Laura Lee

Biography

Laura Lee grew up in Timmins and worked at Wal-Mart when she graduated from high school, before taking a job as a receptionist at Commerce Management Group and working at Sears in the evenings and on weekends. Along with her former husband, she moved to Brooks, Alberta, where she turned down a job as a receptionist for Joanne Trucking to become a waitress as a way to meet more people.

She and her former husband decided to try for kids and had their daughter, Amy, in April 2001. They then moved back to Timmins to be closer to family. However, the lack of work in the area lead them to move back to Brooks. Laura was a stay-at-home mom for two years before going back to work, becoming a registry agent at Grasslands Registry. A few years later, the family moved to Blackfalds, Alberta.

In Blackfalds, she was hired as a receptionist at Trailblazer Drilling. She was soon asked to be a Health and Safety Admin Assistant, and she discovered that health and safety was her passion.  She saw that some workers don’t take safety seriously, and felt that it was likely because they were misguided or uneducated on the topic. She works to ensure that changes.

A few years later, the family moved back to Ontario and Laura found work as a receptionist at Timmins Automotive. She left shortly after starting to become an administrative assistant at Rona. Unfortunately she was laid off, but was given the opportunity to go back to college at 30 years old.

She took the opportunity and graduated from the Office Administrative – Executive Program with honours. She wanted to become a Health and Safety Coordinator, so she registered for the Occupational Health and Safety program at Algonquin College. By this time, her former husband was working at Taurus Drilling, and through that connection she became an administrative assistant at Taurus Drilling. She told the company’s owner, Roger Breau, that she had ambitions to become a Health and Safety Coordinator, and he was very supportive of her goal.

Laura and her former husband parted ways but continued to work together at Taurus. She continued to work full-time while raising her daughter and completing online courses to obtain her Occupational Health and Safety Certificate. Major Drilling purchased Taurus Drilling in August 2014, and through the support of Roger Breau, Rocky McLellan, and Cody Lanovaz, she continued as an administrative assistant to then become a Health and Safety Coordinator, and now the Field Safety Manager for the Canadian Percussive Division.

Though she first starting working in the mining industry to find stable work, twelve years after starting with Taurus/Major Drilling, she couldn’t be happier. She is now on the Canada Percussive team, with a great team dynamic. At first, covering the safety aspect for the team was challenging and overwhelming, but she learned that she could not only handle it but thrive, with the support of the team.

Her career in the mining industry has given her many opportunities, such as setting off a surface blast and travelling across Canada to conduct site inspections at the Percussive Canada contracts.

She leaves the following words of wisdom for the next generation of mining professionals:

• “Always stay true to yourself. Work smart, stay focused and earn the respect of your colleagues.
• Be vocal but in a professional manner. Nothing will change if you don’t say anything.
• Maintain empathy and emotional intelligence when dealing with conflict and sensitive ordeals; it will go a long way.
• Some days will be more difficult than others, but keep your head up high and it’s not weak to ask for help.
• Have self-respect and don’t work for a manager that’s unprofessional, work for a leader that supports you and the rest of the team.”

Outside of work, Laura enjoys spending time with family and friends. She plans on spending more time travelling on vacation in the future.