POC has three awards for members who have made noteworthy contributions to the organization and our industry: the POC Ambassador Award, Harold Taylor Award and President’s Award. The Ambassador and Harold Taylor Awards are presented annually while the President’s Award is given on a special merit basis.

Award Committee Policy and Procedure (PDF)

 

POC Ambassador Award

2023 Award WinnersAbout the Ambassador AwardPast Award Winners

Bev Chandler

Bev Chandler
Trained Professional Organizer with C&C Organizing

Congratulations to Bev Chandler, one of the recipients of the Ambassador Award in recognition of your commitment to helping others and for representing POC in your community to the highest standards.

Bev’s organizing experiences go way back to growing up on a farm, with lots of time for organizing family photos, her Mom’s recipes and her bedroom. Her logical thinking led to an IT career, with a Computer Science degree.

Always interested in interior spaces, in 1988 she obtained a certificate in interior decorating. Her passions and skills meshed when she discovered Professional Organizing in 2004 and opened C&C Organizing.

In 2011 Bev joined POC, and received her Silver Leaf status in 2015. As a previous ICD member Bev has taken additional training through their organization.

Bev is the Chair of the POC Cyber Chapter and has been part of their executive since 2013. This has enabled her get to know and share information with other organizers, and to help new organizers get started.

Bev speaks locally, and freely shares organizing information with those around her. If organizing is needed, she jumps right in. Her book “Where are my Crayons”, published in 2022, illustrates organizing processes for young children.

Bev has been a Board Member for local organizations, and volunteers her time to help individuals and various groups. She also loves to garden, practices clean living, and enjoys relaxing with friends and family.

Catering to the individual needs of her clients, Bev enables them to “re-claim space, time, and relationships”.

Stacy Walker

Stacy Walker
Gettin’ Around to It Professional Organizing

Congratulations to Stacy Walker, one of the recipients of the Ambassador Award in recognition of your commitment to helping others and for representing POC in your community to the highest standards.

Stacy Walker is a Certified Professional Organizer from Edmonton, Alberta and is a co-founder of The Hoarding Disorder Foundation of Alberta. She specializes in the hoarding field and works primarily with people struggling with extreme clutter and hoarding behaviors.

She is dedicated to positively influencing community responses to hoarding cases by providing comprehensive educational and support programming, as well as on-site decluttering services. Additionally, Stacy is developing a Safety Support Protocol for assisting those with hoarding disorder in crisis situations.

Stacy is a founding member of The Hoarding Disorder Foundation of Alberta and an active, contributing member of the Professional Organizers in Canada, The Institute for Challenging Disorganization and The Edmonton Hoarding Coalition.

In 2024, Stacy will celebrate 20 years with POC.

The POC Ambassador Award was created to honour a POC member who gives back to other organizers, who is involved with his or her chapter and who devotes time and energy volunteering in the local community. Chapter members and members of the local community may nominate POC members who have made outstanding contributions in these areas.

The criteria for this award are as follows:

  • The nominee is a POC member in good standing.
  • The nominee supports and mentors other POC members.
  • The nominee currently, or has in the past, volunteered in their POC chapter.
  • The nominee contributes his or her time and energy in their community.
  • The nominee has consistently upheld the POC Code of Ethics.

The Award is presented during the POC Conference.

  • 2022 – Adeilah Dahlke – Jigsaw Organizing Solutions
  • 2021 – Ida Tetlock – SMART Organizing & Property Management
  • 2020 – Kerith Paterson – Visual Girl Home Therapy
  • 2019 – Adele Lapointe – Chaos to Clarity
  • 2018 – Colette Robicheau – Organize Anything
  • 2017 – Pauline Hoffman – Just In Time Solutions
  • 2016 – Kelly Hipkin – Organized Lives Ltd.
  • 2015 – Laura Kay – Laura Kay Organizing
  • 2014 – Elinor Warkentin – Goodbye Clutter!
  • 2013 – Stephanie Deakin – Re: Organized!
  • 2012 – Soraiya Kara – POSabilities Personal Organizing
  • 2011 – Wendy Hollick – Neat Spaces

Harold Taylor Award

2023 Award WinnersAbout the Harold Taylor AwardPast Award Winners

Elizabeth Alescio

Elizabeth Alescio
Mlle Range-Tout

Congratulations to Elizabeth Alescio, one of the recipients of the Harold Taylor Award in recognition of your outstanding contribution to the organizing profession and Professional Organizers in Canada.

