Getting to Know Eleanore Matthew
When Eleanore Matthew was invited to join Rotary, she thought she was simply being welcomed into the club. Then Debbie sent her an email asking when she would like to give her “classification speech.” Eleanore’s response was essentially, “What classification speech?” Apparently, nobody had told her about that little Rotary tradition!
Eleanore admitted that she is quite comfortable speaking in public—as long as the subject is accounting or she is telling other people what to do. Talking about herself, however, is another matter entirely. Fortunately, she arrived armed with a PowerPoint presentation, so we were treated to a fascinating look at the woman behind the spreadsheets.
Eleanore grew up in South Vancouver in a German-speaking community. Her parents had immigrated to Canada after the Second World War, and German was actually her first language. She attended UBC, earning a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting, along with studying computer science back when it was still a relatively new field—and when there weren’t nearly as many women in commerce as there are today. She went on to earn her CA designation, now officially a CPA, CA.
Her working life has been anything but boring. After starting as a receptionist at A.E. LePage—where she discovered, years later, that she and Debbie had actually worked for the same company—Eleanore moved into auditing, corporate controllership and eventually senior financial roles in the forest industry. She spent 33 years working in forestry, including six years with Western Forest Products, and recently retired on June 30. She remains passionate about the forest industry and hopes it continues to thrive.
Of course, retirement apparently doesn't mean sitting around doing nothing. Eleanore thrives on “chaos and paper,” which may explain why Rotary has already discovered her talents behind the scenes. She likes being organized, being useful and, preferably, being in charge. As she explained, if you want to know the schedule, the best solution is simply to manage the team yourself!
Family is a huge part of Eleanore’s life. She and her husband Don have two sons and three grandchildren—and two grand-dogs. Don, after more than many years as a KPMG partner, decided that retirement should involve a little excitement, so he obtained his bridge watchman ticket and now works for BC Ferries. Eleanore assured us that he is perfectly safe and even enjoys taking visitors up to the bridge. So if you see him on the ferry, apparently the tour is included!
Eleanore is also a passionate cook and baker. And when she says she likes to bake cookies, she means it on a truly industrial scale. Her record is 240 dozen cookies at one time—120 dozen of which went to her husband’s KPMG office. And the really remarkable part? She doesn't even eat them herself. The cookies are her way of showing love and are distributed to family, friends, workplaces and anyone else fortunate enough to be nearby.
That generous instinct comes from her family history. Her mother had experienced starvation and hardship before coming to Canada, and Eleanore explained that having plenty of food and feeding people became one of the ways she expresses love. The result is that guests at Eleanore’s home can expect to be fed—probably considerably more than they intended.
Cooking isn't her only creative outlet. Eleanore has developed an elaborate Halloween display at her home, complete with a fog machine. It has become such a production that even her grandchildren are now a little apprehensive when the Halloween room door is closed. The display takes an entire day to put up—and, impressively, another entire day to take down.
She also loves fishing, entertaining, travel, boating and, thanks to marrying Don, hockey. What began as watching Hockey Night in Canada with Don’s parents eventually turned Eleanore into a committed Canucks fan. She even spent years managing minor hockey teams—another perfect opportunity to keep track of schedules and make sure everyone knew where they were supposed to be!
Her happy place, however, seems to be the BC outdoors. One of her favourite destinations is Saratoga Beach on Vancouver Island, where she and Don return regularly for fishing, golf, pickleball, boating and simply enjoying time with family.
So why Rotary?
Eleanore originally offered John some ideas about how the club could make more money through its silent auction. John apparently recognized a valuable resource when he saw one—and the rest is history. She quickly discovered that the club was welcoming, that she could contribute her organizational skills, and that Rotary was a pretty good place to make lifelong friends.
Eleanore knows exactly where she fits in Rotary. She is happiest behind the scenes, working on the details and making things happen rather than standing in the spotlight. In her words, she’ll happily hide behind Brian at the gala!
Eleanore, we're delighted that you finally discovered what a classification speech was—and even more delighted that you joined us. Between your accounting expertise, organizational skills, culinary generosity, love of family, grandkids, grand-dogs, hockey, fishing and Halloween, we're pretty sure Rotary has gained a wonderful new member.
And judging by the response from the club, we may also have gained a very dangerous woman to have around when there’s a bake sale.
