Everyone agrees: the VSB movers are incredible.

Charged with helping Vancouver schools move teaching supplies, furniture and other equipment from one school to another, the VSB movers have long been the quiet heroes of many schools according to a variety of administrators who've utilized their services.

"They are awesome because they are flexible, they understand your needs and they go into action when you need them," says Margaret Davidson, Principal of General Gordon Elementary. "They make all the staff feel at ease and work with staff to support their needs. It totally takes away all my anxiety about a move."

Davidson says that when her staff and her originally considered the enormity of the move from their old school building in the lead up to its seismic upgrade, they were intimidated and overwhelmed. But after a visit from the VSB moving team led by Anthony Kwon (the "Gordon dream team" includes Arlen Tom, Jeremy Oliver, Michael Caparas, Nathan Connor, Gary Doyle and Byron Chinack), Davidson says the whole school got organized. Before they knew it, they'd purged their junk and were ready to ship their boxes to their new swing space (next to Queen Elizabeth Elementary School).

Then, after transporting countless boxes and furniture pieces across town, Davidson says the VSB moving team began the painstaking (but critical) process of unloading everything and rebuilding the Gordon's functional classrooms. When the movers came across a space that needed a wall or separator, they adapted the design to support the needs of the teachers by constructing a makeshift wall out of furniture and bookcases.

"They made the classrooms look like classrooms so when teachers came in after the move, they felt like they could just pick up immediately and teach," she says. 

Norma Rose Point Principal Rosa Fazio went through a similar transition and couldn't agree more.

"When you go into a new site, you say wow, this is extraordinary. And then you realize all the furniture is set up in the perfect place," she says. "Our VSB movers are just so incredibly helpful every which way. They would text me to make sure everything was done and whenever I contacted them, they were on it instantly. They were so efficient and so fun to work with and they are such a nice group of people."

Photo courtesy of Kim Love via Creative Commons.