Farewell to Mrs Marie-Hélène Grillet
After a record-beating 38 years Mrs Marie-Hélène Grillet has retired from the IALA Secretariat.
Some would say that Marie-Hélène was born in IALA since her mother, Mrs Christiane Ville, was the very first administrative officer of the Association, from its creation in 1957. Following completion of her studies, Marie-Hélène took over this position and, later on, became Administration Manager. In her function, she was involved in almost all aspects of the Association, ranging from Secretariat relocations to daily administration and preparations of Council and Committee meetings, conferences, symposia, workshops and seminars, panels, and much more. Marie-Helene was the ‘go-to person’ for detailed information on IALA, and her vast knowledge of the Association’s history, workings and technical documentation archive was truly encyclopedic. More recently, she was also Editor of the Bulletin and closely involved in the Change of Status Action Project as Events and Documents Coordinator.
It is well recognized that Marie-Hélène knows just about everything about IALA and was happy to share her knowledge and help where she could. She will be dearly missed by her colleagues and the IALA community.
Her colleagues organized a small physical and virtual gathering on her last day at work to thank her and wish her a long and happy retirement. A bigger celebration will be planned as soon as the COVID-19 pandemic will lessen and allow for the hosting of a proper event.