Linda Celebrates 40 Years at Gordon Neighbourhood House!

1980 was a remarkable year in which many milestones occurred that continue to have a profound impact on our daily lives. The release of the Pac-Man arcade game revolutionized video gaming; the Sony Walkman debuted in North America and transformed personal music players; and Post-it Notes made their passive aggressive debut.

However perhaps even more transformational, Linda Minamimaye started working at Gordon Neighbourhood House.

This year we celebrated Linda’s 40^th anniversary at Gordon Neighbourhood House and the Association of Neighbourhood House of BC! With this achievement, Linda has become one of the longest serving contributors to the Neighbourhood House movement in BC’s history.

When Linda first started, Gordon Neighbourhood House was located in a small heritage house on Davie Street (near the current location of the Beetbox vegetarian restaurant). Since then our organization has grown, and Linda has held a range of positions along the way, including Acting Executive Director.

Linda is currently the Director of Operations and ensures our organization runs smoothly. She is among the most steadfast stewards of neighbourhood house values and history (often reminding her colleagues about how things used to be done ‘back in the old days’), while routinely inspiring big dreams for all that is yet to come. In her time with us she has made countless impacts on all of our programs, specifically: seniors, food, employment, family, our thrift store, and countless community development initiatives.

To celebrate Linda’s amazing contributions to our community, in December GNH staff planned a virtual surprise party on Zoom. As Linda was distracted over dinner with her colleague Jessy, unbeknownst to her over 50 attendees joined a virtual event room to surprise her. When she returned to Gordon Neighbourhood House, she was surprised to find a hockey-themed room with a projector displaying the smiling faces of dozens of attendees on a big screen.

Over two hours, colleagues, past co-workers, friends, family, and neighbourhood house members shared funny stories and fond memories of working with Linda in the 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s, and 2010s. Linda was blown away by the surprise, and later remarked that the whole evening was a blur.

Thank you Linda for the immeasurable impact you have made on our community! If you would like to send a congratulatory message, Linda can be reached at linda@gordonhouse.org.