Job-sharing is just the ticket for these identical twins

www.canada.com David Parker For The Calgary Herald Sunday, March 16, 2003 CREDIT: Greg Fulmes , Calgary Herald   Twin sisters Laura Newcombe, left, and Noreen Spier share a job at O & Y Enterprises. Their employer understands the value of quality of life and benefits by knowing sick days and holidays are easily covered.

You may be forgiven for asking who's who at O & Y Enterprises these days. With the blessing of management, property managers Noreen Spier and Laura Newcombe are job-sharing -- which can create some confusion, seeing as they are identical twins.

Spier has been at O & Y since 1998 and her sister was on maternity leave from a similar position with Brookfield when they got the idea of helping each other out. They split the working week into three days and two days at the office and flip days the following week.

What a great solution; balance careers while having the satisfaction of knowing their children are being cared for by an aunt. Their employer understands the value of quality of life and benefits by knowing that sick days and holidays are always covered. I guess they must wear big names tags when visiting clients. 

Paul Drager has been a very active member of this city's international business community, over and above his work as chairman of Macleod Dixon's international trade-law department. It is most noticeable in his involvement with the University of Calgary, where he is a director of the Gorbachov Trust Fund, chair of the International Business Advisory Board and a board member of the International Business Advisory Group.

For his service to the community, he has received numerous awards. Last year, he received the Hal Godwin Award for Excellence in International Business, and the previous year, he was the recipient of the President's International Achievement Award from the University of Calgary. Last week, he received another, being recognized with the Law Society of Alberta/Canadian Bar Association Distinguished Service Award.

It was under Drager's direction that Macleod Dixon received the first formal accreditation by the Russian government for any Canadian law firm to establish a branch in Moscow. It has developed into one of the premier western law firms in Russia and has expanded to Kazakhstan, where it has offices in Almaty, the capital, and in Atyrau, on the Caspian Sea. He was also instrumental in Macleod Dixon's expansion into Caracas, Venezuela, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Prior to joining the Calgary law firm, Drager served as a Canadian diplomat on commercial and legal matters at embassies in Moscow and The Hague, positions that have given him considerable experience in bilateral and multilateral international trade-law issues and negotiations, including international claims and commodity agreements.

Whenever I bump into Richard White, executive director of the Calgary Downtown Association, I'm guaranteed to receive enthusiastic good news about his bailiwick. The success of Downtown Dining Week has him grinning more than usual, as due to the great response from Calgarians, the event, which has offered special menus and pricing at some very fine restaurants, has been extended until March 22.

David Parker appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. He can be reached at 830-4622 or e-mail info@davidparker.ca