Past-Chairman Cindy Forget, CPM (left) presents the Chairman's gavel to 2011-2012 Chairman Dianne Winsor, CPM (right).

Highlights

• 2011-2012 CPA Chairman
  
  
• With more than 25 years of payroll and managerial experience, Dianne is approaching this leadership role with excitement and enthusiasm: "Representing my profession as Chairman of the Association is a very proud moment and the highlight of my career!"
  
  
• A native Newfoundlander, Dianne was introduced to the profession in 1987 when she was working for Fishery Products International (FPI) and the plant manager needed someone to do payroll. She started out doing a weekly plant payroll manually for 300 to 500 employees, soon moving to the head office payroll department in St. John's that was responsible for 20,000 employees.
  
  
• A lifelong learner, Dianne went back to school part-time in 1997 for a business degree while continuing to work full-time and raise her son as a single parent. With a great deal of dedication and perseverance-"I don't think I realized just how much until I was actually finished!" she says-she graduated in 2007 with a Bachelor of Commerce with Honours.
  
  
• Dianne recently became Manager of Compensation and Benefits at Fortis Properties, which owns and manages office buildings, shopping centres and hotels throughout Atlantic Canada. Despite the title, she is still involved in payroll, as it is part of the compensation team. She is excited about this opportunity to help shape the strategies that payroll must put into practice.
  
  
• Dianne attended her first CPA professional development seminar in 1991, and quickly realizing the value of certification, she completed the previous Payroll Manager (PM) certification in 1993 - becoming the first fully certified PM in Newfoundland! - and was grandparented as a Certified Payroll Manager (CPM) when the current certification programs were introduced. She began volunteering with the CPA in 1998, and has been involved in a number of areas, including helping to review certification updates and revisions, instruct professional development seminars, develop the CPA's Business Continuity Guidelines, organize and speak at national conferences, and present webinars on business continuity.
  
  
• The valuable help and practical advice she received from the Association was what sparked her interest in volunteering. Her commitment increased as the CPA grew and became more strategically driven, focusing on certification and the promotion of payroll as a profession. As she explains, "That was important to me, as it was a vision that had me fully engaged. I had started protesting against the term 'payroll clerk' somewhere back in the early '90's!"
  
  
• As Chairman, she feels she has reached a pinnacle of her career, and she encourages others to set such lofty goals. For her, success involves getting involved in your profession. "Belonging to the CPA, participating in events and volunteering where possible have helped me increase my value and visibility to everyone in my current and past organizations," she explains. "It has also enabled me to meet hundreds of people—now I have colleagues and friends right across the country!"