Elizabeth is a Trained Professional Organizer since 2013 and a POC Silver Leaf member. After obtaining her Bachelor of Commerce degree with a Marketing major and having worked in the corporate world for over 10 years, she founded her company Mlle Range-Tout in 2016 and now specializes in residential organizing to simplify her clients’ daily lives.

Elizabeth has contributed to various articles published in Les idées de ma maison, Coup de pouce, La Presse +, Châtelaine, La Semaine and 7 jours.

Being involved in the executive committee of the POC Montreal Chapter for four years, and currently serving on the POC Education Committee, Elizabeth actively contributes to the development of the organizing profession.

In 2018, she co-founded the YouTube channel SOS Rangement to offer organizing tips to the French-speaking population.

Stephanie Galipeau

Stéphanie Galipeau
HOP – Harmonie Organisation Productivité

Congratulations to Stéphanie Galipeau, one of the recipients of the Harold Taylor Award in recognition of your outstanding contribution to the organizing profession and Professional Organizers in Canada.

A mother to a 6-year-old daughter, and driven by a passion for motorcycling, travel, and nature, she established HOP with the aim of making a meaningful impact in people’s lives. Specializing in productivity and digital organization, she has earned certification as an Evernote expert – a tool she has come to rely on extensively. Her overarching goal is to simplify people’s lives by identifying and implementing optimal solutions.

As an educator, she imparts training in time management and digital organization across multiple professional training centers. Additionally, she provides private and group guidance to business leaders seeking to optimize their productivity. Her organizational acumen extends to the coordination of numerous residential and commercial spaces.

Involvement within POC holds significant importance for Stéphanie as she is dedicated to driving its evolution. She has volunteered since joining in 2015, actively participating in various local and national committees, including a notable 4-year term as Chair of the Montreal chapter. Her history of volunteerism spans across various causes over time. She was also given her Silver Leaf in 2020.

Stéphanie’s endeavors can be followed on the widely recognized YouTube channel, SOS Rangement, which she co-founded alongside her colleague Elizabeth. This platform features over 135 French videos brimming with organizing and productivity insights.

Characterized by her determination and leadership, she fearlessly pursues her dreams to their fullest extent.

InukshukThe seeds of Professional Organizers in Canada (POC) were sown in 1997, when a small group began meeting regularly to talk about their work in the organizing industry. Harold Taylor was a member of this early group, and quickly stepped up to offer the use of the boardroom of Harold Taylor Time Consultants as a meeting space.

Harold’s experience both as a time management expert and in operating an association management company was invaluable to the fledgling association. He guided the organization, helped source educational speakers, and mentored many many professional organizers.

InukshukPOC was formally founded in 1999, and the Founders’ Award was instituted in 2001, created to recognize outstanding individual contribution to the organizing profession and to POC in particular. Who better to be the first recipient than Harold Taylor, who was unanimously selected for his selfless dedication to POC and to supporting other organizers. The award was renamed the Harold Taylor Award in honour of him as both initial recipient and as inspiration. Harold truly exemplifies the mission and values of POC, and has made significant contributions to the field of organizing.

The award is a glass Inukshuk in a human shape. Inukshuks were erected by the Inuit, in the barren Arctic regions, as signposts to show the way to those who follow. Thank you, Harold, for showing us the way for all these years!

Process

Harold TaylorPOC’s Awards committee is responsible for soliciting and receiving nominations, and selecting award winners. A call for nominations for the Harold Taylor Award goes out to the membership in late spring. Members may nominate any POC member whom they feel best exemplifies the mission of our association, and who has made a significant contribution to the field of organizing. POC’s mission is “Providing visibility, credibility and connection”. The awards committee selects the winner from amongst these nominations. The award is presented at the annual conference.

The meticulously handcrafted Inukshuk, created by artist R. Ellsworth, is truly unique, as no moulds are used. Each component is randomly selected, and then the sculpture is erected piece by piece, just as the larger life version would be. This process ensures that each sculpture has its own identity.

Congratulations to all the recipients of this prestigious award!

