May 2026

After 43-plus years with Universal Logistics, Diane Richer decided to retire on Wednesday, May 20^th – her special milestone Birthday! We had a pizza and cake lunch at Head Office to celebrate Diane’s retirement on that day, and Diane’s colleagues, many of whom have become her close friends over all these years, had the opportunity to congratulate her and extend best wishes for a happy, healthy and very well-earned retirement. Michael Glionna gave a speech and presented Diane with a special gift from the company. Following is a reproduction of Michael’s speech:

Today is a very special day at Universal Logistics for 2 reasons. First of all, it is May the 20^th which means it is Diane Richer’s birthday! Happy Birthday Diane!! And second, since Diane had always said she would like to retire on her birthday, today is also Diane’s last day with Universal… because… after an incredible 43-and-a-half years with the company, she is officially retiring… in exactly 3 hours and 23 minutes!

Now why, you ask, would Diane choose this particular birthday to retire? Well, for those of you who have been in the Canadian workforce for a while, you will know it used to be that in the province of Ontario, it was mandatory for a worker to retire at a particular milestone age (an age I will not mention at this time). Labour Laws changed in 2006 however, and it was then no longer mandatory to retire at that designated age. Well, as we all know, Diane is a real stickler for details, rules and regulations. She’s an “old school” type who likes to plan, adhere to a strict schedule and follow through with 100% reliability and consistency. So, regardless of this change to the Canadian Labour Laws, Diane committed herself to retiring exactly to the minute of reaching what used to be the mandatory age for retiring… again, a special milestone age which I am carefully choosing not to identify for reasons of Diane’s privacy.

On this special day, I’d like to share with everyone a few highlights and memories of Diane’s amazing 43+ year career at Universal.

Diane started with Universal back on January 24th, 1983 as an “Import Clerk” in what was then known as our Transportation Department. To accentuate for everyone that this was indeed a long time ago, Diane’s starting annual salary, according to company records, was a whopping $11,500. Apparently, that was a pretty decent salary back in 1983.

Diane worked on the Freight side of the business, learning everything there was to know about ocean imports and exports, working together with our overseas partners all over the world. She truly became our resident expert in handling ocean imports, having encountered and mastered every possible shipment situation that one could imagine. In May of 2011, Diane was promoted to Team Leader – Ocean Services, an important leadership role she excelled at right up until… 1:45 pm today!

Over these many years at Universal, Diane can lay claim to a very unique fact… She has worked with 4 generations of our family. In more recent years, when they were working in the summers between school years, representatives from Generation 4 – my sons, Jason and Matthew, and my nephews, Christopher, Thomas and Paul, all had the opportunity to work with Diane in one capacity or another. This was clearly her favourite Generation of Glionnas, because when Diane had the opportunity to bring her partner, Sandy, as her guest to our Christmas Dinner a few years ago when we celebrated Diane’s 40th anniversary with the company, she quickly ditched Sandy, who she claimed was too old having just turned 60, and traded him in for Jason, Matthew and Christopher as her special guests. She actually asked for all 5 of the young gentlemen, including Thomas and Paul, but they were away at school writing exams and could not attend.

There is no question that Diane had her fill of Generation 3, with myself, Dave, Mark and Paul, all working side by side with her since our early 20s. Together, we all grew up in the business. And, Diane was also a favourite of our Dad, Frank Jr. (Generation 2), who was leading the company when she started in 1983, enjoying over 10 years of Diane’s excellent performance.

What makes Diane’s connection to our family so unique however, is the fact that she also had the opportunity to work with our grandfather, Al Foley. Now this was not our Dad’s father, Frank Sr., who started the business. This was our Dad’s father-in-law, our Mom’s father who worked with Universal many, many years ago as our Collections Manager. Let’s just say that Grandad was a fierce collector of funds, often somewhat cranky in his approach as he moved through the office asking our young, fearful employees why they released shipments without collecting all funds in advance. Sound familiar?? But Diane was a tough cookie herself, not one to be easily intimidated by an older gentleman with a serious and stern demeanor. She had a true soft spot for Grandad Al, knowing that his bark was much worse than his bite… She says that my brother Dave reminds her exactly of him.

So, as everyone can see, Diane successfully endeared herself to 4 generations of our family, making a lasting and positive impression on each one of us along the way.

During her time with Universal, Diane was always a very hard worker, with a fine attention to details, a steel trap memory and a level of conscientiousness that no one could top. She really disliked errors, and therefore made very few of them, if any. She put an incredible amount of personal care into her work, and it showed by how happy our clients were with her performance. Top clients like Penguin Random House and Bsaunas, to name just a few, truly enjoyed working with Diane because of the extra-mile effort she put into ensuring each and every shipment went smoothly. Even when preparing for, and enjoying, her well-earned vacations, Diane worried about the well-being of our clients and their shipments.

