February 14th, 2021
Gerald “Gerry” Foster joined Commissionaires Great Lakes on August 23, 2007. Gerry is a Canadian Armed Forces Veteran who joined the Army Reserves in 1969 and served as an Infantryman for over 4 years. Gerry works as a Commissionaire at Toronto Old City Hall, where he has served with distinction for over 13 years. He is a consummate professional, performs his duties to a high standard, and has a history of successful service with our organization.
Gerry is adaptable and takes on additional challenges. Responding to the impacts of COVID-19, since July 2020 Gerry has also assisted with supervising the additional guards that are working at Old City Hall due to the pandemic. Gerry has helped new Commissionaires with their orientation to the facility; he has shared details on the day-to-day operations of the court house. His leadership abilities and willingness to take ownership of situations regarding the post have been stellar. Gerry is able to troubleshoot and solve work related problems quickly and efficiently.
Gerry works to a high standard. He is extremely familiar with the routines and roles of his post. He can always be depended on to perform his duties to the highest standard and excels at all tasks that he is presented with. Gerry is customer service focused. He has always displayed a willingness to assist the Client well. Gerry is willing to go above and beyond in his duties at Old City Hall, and ensures that the 9 needs of the site are always met. For the Toronto Remembrance Day ceremonies, Gerry records all visitors that attend the site, logs the delivery of over 100 wreaths, and tracks these deliveries from a master sheet that he keeps updated daily. Gerry helps keep things running smoothly behind the scenes.
Gerry had to deal with a tragic situation in 2018 when the apartment building that he lived in on Parliament Street caught fire, due to a catastrophic failure of the building’s electrical system. It was over a year before he was able to move back to his apartment, after the entire building had been repaired. It must be noted that even through this terrible ordeal that Gerry found himself in, he never once missed a day off work. This dedication to his role is going above and beyond, and is truly appreciated and commendable.
For his continuing dedication to the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires and the City of Toronto, Corporal Gerald Foster is awarded the Commissionaires Distinguished Service Medal.