The criteria for this award are as follows:

  • The nominee is a POC member in good standing and has had active, consistent involvement at both Chapter, and National levels.
  • The nominee is available as a general resource to other POC members (answers questions, provides resources such as recommendations of tradespeople, recycling information, etc.).
  • The nominee develops and maintains mentoring relationships with other POC members (at no charge) and has a visible and professional company profile (i.e., website, social media, print media where applicable).
  • The nominee has media/publicity exposure that brings positive attention to POC, and educates the public about the industry.
  • The nominee has demonstrated specific examples of how they have furthered the mission of POC: Providing Visibility, Credibility, and Connection.
  • The nominee has a minimum 2 years of POC membership.
  • The nominee has consistently upheld the POC Code of Ethics.

POC members are entitled to nominate one or more candidates of their choice whom they feel most deserves this prestigious award.

  • 2022 – Nathalie Bureau – Time Management Specialist | Speaker | Coach
  • 2021 – Mylène Houle Morency – FLO Organisation
  • 2020 – Judy Rickey – Clutter Relief Services
  • 2019 – Hilda Rodgers – From Overwhelmed To Organized
  • 2018 – Janice Kirwin – Lighten Up!
  • 2017 – Alison Lush – Certified Professional Organizer
  • 2016 – Linda Chu – Out of Chaos Organizing Services and Soraiya Kara – POSabilities Personal Organizing
  • 2015 – Carolyn Caldwell – Wellrich Organizers
  • 2014 – Jane Veldhoven – Get Organized Professional Services
  • 2013 – Clare Kumar – Streamlife®
  • 2011 – Kristie Demke – Organomics Professional Organizing
  • 2010 – Joel-Marc Goldberg – The JGAP Group
  • 2009 – Jane Woolsey – An Organized Vision
  • 2008 – Donna Campbell – Organize-etc
  • 2007 – Debra Milne – professionalorganizers.com
  • 2006 – Morva Bowman – Masters of Space and Time
  • 2005 – Estelle Gee – Orderly Lives
  • 2004 – Hellen Buttigieg – We Organize U
  • 2003 – Karen Sencich – Havoc to Harmony and Laurene Livesey-Park, OrganizeMe101.com
  • 2002 – Margaret Miller – TERAGRAM Coaching & Consulting Group
  • 2001 – Harold Taylor – Harold Taylor Time Consultants Inc.

President's Award

2022 Award WinnerAbout the President's AwardPast Award Winners

Georgina Forrest

Georgina Forrest – Smartworks!

Congratulations to Georgina Forrest, recipient of the 2022 President’s Award in recognition of your exceptional and outstanding contribution to the Professional Organizers in Canada and to the organizing profession.

Georgina is a Productivity Coach & Organizing Consultant at Smartworks! For over 16 years, she has shown her clients easy ways to organize themselves. She is a Certified Professional Organizer® with The Board of Certification for Professional Organizers (BCPO).

Georgina is passionate for liberating people from the binds of disorganization and overwhelm, which she has shared in her presentations, coaching, and writing.

Georgina joined Professional Organizers in Canada in 2005. After earning her Silver Leaf status, she earned her Gold Leaf status in 2015. Over the 17 years she has been with POC, she has always volunteered in some fashion for POC, if not on an executive role, Georgina is ever present on a committee of some sort, donating her time, expertise, and commitment.

Her expertise in course development can be seen in her tireless efforts creating, recording & delivering POC’s education courses.

One of the founding members of her chapter in 2005, she was involved and committed to the Calgary Executive in many roles such as membership coordinator, program coordinator, chair, and past chair.

Georgina has been the program lead on the National Conference Committee for the past 5 years, and in the absence of a communications lead this year, she even took up that role (while freely admitting social media wasn’t her forte!).

The President’s Award is presented to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to POC or the organizing industry not described under other award categories. The POC board President chooses the recipient. If there is a recipient, this award is presented at conference.

The POC board President selects the President’s Award recipient based on the following criteria:

  • The recipient is a POC general member;
  • The recipient has made an outstanding/special contribution to POC.
  • The recipient does not qualify to receive an award under any other award categories.

The award may not be presented every year as it is at the President’s discretion. The Award is presented during the POC Conference.

  • 2019 – Stephanie Deakin – Re:Organized! & Clutter Queen Services
  • 2016 – Marie Potter – Professional Organizer
  • 2011 – Alexandra Ross – Organizing Wizard
  • 2008 – Jacki Hollywood Brown – J-organize