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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
After 23 years in Yellowknife, including eight years as co-operator of the beloved "airport restaurant" and more than six years as executive director of the Yellowknife Seniors' Society, Vivian Squires is leaving the NWT.

In a symbolic passing of the keys, Vivian Squires, left, welcomes Kimberly Doyle as the new executive director of the Yellowknife Seniors' Society. - Lyndsay Herman/NNSL photo

Squires moved to Yellowknife in 1989 after falling in love with the Northern city during a leisurely visit. She'd returned from the trip to where she lived, Bancroft, Ont., only to sell the party supply business she owned and make the move North.

It was also in Yellowknife that Squires met her husband, Dennis Squires. The pair have made a lasting impression in many Yellowknifers' memories, particularly during their years as operators of the Connector, later the Navigator, and, as it's remember by most, the airport restaurant.

"Dennis was the cook. I was the PR. Well, actually he was so great with people too," Vivian said. "We ran that (restaurant) as a family type of thing and that just worked perfect."

Known for huge serving sizes, free buffet for children under 10, a great view of the tarmac, and some of the friendliest service around, the restaurant drew more attention than just that of travellers.

"Sometimes there'd be a flight delay and they'd expect you to feed those people but you'd know you had a full restaurant of people coming for lunch," said Vivian. "I think the most embarrassing thing for me was having to get on the mic and ask people as soon as they were finished their meal, if they wouldn't mind leaving so someone else could have their seat. It was busy!"

After Dennis underwent open heart surgery in 2006, the couple decided not to renew the restaurant contract and Vivian took on the job of executive director of the Yellowknife Seniors' Society.

"I just loved it," said Vivian of the career move. "I'd had my own business ... so I had all the business training and so it's very easy to move into this if you have a love for seniors. You need both, business sense and a love for seniors."

She describes with admiration the feats of Esther Braden, Barb Bromley, Jan Stirling, Ed Baker, and the society's past presidents whose faces hang along the Wall of Honour at the Baker Centre and who were committed to the foundation of the Yellowknife Seniors Society and the establishment of a centre for seniors.

"The highlight of working for the seniors are the seniors themselves," said Vivian. "They are awesome to work with."

The incoming baby boomer generation is travelling more and volunteering less regularly than the past generation, Vivian said, so learning to evolve along with the needs of the city's seniors is key to the society's continued success. For example, while past seniors would often spend upwards of eight hours a day at the centre, baby boomers are more interested in what Vivian calls "popcorn volunteering," where people "pop" in sporadically to help out when they can. The system takes more co-ordination than in the past but it seems to be working well so far, she said.

Vivian said she intends to dive into volunteering once she and her husband reach St. John's, NL, where they are moving for family reasons, but she will undoubtedly miss the job she has loved for the past six years.

Kim Doyle is the new executive director of the Yellowknife Seniors' Society.

"The highlight has definitely been the seniors and the society," Vivian said. "Kim (Doyle) has the most amazing job in Yellowknife."

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