gasser-Kneale
235-2420, 238-8481
• GIC rates subject to change. Short-
ies rote., available. Segregated find
rates reflect actual past perfornwnce.
Future returns will vary.
Media Fair
GRAND BEND -Representatives
of about 11 different media will be
available tonight (Wed.) at a trade
show sponsored by the Grand Bend
and Area Chamber of Commerce.
Several area businesses are tak-
ing part at the show which begins
at 7:30 p.m. at the Grand Bend Le-
gion. Participating vendors include:
Canada Post, Country Corners
Printing, CFPL TV, CKCO TV,
CFPL Radio 98, City Fox FM Ra-
dio, The Times -Advocate, Lake-
shore Advance, Forest Standard,
Petrolia Topic and Mark's Business
Equipment.
Times -Advocate, April 26. 1995
Page 5
Post Office extended hours
LONDON - Canada Post
Corporation released its list of
postal outlets in Huron and
Lambton counties that will pro-
vide extended hours of service
on May 1 to accommodate cus-
tomers wishing to meet the
deadline for submitting their
1994 income tax return.
The Hide -A -Way General
Store in Port Franks and Jem
Variety in Crediton will be
open that evening.
Postal service available will
include weighing and date -
stamping of returns, as well as
the sale of postage stamps.
This is the 11th consecutive
year that extended hours of
postai service have been offered
on income tax deadline day.
The Corporation looks upon the
special extension of hours as
another means of providing ac-
cessible postal service to its
customers.
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