Thanking Patrick Zimmer
The CWHC finds itself at another important crossroads as our Chief Operating Officer, Patrick Zimmer hangs up his hat and heads into the next phase of his professional and personal life.
Patrick is a hugely significant part of our shared organizational history and I wanted to say thank you to him for everything that he’s done for both the CWHC and for me, over the past two decades plus.
Patrick joined the CWHC when it still had an extra letter in the acronym! He was initially hired in 2003, to head up the new national West Nile Virus surveillance program, which saw the CCWHC (as it was; Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre) branch out into more of a service-oriented model of operation than a purely academic/pathology-based one for the first time. The four (as they then numbered) regions tested thousands of birds for WNV and Patrick coordinated the funding, administration, and reporting of the program. Over the subsequent few years, his role expanded to also oversee the national program for the emerging Avian Influenza outbreaks that were being monitored as a potential pandemic risk.
In 2005, I also joined the CWHC, as a part of the IT team, working under my predecessor, Ron Templeman. I was brought in to help redesign the CWHC database with a specific view to making it robust enough to handle data from this new Avian Influenza program. From day one, Patrick was an enthusiastic, supportive collaborator and we formed a quick and easy friendship over shared loves of comedy, music, and craft beer!
With degrees in both law and environmental science & biology, Patrick’s skillset was and is unique in the wildlife health field and he began to develop the role he was fulfilling with the CWHC as new and emerging needs arose. His role was ever-evolving over the next few years as the CWHC’s “Headquarters” grew from being mainly a support structure to help move funding from the University of Saskatchewan out to our regional centres, provide IT services, and oversee a few “special projects”, into a much more autonomously-functioning “National Office”. There was, and is, an increasing desire from our Federal partners for services and expertise that build on the bedrock of science and pathology and focus heavily on areas such as program management and wildlife health network coordination. I feel confident in saying that without Patrick at the helm during this evolution, much of this transition would simply not have been possible. His desire to drive the CWHC forward, combined with his unique blend of education and skills complemented and strengthened the research and scientific-advisory leadership role that was occupied by Ted Leighton, the founding Executive Director. Ted recognized that Patrick’s skillset and potential was greater than simply coordinating individual ad-hoc programs and the role of National Office Director was born out of both an organizational need for such a role and, rather luckily, having exactly the right man for the job currently within the organization.
I would argue that Patrick’s greatest strength is his ability to nurture and support other people within the network. I joined the CWHC as a programmer/analyst and as I transitioned into the IT Manager position (as it was), he lent his full support and shared his wealth of experience with me at every turn. He allowed me to grow professionally and has been the most significant person in my professional life in every way that matters. Never didactic, his approach to leadership and innovation is to be an exemplar and to always be open and willing to recognize, to support, and to promote leadership and excellence in others. These attributes have been widely recognized and valued by both other CWHC staff as well as our external partners and collaborators and Patrick leaves a legacy of professionalism that few can better.
Patrick has overseen a period of growth and significant change over the past decade, acting as both a Chief Operating Office and National Office Director, stepping in as acting CEO for an extended period of time, and maintaining relationships with our funding partners which allow our national and regional programs to be able to operate. He has forged exceptional working relationships with his colleagues, has stood as an example of leadership, integrity, and commitment to our organization and it is with profound gratitude and pleasure that we celebrate his years of exceptional service to the CWHC.
I feel deeply conflicted about what the future holds for us as an organization and for myself. On the one hand, I will very much miss Patrick’s daily presence in my life in a professional sense. I’ll miss his camaraderie, easy manner and quick wit. And I’ll miss his steady hand at the tiller. On the other hand, I’m much more excited to see what the next phase of his life will hold. We became very close friends as well as colleagues over the past twenty years and I know that he’ll always be there if I need a friendly ear or a bit of advice. He knows that that will always be reciprocated. Our friendship has become one of the most important in my life and because I know that his commitment to his professional life is outmatched only by his commitment to his friends, I know that this will endure.
Patrick leaves the CWHC a much more dynamic, responsive and well-respected organization than he found it and has been a critical part of our success over the past two decades. He has also been a great friend and a mentor to so many of us and I wanted to make sure he knows that we’ll miss him deeply while we wish him all the success in the world in his future endeavours.
Kevin Brown
Information Services Manager
