1990 medallists...where are they now?, The

Norbert Frese, CA, was the Gold Medal winner in 1990 and is now a partner with BDO Dunwoody's office in Salmon Arm.

Born in Vegreville, Alberta. Frese grew up in Dawson Creek, but moved to Salmon Arm at age 16, graduating from high school there in 1980. He attended the University of Calgary and received his undergraduate degree in commerce in 1984. He then spent a year-and-a-half with the Thorne Riddle office (now KPMG) in Calgary, but quit to travel and work for two years.

He re-joined the CA program in 1989, this time with Coopers & Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers) in Vancouver. After his stellar performance on the UFE, he traveled to Brisbane, Australia with the firm and worked in the firm's Langley and Vancouver offices as well.

"Winning the gold medal and coming 16th in Canada opened a lot of doors for me," Frese says. "The opportunity to do the secondment to Australia and to have such a chance in the poor economic climate of the day was a direct result of being a medallist."

Frese also credits his wife Wendy, a native of Australia, with some of his success on the UFE.

"Her support was invaluable and she's a great cook, so I'm sure that contributed to me being able to study so well," he laughs.

He joined BDO Dunwoody in 1995 and became a partner last January.

Today, Frese enjoys the pleasures of living in a smaller community and the involvement he has in the daily life of Salmon Arm.

"We have a general practice and I work in the entrepreneurial services group which puts me in touch with so many of the businesses in town," he explains. "I've been involved with the local chapter of Ducks Unlimited and I was secretary-treasurer for the Chamber of Commerce. I'm still working with the Chamber."

Along with his wife and children, Sam, 8, and Katarina, 6, Frese goes camping, skiing, sailing, fishing and mountain biking.

"I really enjoy being a CA in a smaller town," he says.

Lee Lesack, CA, won the Silver Medal in 199o and now lives in Kelowna, the busy wife of a pathologist and mother to three active children.

Lesack came to the CA profession via the Graduate Admission Program (GAP) after having already had one career as a civil engineer.

"I did my degree at the University of British Columbia in 1982 in Applied Science and then became a P.Eng. in 1985," she explains. "I worked for the Ministry of Highways. In 1984, I got married - my husband was an engineer at the time, too -- and we moved to Trail. But then my husband decided to return to school to become a doctor, so we moved back to Vancouver."

While Lesack's husband was at medical school, she went into GAP working first for Thome Ernst & Whinney (now KPMG) in Richmond. She graduated in 199o with her CA designation and attended convocation pregnant with her first son Kai.

In January of 1994, she transferred to the firm's New Westminster office, and in May of that year her daughter Sascha was born. Three years later, her second son Nikolai was born, and in 1998 the family moved to Kelowna.

"As a busy pathologist, my husband is at the hospital most of the week and I take care of the rest of our lives," Lesack laughs. "I'm very involved in Cubs and Sparks and the children have lots of school work and outside activities like piano lessons."

Lesack admits she does miss work and especially her colleagues at the New Westminster office of KPMG. She keeps in touch with them regularly.

"I maintain my CA and I'm still a member of the Canadian Tax Institute, as well as I handle all the business side of my husband's practice," she points out. "I'm keeping my hand in."

The 1990 Bronze Medallist Debra Gordon, CA, came to her designation through the CA Co-op Program at Simon Fraser University. When she won the medal, she was the mother of two small boys, Matthew, now 13, and Jeffrey, now 11.

Born on Vancouver Island and raised in Victoria, Gordon graduated from Esquimalt High School. Before going to SFU, she worked at various jobs and travelled extensively.

"I started the CA program in 1986 with Clarkson Gordon (now Ernst & Young), and took a break when my first child was born in 1987," she explains. "I returned to the program, this time with the KPMG office in Surrey. I was with them until 1993."

In 1997, Gordon decided it was time to return to school, this time to law school.

"I'm in my last year of law school now at UBC, and beginning next September, I'll article with the Department of Justice," she says. "I'll be called to the bar in August of 2002."

Gordon says she will keep her CA designation and had initially thought she would combine her two careers into a tax law practice, but since then has become very interested in charter litigation. Last year, she won the Student Paper Prize for Western Canada from the Canadian Tax Foundation for an article entitled "Childcare Expense Deduction" which was published early this year in the Canadian Tax Journal.

"In my rare spare moments, I organize hockey tournaments and spend time with my family," she says.

Gordon's husband, Ian Gordon, is also a Chartered Accountant, an entrepreneur specializing in computer services for the professional community.

BY DEBORAH FOLKA, APR

Copyright Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia Dec 2000
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