As Team Leader, Diane was always very generous in sharing her many years of knowledge and freight forwarding expertise with our newer employees. She was happy to commit her time and patience in training new team members, with a positive, thorough and very detailed approach. The trainees came away feeling like nothing could go wrong if they simply followed Diane’s steps. Diane would also go above and beyond to protect our newer employees if she felt that the steamship lines or co-loaders were trying to take advantage of them. With this approach, Diane not only gained the appreciation of her Managers, but she also earned the respect and admiration of our newest team members. As such, Diane became very popular and well-liked amongst her co-workers. She forged strong friendships with many of us, which I know will endure well beyond her time with the company.

Diane’s talents and pastimes outside of the office will indeed serve her well in retirement. She is a great baker and cook. We will always remember Diane’s delicious banana bread, a huge hit each year at our HHTH fundraiser, and her yummy meatballs at the Christmas Potluck Luncheon, a favourite for all of us. Diane will continue to spoil Sandy and her stepson Alex with maple syrup crepes on special breakfast mornings, and when visiting her Dad in New Brunswick, there will be many scrumptious lobster dinners with drawn butter. After a home-cooked meal, we know Diane will kick back with a glass of Grand Marnier, her favourite sipping liqueur.

We also know that Diane absolutely loves gardening and has a real green thumb. Her backyard is an oasis with numerous plants and beautiful flowers which she tends to with meticulous care. We will sorely miss Diane’s first aid care to ailing plants in the office, many of which she has lovingly brought back to life from near death. Just as she shared her freight expertise and talents with fellow employees, Diane also generously shares her green thumb with other households in her neighbourhood. She actively maintains their gardens at “no charge” and now, with spring having sprung and more leisure time on her hands, Diane will surely make her entire street the manicured envy of all others.

Diane also enjoys sports, especially baseball where she was a very talented player starring for the Universal Customs Brokers softball team back in the day. She will root on her Blue Jays, hopefully to another World Series appearance this summer, and may even place the odd wager on their success… because Diane is a star at the sport of gambling too. She loves going to the casino, to bingo, playing the lottery and scratch-and-win. Her skills in this pastime are unquestioned, and on at least one or two occasions, she has made more in one night at bingo and the casino than her entire annual salary from back in 1983. Warning to fellow bingo players… Diane has more free time now so look out!

What Diane is looking forward to most in retirement, is visiting with family, which means travelling throughout Canada. Her older sister, Molly, just retired last year, so the first journey is a week’s visit with Molly and her husband at their new home in St. Thomas, Ontario starting as early as tomorrow I believe. In June, Diane is travelling to Quebec, including Montreal and Quebec City, to attend a much-anticipated school reunion with old friends. And, in July, she will be off to New Brunswick for a relaxing 3-week visit with her Dad. As we can see, spending quality leisure time with family and friends will be at the top of Diane’s priority list, and it will be really nice for her to have the freedom and peace of mind to travel and visit without any firm commitments limiting her time… not to mention client shipments to worry about!

Diane, we thank you for all these years of loyal and dedicated service to our company, and for your invaluable contributions to our company’s success. Thanks for setting a wonderful example to your fellow co-workers with your strong work ethic and your careful attention to detail. You made lifetime friends here thanks to your friendly, caring nature, and we will all miss you. And, as I mentioned, you masterfully survived working with 4 generations of our family so, rest assured, you will always remain a part of the Universal family.

On behalf of myself, Dave, Mark and Paul, and the entire Universal team, I extend our sincere congratulations on your successful working career, and we wish you nothing but the very best of health and happiness in your well-earned retirement!

Now, going back a few years to her 40-year celebration, Diane was given an option as to whether she would like the 40-year ruby and diamond ring, or the travel voucher, as her award for reaching 40 years with the company. It was a tough decision at the time, but Diane stated “Daddy comes first!”, and so she selected the travel voucher, as she wanted to travel and visit her Dad in New Brunswick as often as possible… which indeed she has done in the 3 years since! But we know that Diane also had a wishful eye on that ruby/diamond ring. And she certainly deserves a special gift commemorating her 40+ year career with Universal. So, Diane, we have for you a certificate at Moshe Fine Jewellery which you can exchange for a custom-designed ruby/diamond ring of your choosing. Tina will be happy to work with you on arranging the design and ordering.