Winnipeg elevator queen passes torch to new lift inspector

The queen of Winnipeg elevator inspections has lost her crown.

Some Winnipeggers may have noticed as of late the cursive signature of Cheryl Lashek’s name on inspection permits has been replaced with another’s inside elevators around town.

“Let’s just say I passed it on,” she said from her home — which doesn’t have any elevators in it — on Monday.

Two years ago, the matriarch of lifts took on a new role for the provincial government as director of capital projects and planning, which meant her role as director of inspection and technical services was handed off to a new examiner.

The transition of Lashek’s signature on the papers to that of Ryan DeLury, the newly bestowed protector of elevators, sent some on the internet into a frenzy.

In 2017, the civil servant became somewhat of a social media celebrity, with Instagram accounts and songs dedicated to her practical job. A mural of Lashek and her signature later appeared in the now-shuttered Tallest Poppy on Sherbrook Street after the restaurant got hold of her autograph from a COVID-19 contact tracing sheet.

One local even got a tattoo of Lashek’s inscription to immortalize the cultural moment.

“It was really, really bizarre,” she said. “Because it just comes out of nowhere. It’s just my job, right? This is just what I do.”

In a reveal of the person behind the curtain, Lashek admitted she wasn’t the one to inspect each elevator that her name appeared in, but managed a team of assessors who did. She merely signed off on the papers.

Yet, despite the confession, the former examiner’s name remains synonymous with Winnipeg pop culture.

“I think there was always, like, that mystery, right?

“People see my name at all these places across the province, like, who is Cheryl Lashek? … What does she look like? Nobody really knew any of these things. So I think it just snowballed.”

Since finding Winnipeg fame, Lashek has used her namesake to elevate her bodybuilding hobby, aptly naming her social media accounts @Elevate.Her.Life.

Lashek also recognized she could use her status to inspire women and girls interested in STEM, or science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

“If I can harness that and encourage other females to pursue careers in engineering or leadership, that would be amazing. Because you don’t have to be a stereotypical anything, you can be a woman in engineering in a leadership role,” she said.

As for the person she passed the torch to, Lashek said DeLury, who was not available for comment Monday, will not let the city down.

“You guys are in good hands.”

— with files from Katherine Dornian

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