It was the end of an era as 2nd Lieut. Dorothy Tootoo signed over command of the 3019 RCACC to Lieut. (Navy) Matt Ayres in Rankin Inlet this past week.
Ayres has been involved with the cadet program for more than 20 years and has been the commanding officer in Cambridge Bay, Pond Inlet, Iglulik and Iqaluit.
He said he made the decision to relieve Tootoo to allow her to take a much deserved break from the responsibilities of the position.
“Dorothy had devoted so much of her time and energy to this program that she deserves a break,” said Ayres.
“Normally, you're only supposed to be the commanding officer for three years, with the possibility of some extensions, and then you're supposed to hand it off, but Dorothy has been doing it for the past 12 years without any sort of relief.
“I oversaw all the cadet units in Nunavut in my previous role, so I would talk to Dorothy on a regular basis and I know, throughout Nunavut, it's usually one or two people running the cadet program and she's earned a bit of a respite.
“So I decided to help her out and take over for her.”
Ayres moved to Rankin about 10 months ago and became involved with the Rankin corps shortly after landing in the community.
He said he knew a lot of the cadets from territorial competitions, and he works with Tootoo at the Kivalliq campus of Nunavut Arctic College, so the transition was a fairly easy one.
“The Rankin corps has gone to national marksmanship competitions and competes at all the regional competitions, which speaks to Dorothy's contributions to the program, so I have a high opinion of the corps here and the cadets, which is due almost entirely to Dorothy's dedication.
“The expectations are, basically, that the program continues with the same excellent results it's had for the past 10 years, and I hope to carry that on.
“Every cadet unit normally runs with six paid positions, so there's incredible potential for more here, and the program is entirely free, so, if we could get a full complement of adult staff, the sky is the limit with what we could do for the youth of this community.
“I'm really impressed with the dedication shown by the small number of cadets we have here, but, with a full complement, we could have a lot more cadets doing a lot more for the community.”
The change-of-command ceremony was somewhat bittersweet for Tootoo, who took command of the 3016 in October of 2005.
Tootoo said it's time for her to slow down a bit, and the change means a new vision for the 3016 RCACC.
She said she will stay on in a different capacity, most likely a training officer of some sort.
“I'm still looking forward to another year, at least, of working with our cadets,” said Tootoo.
“Twelve years has opened-up my faith in people, especially the many, many young people who came in quiet and shy and, for some, perhaps even troubled, and most of them left with lifelong friends after four or five years in the corps.
“They grow from having the opportunity to create camaraderie, respect for one another, and the ability to help out within the corps and the community itself.
“Many cadets continued on to further education throughout the years and, by far, some of the proudest moments I've had was seeing so many of them being able to get out into the world and do well for themselves. That's my payback.”
Tootoo said a sense of belonging is evident within cadets, and youths learn many great life skills in the program.
She said when cadets age out it's like they have their wings and it's time to fly, which is really no different than a parent watching a child venture out into the world.
“I take great pride, on behalf of the corps, in the many people who have been a part of cadets in Rankin.
“Nellie and Herb Scharer of the Canadian Rangers helped a lot during the years their children were in cadets, the people from the south who wanted to contribute to the community, and Ben Porter has been here since I started and still helps out occasionally, so we're grateful for all the help we've received, and we only grow stronger as the children grow stronger through people giving of their commitment and time.
“I'm also very proud of the fact we incorporated elders into the cadet program in 2008, and others, such as Naujaat, now have elders in corps, which greatly benefits the cadets, especially when it comes to things like using the language (Inuktitut).
“I have a grown as a person during the past 12 years and I walk away from command having absolutely no regrets!”