Actsafe has lost one of its stars with the passing of Maureen “Mo” Kaake on the 19th of June 2021. Our condolences and thoughts go to her husband Dave, her son and two daughters, her grandchildren, her dog Charlie, and all her family and friends.
Mo joined Actsafe in 2005 when Actsafe was called SHAPE and had only 4 employees. Shortly afterwards, Mo became the backbone of our organization through multiple leadership changes and organizational growth and helped SHAPE Actsafe into the organization it is today.
If you have ever used or are going to use Actsafe’s STAR learning management system, you can be thankful to Mo who led the development of the system for our industry. She was so passionate about making STAR one of the most accessible systems available and, as Mo had wished, this integral contribution to worker safety in our industry will be her legacy.
If you’ve had any type of interaction with Actsafe, you will have come across Mo. Mo started with us as a receptionist and took upon various positions including office manager and finally her last role with us as operations manager. It is a rarity to have employees stay as long at an organization as Mo did and it comes with no surprise that Mo was a gem. We are glad that we had an opportunity to celebrate her 15th work anniversary with us in 2020.
We have all known Mo as a warrior and fierce adversary of cancer. Even while struggling with her health issues, she ensured she continued working to support our team and our mission. To honour her fighting spirit, we at Actsafe are starting an annual bursary in the industry in her name that will support cancer survivors looking to access safety training. We will be releasing more details soon and we welcome everyone’s contribution to that bursary.
You may all know that everyone at Actsafe was Mo’s second family. From the standing committees to the board, employer representatives to union friends, Mo would share her successes, challenges, and things she was passionate about. Our close-knit family in the office will miss the enthusiasm and energy with which she would engage everyone that walked through our door. We want to continue her legacy at Actsafe so that new team members can appreciate what she has done for us, and as such, we have re-named the committee room in our office as the ‘Maureen Kaake Room.’ A small token of love from all of us so that we all can remember her and send her our thoughts as we sit and meet in “Mo’s Room.”
For us at Actsafe, our office and team will never be the same, but we can be proud to say that Mo worked with us all through this time. We will miss a friend, colleague, mentor, role model and inspiration.
Mo’s Actsafe Family
