At the start of 2024, everything has been put in place and organized to ensure a year of serenity and calm, with no events to disrupt our day-to-day tasks. The road well prepared, the staff in place motivated, the homes fully booked, the events planned, then the year 2024 can unfold.

The first challenge that comes along the way is RENOVATIONS. Everything had been planned, but some companies didn’t really see the scope of their tasks, because a building from the 1960s always hides surprises. Together with François, the architect from Pages SA, we came up with quick solutions, some of them just right, some a little too costly.

In a renovation project, in order to avoid excessive delays and therefore additional costs, decisions have to be taken quickly, which sometimes involves tension between those who decide and those who carry out the work. The buildings affected by these renovations are Villa Jura 11 and buildings no. 2 and 3.

The second challenge was CAD, which stands for district heating. Everything had been planned with Groupe E, the company responsible for implementing this type of heating system, in order to provide the Fribourg site with a long-term solution for all its buildings. Discussions and calculations are well underway, and when Groupe E’s decision is made, the works will be postponed by a year. Revisiting the entire organization of the Fribourg site required energy and time to rethink the project. New tensions arose with Groupe E management.

The third challenge is called DEPRESSION BY EXHAUSTION. Many of the people who worked with me kept telling me: “Be careful! it can’t go on like this, you’re going to have a health problem…etc.” And then, on March 13, 2024, the verdict came down. I was off work for two weeks, and that was only the beginning. All in all, it took me three months to recover and start working again in a different way.

I’ve managed it and have been back at the helm since July 1. I’d like to say a big thank you to all those who enabled me to return so quickly, and who held the company together with their unfailing commitment.

The fourth challenge is called TAKING BACK THE LEAD. I really thought it was going to be easier, but I have to say that the third challenge did more damage than I thought and it took me more time to regain the pleasure and passion that characterized me up to that point.