CEO Corner

Happy International Women’s Day! Today we take the time to celebrate all of the incredible women in our lives: Our mothers, grandmothers, aunts, cousins, sisters, friends – ourselves!

As the leaves start to don beautifully painted hues of gold, orange and red, the fall season is now upon us. The kids have been back in school for almost a month, and many families have started spending some quality time together once again.

As school comes to a virtual end signaling the start of summer, we all have the itch to get out of our homes and enjoy the great outdoors. Now with warmer days upon us, many families are planning on making up for lost time with their summer stay-cay-vay-cay jam-packed exploration itineraries for daytrips across beautiful Ontario.

As school comes to a virtual end signaling the start of summer, we all have the itch to get out of our homes and enjoy the great outdoors. Now with warmer days upon us, many families are planning on making up for lost time with their summer stay-cay-vay-cay jam-packed exploration itineraries for daytrips across beautiful Ontario.

As we begin the month of May, Ontario remains at home under a lockdown order. In recent days while the number of new Covid cases has marginally improved in our Province, there is a mounting uneasiness as fear sets in for the safety of family and loved ones. As parents juggle schedules between working and caregiving, many are hopeful for renewed summer freedoms, day trip adventures, starry skies traveling in an RV and roasting marshmallows by the lake at the cottage.

While spring has officially arrived, many days it doesn’t feel like much has changed over the past 12 months.

At ONroute, we are incredibly proud to be a part ofInternational Women’s Day.

A year ago this month, the world as we knew it changed overnight. As I reflect back, I don’t believe that anyone could have predicted, nor been prepared, for the changes that would grip our personal and professional lives across the globe.

With the shine of a New Year over, February is always a unique month. The cold air has gripped Ontario and the dark grey skies of winter have taken hold. We joyfully get excited when a beautiful sunlit painted sky graces our days, because we are all definitely ready for Spring. If you are like me, I surround myself with plants and greenery, and maybe treat myself to the odd bouquet of tulips, just to inject some energy and joy into these drawn out wintery days. Right now at times, many can feel overwhelmed navigating work and now remote school worlds colliding at home.

Goodbye 2020 and welcome 2021! I am sure many of us share this sentiment. 2020 will be forever remembered as the year that took over the world, that gripped us with a global pandemic but didn’t break our spirit. As we continue to navigate through the impacts, and continued spread of Covid-19, we cannot lose hope and we must continue to forge ahead, adapting our routines and daily lives to keep our communities and families safe.

As we draw near the end of 2020, I would like to take a moment to reflect on the year behind us. This past weekend, as I heard key 'words and phrases' released to best represent 2020, they included Covid-19, social-distancing, remote work, among many others. While nothing has been 'normal' in our lives at home or work in 2020, we know that, at some point in the hopefully not so distant future, things will return to life as ‘normal’.

When I was a child, Remembrance Day was about a lapel donned with a poppy and a student body assembled together at a local cenotaph. It meant veterans, decorated with shiny medals, standing OR who stood proudly as verses and names were read, often wiping warm tears as the Last Post echoed through the crisp November air.

Fall has arrived with a new crispness to the air and a bouquet of colors painting local trees throughout Ontario. Routines for many families are now emerging, embracing the ‘new normal’ of back to school in 2020. With the many uncertainties we find ourselves in currently, it is hard to deny that now more than ever, getting outside this time of year is invigorating with nature offering so much beauty.

As the temperature begins to dip, the Fall season is inevitably just around the corner. Having grown up on a farm, there is something about this time of year, and seasons changing in 2020, that has felt more refreshing and sorely needed than in other years. Each change in weather and in nature is a reminder that “this too shall pass” and serves as a tangible reminder that the circumstances and uncertainties we find ourselves in currently are never quite as permanent as we may sometimes believe. With more and more amenities across our province reopening and children returning to school, some sense of ‘new normal’ is setting in and we at ONroute are looking forward to the future horizon.

It’s hard to believe that August is already here! As summer travel and vacations continue, we’re very excited to introduce new initiatives and developments to make your journey and choice of ONroute even more enjoyable.

With the summer months now fully in swing, the warm weather is here at last! Over the last month, we’ve seen the continued gradual phased re-opening of the economy and many businesses across the province. There’s no question that this summer is very different for you and your loved ones. Vacations will be local or domestically-focused, road trips will be “go-to’s” for many families and planning for travel will require more steps ahead of time than ever before.

While circumstances are far from normal and we are currently facing unique challenges, it has been an honour to support Ontarians as an essential service during this time. And now, with the gradual re-opening of the Ontario economy underway, we are looking forward to continuing that service in the critical weeks and months ahead.