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Tuesday May 19 2015 9 By DALI CARMICHAEL People entering the workforce in modern times might not believe they can stay with the same employer throughout the duration of their careers but employees recognized at the GNWT long service awards ceremony prove it can be done. Employees of the territorial government gathered at the Roaring Rapids hall in Fort Smith on May 13 to honour their fellow workers who have dedicated increments of ve years of service to the NWT. By my count we have about 116 em- ployees in total being honoured tonight with about 14035 hours of service between them said master of ceremonies Patty Hartlen. Some employees have navigated their way through different departments under the GNWT umbrella while others like 30-year veteran Joe Mura maintained their careers working in a particular sector. Mura came to the North in 1982 from Montreal Que. He started out with a six- month contract at the Trail Cross youth treatment facility. Ive always been into computers but work is scarce in Fort Smith Mura said. I went in and got hired as a childcare worker and from there I used it as a stepping stone to get into technology. Mura met his wife Gail Steed soon af- ter and decided to stay put in the southern NWT community. In 1985 he got his rst government job with Public Works as a maintenance management ofcer and hes been with the department ever since. I never expected to work for somebody for 30 years. Its always a surprise he said. Muraworkedhiswaythroughtheranksbe- coming a network administrator before taking on his current role at the Technology Service Centre as a regional IT support analyst. A friendly face Mura said he was satis- ed as looked back over his 30-year career. I enjoy what I do Mura said with a laugh. People are always happy to see me because I go x their computers. The tri-lingual worker whose rst and second languages are Italian and French isnt just a tech expert. He and his wife are always busy as operators of the commu- nitys greenhouse a 6000 sq-foot seasonal operation on the outskirts of town. Its been a lot of fun working for the GNWT he said. But spare time Thats a good one. GNWT honours long-serving employees in Fort Smith NORTHERNERS EMPLOYEES PhotosDaliCarmichael Andrea Steed accepts a service award for her 20 years with the department of Justice and the Fort Smith Corrections facility. Grace Mabbitt is awarded for her latest 10-year stint working with the Fort Smith Health and Social Services Authority. Mabbitt started workingwiththedepartmentin1986andhasheldoffandonemploy- ment there ever since. 25-year JBT School veteran Mary Brown welcomes her ser- vice award from the school principal Victor Manson. Lucy Mercredi left who has worked for the Northern Lights Special Care home since it opened takes her 15- year service award from Natalie Campbell. Corrections self-defense trainer James McDonald left gets a 25-year service award from warden Warren Gillis who was also awarded for a quarter-century of employment. NorthernLightsemployeeLindaMassonleftrecievesacknowl- edgement for her 15 years of service from Maxine Gladney. Masson has worked there off and on since she was 14.