... but wait... we need those last thoughts and words !

Louise Shimizu needs no introduction; I think it would be rather foolish of me to even attempt one. She is a unique person—an uncompromising worker, dedicated staff, meticulous employee, a perfectionist, social to the core, a loving mother and wife, and a relentless bundle of energy. In short, they do not make people like her anymore!

It was late afternoon on Friday, the WBFN office was almost deserted, but Louise was busy, working hard on ironing out a few glitches in the Member Management System database with Tania and Maaike. I waited as she bid adieu to both of them and then came to me. So typical of a Friday afternoon at the Network and so typical of Louise! When we began our casual chat, Louise seemed relaxed, she enjoyed going down memory lane with me, and she relished nostalgically recollecting her wonderful experiences. It was as though the frenzied pace of work was suddenly stopped in its tracks and time just stood still across the table. As she began sharing her prized experiences with me, I was left with an insatiable feeling of wanting to know more of Louise!

She softly began, “I joined WBFN as a spouse in 1999, and it was the second time being at the Bank for me. I was looking for new avenues to involve myself and luckily the Family Network wanted someone to help out with the new database of the Welcoming Team. I jumped at the opportunity and became an active member; I then went on to join the EC as the Welcoming Chair.” Just as things were really coming to a peak, it was ironic that Louise had to think of leaving again, since her husband took up work outside, and she was no more a Bank spouse. She said, “I had made friends, wanted to stay involved, and somehow found myself, even as an outsider, working on a couple of WBFN and Nadeshiko-kai projects to benefit, a children’s center in Kabul, where WBFN member Rula Ghani was at the time.”

When the WBFN coordinator job opened up in 2003, Louise applied and was selected, having the advantage of having been a Bank spouse and knowing the organization well. She said, “One of my predecessors, the legendary Joanne Garrity, who served over 17 years at the WBFN and had laid the ground rules of my job, carefully mentored me for about a month, and then was only a phone call away. My two colleagues, Mimi and Christinne, were fantastic, as they had also worked under Joanne. I owe a tremendous amount to Lois Khairallah, then President of WBFN, who worked hand-in-hand with me and gave me apt guidance. Hanna Woicke and the MMMF Board graciously showed patience while I learned the management of the 3-day Fair. And, Lilian Kew, then MMMF Treasurer, was ever ready to help me fathom the financial responsibilities. Later, I felt blessed when Gilda Dadush appeared to build a new website and stayed on to teach me and many others at WBFN how to maintain it, not to mention the many other ways she contributed to my education. Now, as I leave, I am grateful to Chantale Holzmann and Rula Ghani for their very fine leadership, which has helped to ease WBFN’s many transitions over the past two years. I cannot begin to mention everyone here, but I do not think anyone could have been provided a better work environment than the one I entered.”

With a big smile Louise moved on, “There is never a day I do not want to come to work. All in all, it is really fascinating. I have worked with all aspects of the organization and its outreach. The volunteers are constantly introducing new and better ideas on how to achieve our mission, and the Bank is very supportive and encouraging.”

Her past work as a childbirth educator for the international community in Japan helped her immensely in her new job. How one might ask? Well, the earlier job required her to interact with people from various cultures and backgrounds; she not only learnt to interrelate but also gained a lot from others. She witnessed that there were many different ways of doing things right, she learned that it was beneficial to be open-minded and tolerant, and she brought these experiences to the Network, a place where she meets diverse people from all over the world on a daily basis. Her own experience of growing up in several places, having parents who came from different cultural backgrounds, schooling in multiple countries, marrying a Japanese, traveling the globe, and interacting with parents at her kids’ schools in several countries, augmented her personal life and official work. She said, “My multicultural environment helped me interact with volunteers fairly easily!” How true! Everyday I see many volunteers pop in and out of her office, finding answers to myriad questions! Louise always seems to know what we want and how to help us with our particular issues.

As we chatted I mentioned that the membership at the Network was changing, and that we were seeing a lot of short-term volunteers. She said, “Although 90% of Headquarters staff are open-ended, most spouses work full time or are looking for work and so we have found ways to work with short-term volunteers. But we have also been blessed with a core group of long-term, dedicated volunteers like Ruby Wingate, Chantale Holzmann, Lois Khairallah, Rosa Lia Troch, Gilda Dadush, Rula Ghani, Vim Maguire, Caroline Berney, Sally Macartney, Maaike le Grand, (the list could go on and on). These are the people who have maintained the Network and mentor new volunteers to shape and carry on the organization. Anne Folliet and Rula have put together a great team now, yourself included, and the door is wide open.” She paused and then added, “Even though WBFN looks out for volunteers not every member is expected to volunteer. We want our members to feel free to come here, take part in activities they enjoy and find themselves at home. It is not everywhere that one can find seven different nationalities all in one room working and chatting happily!” Indeed, being a place where one can walk in and find a smile, a conversation, an opportunity, a project, or a compliment is what makes WBFN unique and distinctive.

Moving on she said, “I do notice a significant change in the way people communicate. When I came, more members used the phone or face-to-face gatherings to converse. Today, so much is done electronically. As we move understandably towards such technical tools, I hope WBFN will not completely lose the face-to-face interaction.”

As Louise mentioned, WBFN has been lucky that it has generally found the right people to take up the right projects at the right time. She added, “Our business is on-boarding newcomers and easing their transition. Volunteers feel welcome; they find interesting things to do, the support from the Bank is tremendous, and this helps the skills of the volunteers blossom. It provides a niche for them to showcase their abilities. For example, the new Member Management System could have been done by a third party contract, but volunteer time, effort and input brought special meaning to the project. This productive teamwork helps team members, WBFN, the membership and ultimately the Bank itself.”

Next, I popped the question that many might want the answer to…”Louise, do you ever get angry?” She laughed and said, “It is not my nature to blow up; if I find a situation unbearable, I tend to move away from it. But usually I remain calm because I somehow see both sides of everything, which might be good or bad.”

When I broached the subject of her leaving, I sensed a flicker of sadness as she said, “I am not planning to completely retire. I will never do that. Washington is my home, and I will be around…wherever I go I hope to keep in touch. I am always willing to help at WBFN. It has brought so many different parts of my life together.” She also added, “I really thank all the volunteers for being who they are and bringing their something special to this organization. I have been blessed to work with so many talented and professional people. I am mindful of their challenges and I am happy to help our members enjoy their life in the U.S. I do hope the WBFN continues in this wonderful spirit, experimenting with new ideas and moving on to new horizons.”

As we ended the chat she said, “But, I also want to spend more time kayaking, be with my husband and children, meet friends and relatives, and enjoy grandchildren coming along.” We do hope that now Louise will find the time to celebrate all these and other simple magical moments of everyday life. But, something tells me that along with doing all this Louise will surely be lending a helping hand and saying, “I could get used to this...but I have miles to go and a million things to do.”

Vidya Rangan