It is with great sadness that the VIDM committee announce the death of our friend and colleague Lorraine Mockford. Lorraine passed away surrounded by all her family on 2nd February after a short illness. She will be sorely missed by us all.
Lorraine has been a valued member of the VIDM team since 2010 when she answered a call on social media for facilitators for the VIDM. Lorraine was not a midwife; she was an Instructional Designer who worked at the Nova Scotia Community College in Canada until she retired. Here at the VIDM. Lorraine led the technical side of the conference, being responsible for the design and upkeep of the website, for the organisation of the technology involved in the Call for Abstracts and in the subsequent online programme design. With each change of video conferencing platform, she was instrumental in training both the committee and the speakers and facilitators in its use. She was the main influence in ensuring the conference ran smoothly. We have big shoes to fill in future conferences.
Many of the VIDM committee never met Lorraine in person but we counted her as both colleague and friend. During our virtual meetings, Lorraine’s was the sensible voice, and she was never afraid to use it! She kept us straight when our ambitious ideas were clearly, to her, too much for us to handle. We send our very sincere condolences to her family whom she spoke about often. We will miss you, Lorraine Mockford.