THUNDER BAY -- Eiji Tsubouchi always thought it would be fun to work at the George Jeffrey Children’s Centre.He thought that way before he started his job there, and his opinion hasn't shifted even after 11 years as CEO of the organization.
But Tsubouchi has decided to step down, announcing that decision officially to the public Tuesday afternoon.
“It’s been 11 wonderful years and I’ve enjoyed every minute working here especially with the children,” he said Tuesday. “They have been an inspiration from day one.”
The 74-year-old moved to Ontario in 1946 from British Columbia and worked as assistant executive director of Hogarth-Westmount before moving to Marathon to work at the Wilson Memorial General Hospital as the executive director.
After he retired in 1996, he took odd jobs for the next five years before seeing the advertisement for George Jeffrey.
He applied on a whim and lucky enough was brought on board, he said.
Last summer he had some problems with his health.
He recovered but felt it was time to step down and enjoy what time he has left with his four children, nine grandchildren and his wife of 52 years.
Tsubouchi accomplished much during his time at George Jeffrey.
He led the centre through a new building feasibility study eventually working with the provincial government to build a new $6.5 million children’s treatment centre.
Back in 2001, the smaller building George Jeffrey was operating out of could only handle on average 800 children. With the new building, that number jumped to an average more than 1,100.
Helping children is what Tsubouchi said he’s most proud of.
“I’m really proud of our staff and how we have managed to increase our case load and decrease our waiting list,” he said. “We still have a large waiting list but I think the staff has put so much work into getting the children and looking after the kids. This is a wonderful thing. To be able to see so many more kids on a daily basis, I think was a big thing and made a big difference.”
Tsubouchi will officially step down from his role near the end of March. He added that he suspected that George Jeffrey will announce his successor around that day as well.
