Francine Desormeau left a higher-paying waitress job to start building a career with long-term dividends and the decision paid off in spades.
Desormeau, 49, was recently appointed as the Town of Mattawa’s chief administrative officer and treasurer – the first woman to hold that position.
“After 21 years of working in the same office I can truly say I worked from the bottom up and earned every ounce of it,” Desormeau told BayToday. “I’m proud of Council as a whole on believing in their staff and helping us grow internally and supporting us to achieve our very best.”
Mattawa Mayor Dean Backer has high praise for Desormeau, who served as the acting CAO during two rounds of searches to replace Raymond Belanger when he retired earlier this year.
“Francine brings with her a quality that, you know, the work ethic is bar none, one of the best I've ever seen,” Backer told BayToday. “She's worked her way up from the administrative assistant all the way to the clerk. Now to the CAO position. Her biggest attribute is that she cares about the people of Mattawa.”
Backer said she learned the ropes off respected leaders in their field and he’s proud that the town finally has a woman in the top job, with the news breaking during Women’s History Month.
“She knows municipal politics. She worked for over 20 years under Wayne Belter and just recently Raymond over the last four years,” he said. “And we are so pleased that she decided to put her name in the hat. And you know what? She was the very first female in 136 years to hold that position (in Mattawa). So it's long overdue.”
Desormeau is also a mother of three plus a step daughter (29, 26, 15 and 31 years old respectively) and has two grandchildren (3 and 1). Her maiden name is Lavigne and she is one of four children to parents Donald Lavigne and Doris Bangs Logan. Her spouse of 26 years is Corey Jackson, a renovation contractor and martial arts fitness club owner. Together, they organized the successful seven-year series of Quest for the Voyageur Belt kickboxing events that coincided with the Voyageur Days celebrations.
She said it was a good feeling to tell her father the news about her appointment being official and he is proud of her. Unfortunately, her mother suffers dementia and, while still living at home, isn't able to share the achievement.
Her business experience actually started in Ottawa with Best Western Hotel as the manager of meeting rooms in 1988.
“I learned a lot of administrative skills in that position,” she said. Desormeau returned to Mattawa after almost four years in the nation’s capital and spent the next six years as a waitress.
“It was really good money and there were really no office jobs available at the time (1992 to 1998),” she said, adding she quit to work at the Mattawa ski hill as lodge cashier.
In the spring, Desormeau said she took a nine-week office course at Boreal College through the Sturgeon Falls campus. “I earned a bursary for excellence with a finishing mark of 100 per cent.”
She started at the town as an administrative assistant under Belter and David Burke, the deputy clerk and deputy treasurer, in July of that summer.
“I learned pretty much everything I know from Wayne. He was my mentor and I really owe so much of my knowledge to him,” she said. “He had the patience and I just fed from him; I was the eager beaver throughout the years. He was an urban planner by profession and I also loved every aspect of learning this part of the job.”
During the first five years, she worked long hours at night to earn her Association of Municipal Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario certification.
“The Municipal Administration Program took five semesters and this really gave me a good understanding of municipal government … a career milestone I’ll call it,” she said.
“In 2014, when Wayne retired, I was promoted to deputy-clerk and in 2015 was appointed clerk after the retirement of Mr. Burke. David taught me so much about the treasury aspects of municipal business. He was another source of my knowledge.”
While not official, she filled in as the CAO until Belanger was hired and in February 2017 was promoted to clerk/deputy treasurer and continued in this position until March of this year.
She was appointed interim CAO/Treasurer but didn’t apply for the position until after the first round didn’t produce a candidate.
“As I gained confidence in this new position and received support from the community, I applied in the second round and I feel so honoured and so proud to be formally appointed this position,” she said.
“I still have a lot to learn but I have a strong team behind me that together we will continue to work hard for our home town and I am committed to leading the team to success,” she said.
“Mattawa was hit extremely hard in the spring flood of 2019 and now the COVID-19 pandemic but we are overcoming the losses and working hard to grow our community and sustain it for years to come.”
Among the other challenges going forward, Desormeau said they need to replace Lucie Desrochers, who is retiring in early 2021 as the recreational and facilities services manager after 39 years with the town. The posting is already up.
And she said they are moving forward on the file for getting a 28 to 30-bed affordable senior apartments developed.
Desormeau said they hope their local residents who are on waiting lists can move in, which would free up space for people looking for accommodation at a time when Mattawa has no vacancies on the rental market.
