FCC`S Garrett named to elite group

Kellie Garrett, a top executive at the Farm Credit Canada head office in Regina, has been named one of Canada`s 100 most powerful women.

"What a hoot,`` Garrett commented Wednesday after she formally received the award from the Women`s Executive Network at an event in Toronto. "Power is something that women (often) don`t associate themselves with."

Garrett, who is the FCC`s senior vice-president of strategy, knowledge and reputation, said it took her awhile to get used to the idea of winning an award for being a powerful woman. But she has now got adjusted to the notion and said it is "kind of cool.``

"I`m incredibly honoured to receive this award," Garrett said. "My mission in life is to help others shine and I hope that this recognition will inspire other women and men to realize their potential."

FCC has been recognized as one of the top 50 employers in Canada and it tries hard to have a positive, open work environment, Garrett said.

Training is provided to teach both employers and employees to communicate better, she said.

"People don`t leave companies, they leave bosses,`` Garrett said, adding it is important for an employer to make sure it doesn`t lose good employees because of bad bosses.

When trust is lacking in the workplace, employment disengagement occurs and productivity losses can result, she said.

Garrett, 47, said she has had many mentors who have helped her with her career. She said her mother`s death at the tragically young age of 48 has inspired Kellie to accomplish as much as she can as quickly as she can in her own life. Garrett is one of 10 women selected in the professionals category for the Women`s Executive Network award.

Garrett holds an MA in Leadership from Royal Roads University and attended Harvard Business School`s Advanced Management Program last year for two months. Internationally accredited by the International Association of Business Communicators, Garrett has led her FCC team to win over 100 international, national and provincial awards in marketing and communication.

In addition to her work at FCC, Garrett has been heavily involved in community and volunteer work. She is vice-chairwoman of the Hospitals of Regina Foundation and serves as a lay counsellor to parents of autistic children.

Garrett said she can remember "how crushing it was getting the diagnosis`` that one of her two sons was autistic.

She said the help she received after receiving that diagnosis about her son inspired her to help other people in similar circumstances.

Community work is very important, she said.

Garrett was born in Montreal but moved to Saskatchewan about 15 years ago, after the FCC headquarters was moved to Regina.

While it took a while for Regina to seem like home to her, Garrett said it now feels very much like home. She married a farmboy, from just north of Regina.

It is a myth that women juggling busy careers and heavy family responsibilities can have it all, Garrett said.

Garrett said she has sacrificed much of her social life in order to concentrate on her two main priorities -- work and family.

She said she has been able to do both because she is very focused. She leaves family problems behind when she is at work but doesn`t worry about the office when she is at home with her family.

FCC is Canada`s largest provider of business and financial services to farms and agri-business.