February 27, 2023
Ray Labossiere is a seasoned groundskeeper who has been working in the role for 18 years with strong family ties to St.Amant. He started his career here 41 years ago delivering food carts and then worked his way up in the kitchen to Head Cook. His parents worked at St.Amant and Ray even met his wife here – her parents worked here too.
“It was always a nice, friendly place to be, that’s what kept me here for all these years,” reflects Ray.
He is a man of routine, who follows the same morning ritual every day to ensure that the sidewalks, entrances and parking lots are cleared of snow and ice. Ray starts his shift at 7:00 am but in the event of bad weather, he’ll start his day earlier or will work his shift and then come back in the evening to clean up the parking lot.
He is especially vigilant due to the changes brought on by the pandemic, with different entrances and exits being used by many. “With all of the exits, the patio doors, the garage doors, I have 50 exits to clean. A lot of times I’ll start at 5 am to get a head start. So, this has to be all done by eight.” says Ray about the autism classroom parking area and walkway. ‘Plus the one-way road that surrounds the community gardens that is used for St.Amant School and autism classroom drop-offs and accessing the Spirit Cottage (which Ray also clears).
Ray is always ready to help, on days like today, a sewer drain is plugged and needs maintenance. Ray clears the areas at the back of the property and parts of the Buhler Gardens for the service vehicle and staff to work on the pipes.
“Last year was awful. It was such a terrible winter,” says Ray. “It always snowed on the weekends, into April as well. I almost needed to bring a sleeping bag to work!”
However, he is lucky to live only three minutes away from 440 River Road by car. He usually walks or bikes to work, making his commute a breeze. He and his wife bought a house nearby 37 years ago because they wanted to be close by.
Ray has a variety of equipment to keep the grounds in top condition, including a bobcat, a tractor, and a large snow blower. He opens up bag after bag of sand and shovels it into his tractor sand spreader. He drives around the grounds sanding and salting the driveways, parking lots, and sidewalks and returns for more during the morning multiple times. He says he doesn’t need a gym membership, he gets great exercise on the job.
He received on-the-job training learning how to operate the tractor and snowplow and has prior experience working on a farm. He takes pride in his work and enjoys waving to the kids in River Road Child Care. He honks his horn when he passes by them when clearing the Buhler Gardens.
“Ray! We’re playing in the house,” beams one of the children, as Ray passes by them.
“Every morning I like to wave to people. That’s my favourite thing. People smiling back makes my day,” says Ray.
When there isn’t fresh snow to clean he uses those days to catch up on clearing the snow banks around the property. He clears the smaller snowbanks and adds them to larger ones. He will also clean up the shop, and perform maintenance to the machinery and vehicles that he uses as well as fill them up with gasoline or diesel. He uses a pressure washer to wash the sprinter vans during the winter and makes sure the insides are clean and vacuumed.
Throughout the rest of the year, he cuts grass, trims trees, and maintains the property. He plants flowers outside and maintains portions of the Atrium inside the building.
Talking to Ray you quickly learn he takes pride in his work keeping the premises safe and clean and is dedicated to his role. 41 years, various jobs, one wife and a lifetime of making a difference, St.Amant is a better place with Ray Labossiere clearing the way.