'Life after work'

Past and present city of Sault Ste. Marie employees, city councillors, friends and family members packed the Civic Centre's Russ Ramsay Room Tuesday afternoon to greet and reminisce with Chief Administrative Officer Joe Fratesi.

Fratesi's last day as CAO is April 30.

"The fact I have retirees here who assure me there is 'life after work' makes me feel a little bit more comfortable transitioning…there are people here in this room who I've worked with and will miss dearly because this has been part of my life, coming to city hall every day, for the last 37 years," said Fratesi, speaking to SooToday.

"These are all people I've had the privilege to work with…this is more about me being able to thank them for helping me along the way then it is a celebration of anything I've done."

"It's going to be a change for me, but it's time," Fratesi said, referring to retirement.

"I promised myself I would take the next four months off…I've had several offers to do other things and I've indicated to people I'm not prepared to really seriously entertain anything until the fall," Fratesi said.

"I want to have the summer off and spend more time with my family," said the married father of three and grandfather of seven.

Fratesi worked as the city's longest-serving CAO (since 1996), after previously serving as the city's longest-serving mayor (1985-1996).

He was also a city councillor for Ward 6 for three terms, from 1976 to 1982.

On a typical day as CAO, he would arrive at his office for work by 6:45 a.m., work through lunch and leave city hall by 4:30 p.m., but on council meeting nights he would often stay until 9 p.m. or 10 p.m.

Fratesi would often be immediately available for media telephone calls, and if not immediately available, would return calls within a short period of time with answers that showed a deep knowledge and understanding of issues pertaining to the city of Sault Ste. Marie.

"He has an uncanny ability to handle all types of calls.  I'm going to miss him," said Bianca Berlingieri, who has worked as Fratesi's assistant since 2005.

Fratesi said he is pleased with the overall shape of the city as he looks back on a long career.

"I've been very happy to have been a part of the Essar Centre, the indoor soccer facility at the Northern Community Centre, the new rescue centre, all of those things being accomplished for the betterment of the total community is what I'm most happy about, that I was able to work with other people to make these things happen."

"It's not about what I did, it's about what I was able to work with other people on to get accomplished," Fratesi said.

"That's the success that I celebrate today."

"I've given a message to my senior managers and my staff that success is based on working together, and trust and respect for each other, and I hope that's something they continue to value as important in the future, and I think with that in mind everything's going to fall into place."

Mayor Christian Provenzano said "Joe is certainly someone who's very committed to his community.  It's quite a career to serve your community in different capacities for 40 years, so there's a level of commitment there I certainly take as an example." 

"When you have a common name like Joe and you live in a community of  75,000 people, it's certainly an interesting reality that when somebody says 'Joe,' everybody knows who they're talking about."

"He's one of the most recognizable people in our community, people are used to seeing him at city hall, so that will be a big adjustment (after Fratesi retires)," Provenzano said.  

(PHOTO: Joe Fratesi, chief administrative officer, chats with Jerry Dolcetti, commissioner of engineering and planning, at a staff retirement party held for Fratesi at the Civic Centre, April 28, 2015.  Darren Taylor/SooToday)