Your APGO "A" TEAM: New Office Location and Staff

By Andrea Waldie, P. Geo., Executive Director & Registrar

The APGO has recently undergone several organizational changes. Now that the renovation dust has settled, I thought you would be interested in knowing about the changes to your APGO office location and administrative team.

At the end of March, the APGO office moved to its new location at 60 St. Clair Ave. E., Suite 913, Toronto, ON M4T 1N5. Our phone and fax numbers remained the same, Telephone: (416) 203-2746 and Fax: (416) 203-6181. The office is located just east of the St. Clair Station on the Yonge subway line. As the Association continues to grow, more space was needed as well as a venue that allows the Association to present itself as the progressive and active organization it is. By moving uptown, the management was able to fulfil these criteria while keeping the rent reasonable. You are invited to drop by the new location any time for a tour and a cup of coffee. The office is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the working week with Summer Hours for July and August of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Thursday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday.

The APGO office staff or the "A" Team is currently comprised of three individuals: Andrea Waldie, Audrey Benjamin and Anne Charanduk. We will be hiring a part-time individual in the near future to deal with Enforcement and Compliance issues. IT support, bookkeeping and website and graphics services are outsourced.

Andrea Waldie, Executive Director & Registrar, came to the APGO in March 2007. Andrea is a member on 13 committees, Council and a CCPG task force. She often coordinates and attends meetings, provides background information, provides or maintains minutes/documentation and follow up on action items resulting from the meetings. She reviews all applications and works in conjunction with the Registration Committee. Andrea works closely with the Canadian Council of Professional Geoscientists and the Executive Directors and Registrars of the other Engineering and Geoscience or Geoscience-only associations. She is also in communication with other professional associations; some with close links to APGO and others where the common thread is the goal of running an efficient association. Andrea works with organizations such as the Professional Access and Integration Enhancement or Global Experience Ontario, which assist members or potential members. She also assists in formulating policy for the APGO and acts as a government liaison. Andrea welcomes member input, questions or concerns and responds to all communications as quickly as possible.

Audrey Benjamin, Assistant to the Registrar, joined the APGO in March of 2006. She manages all elements of Member and Certificate of Authorization applications, attends to all member services, including certificates, the PPE exam and membership renewals. She also assists new applicants and members, answering a wide variety of questions and helping them navigate APGO processes. Audrey's exceptional organizational skills are put to good use in arranging the PPE exam locations and proctors, delivering all Certificate of Authorization documents and producing all member notifications, tracking application packages, final production of the annual report and arranging the annual general meeting venue. Audrey's efficiency and tireless work effort are valuable assets to this office.

Anne Charanduk, APGO's Office Assistant, is your "first contact" and front line individual and will direct you to the right person to get your questions answered quickly and efficiently. She handles all in-coming and out-going correspondence, all general inquiries, and ensures that all changes to members contact details are captured and kept up-to-date. She also gathers all application and CPD data. Anne looks after all our files, including the hard copy member files. Considering we now have over 1,400 members; this is quite a task. Anne's vitality and cheerful demeanour help keep the office running smoothly.


On the technology side, we use the ACT! database software for both our member, and enforcement and compliance databases. Our bookkeeping is done using Quick Books. Quick Books is also used for all APGO invoicing and for managing accounts payable.

Please feel free to drop by, meet the staff and check out our new location. We look forward to meeting you and assisting you in the future.

For more information on APGO, please contact info@apgo.net

Delivery Notice: This newsletter is issued 6 times per year to all APGO members. Non-members may also subscribe and receive the newsletter with access to non-member-only content. For more information, please see www.apgo.net.

Field Notes is published by APGO and is edited by Wendy Diaz, P.Geo. If you have comments or wish to contribute material to this newsletter, please contact Wendy Diaz, P.Geo., or Andrea Waldie, P.Geo., Executive Director/Registar.

Copyright 2007, Association of Professional Geoscientists of Ontario (APGO)