Law and security runs in the Holden family
Jan. 23, 2017
From left: Mark Holden, Carol Holden, Maddie Holden, Micael Lamontagne and Matt Holden – all graduates of Georgian Community Safety programs
For the Holdens, keeping people safe runs in the family. Carol and Mark met as students in Georgian’s Law and Security program in 1983 and got married a few years later. After graduating, they both worked at a detention facility in Barrie before starting with organizations they would remain loyal to for the next three decades: Carol joined the security team at RVH and Mark became an officer with Barrie Police. Both Carol and Mark flourished in their chosen fields – Carol is now director of security, while Mark just retired as staff sergeant.
They both continue to stay connected to Georgian. Carol created the curriculum for Georgian’s part-time Basic Security Guard course, teaches part-time and is active on the Program Advisory Committee for the Protection, Security and Investigation program. She also regularly hires and mentors Georgian grads. Mark was the liaison for Georgian College in his policing role and assisted Carol in teaching students.
When their kids, Matt and Maddie, decided to go into policing, Carol and Mark were thrilled that they chose Georgian. Both opted for the police degree program at the Orillia Campus. “The instructors at Georgian were unbelievable,” says Carol. “The kids truly felt supported through their education and after.”
Matt graduated in 2012, while Maddie graduated in 2014. Micael Lamontagne – Maddie’s boyfriend – graduated from the same program in 2015. All three graduates found work in their fields. Micael became an officer in the military, Matt was hired by York Regional Police and Maddie was hired by Barrie Police. “This was a highlight for my husband Mark,” explains Carol. “Mark had the privilege of presenting Matt with his badge at York Region and got to give Maddie her badge on the force that he was just retiring from.”
Graduation ceremonies for the kids were emotional for Carol and Mark. They were both so proud of what their children had become. Carol’s advice to her children was: “Never forget the feeling of how you feel today, how hard you worked to get here. And never change as a person – always remember who you are, what your morals are and why you chose to go into policing.”