More than 500 people applauded some of Greater Sudbury's outstanding citizens last night at the Fifth Annual Community Builders Awards of Excellence (CBA) at the Radisson Hotel, Palladium Ballroom. The CBAs are hosted by Northern Life, publisher Abbas Homayed, and Marianne Zadra of The Amazing Persona.
The Community Builders Awards were established to celebrate Northern Life's 30th anniversary in 2004. "With our CBA program this year, we celebrate five years of honouring truly inspiring individuals and organizations whose contributions are significant and meaningful to our city," said Homayed.
"CBA was launched with the intent of taking one evening each year and thanking our community leaders who make our city great with their acts of generosity, leadership, commitment and caring. The quality of the CBA alumni, its judges, sponsors, nominees and supporters paint a picture of an enterprising community that cares about its people and its future."
Michael Atkins, president of Laurentian Publishing said, "Tonight, we celebrate the best among us, the people whose sheer determination and focus are an example to us all. We take this one moment each year to celebrate the riches of our community and in so doing re-energize ourselves to make our own contribution."
And the winners are:
Arts: Mark Palumbo, founding chair of Music Film in Motion (MFM).
Economic Development: Darryl Lake, CEO and general manager of Northern Ontario Centre for Advanced Technology.
Education: The Sudbury chapter of WISE (Women in Science and Engineering).
Environment: VETAC, Greater Sudbury’s Re-greening Committee.
Health Care: Sylvie Kozlowskyj, pediatric satellite nurse co-ordinator at the Regional Cancer Program at Sudbury Regional Hospital.
Sports and Recreation: Gerry McCrory, legendary executive member with the Sudbury Minor Hockey Association (SMHA), and chair of the Big Nickel Hockey Tournament for 27 years.
Junior Citizen: Confederation Secondary School's Evolutionary Band.
Hall of Fame: The Lougheed family–Gerry Sr., his late wife Marguerite, sons Gerry Jr. and Geoffrey, and their spouses Louise and Colette–are inducted into the Community Builders Hall of Fame. The Lougheeds are one of Sudbury's most trusted and generous business families.
The award sponsors are Collège Boréal, Desjardins Caisse populaires du Grand Sudbury, GijimaAst, McQueen's Furniture, Mining Technologies International Inc., Ontrak Control Systems, Paul Lizotte Fuels Ltd., Sandvik, and Xstrata Nickel. Platinum sponsors for CBAs are Vale Inco and The Amazing Persona. The pre-banquet sponsor was The Day Group, and the community sponsor is Grand & Toy.
Winner profiles
Detailed winner profiles have been posted online at www.cbawards.ca.
Arts: Mark Palumbo, a founding member and chair of Music and Film in Motion (MFM), is committed to economic development and the arts in Northern Ontario. Established in 2000, MFM's mandate is to strengthen Northern Ontario’s music industry, and develop a film and television industry. These industries provide significant economic and social benefits. Thirty productions have been filmed in the city, with direct spending of nearly $24 million. The economic impact of these productions is estimated to be $38 million. The industry has created the equivalent of 386 full-time jobs, with an estimated total annual payroll in excess of $13 million.
Economic Development: Thirty years ago, Darryl Lake saw past the negativity of massive layoffs and low nickel prices. Instead, he saw opportunities. As founding CEO and general manager for the past 13 years, Lake has been instrumental in the Northern Centre for Advanced Technology’s (NORCAT) growth, reach and influence. This year revenues are expected to surpass $6 million. NORCAT has worked with more than 80 companies, and is currently pioneering drilling technology to use in space exploration. It has helped to develop 300 new technologies and 150 new products. Those products range from kitty litter technology to million dollar drills for space exploration. Of the 41 companies NORCAT has helped to establish, more than half are still in business, and some of those that aren’t have been purchased by larger companies. Its underground centre in Onaping Falls is a leader in Canada for mine safety testing and training.
Education: The Sudbury chapter of WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) encourage young people, especially young women, to pursue careers in science, engineering, trades or technologies. In the fall, WISE holds an engineering information night for male and female students in Grades 11 and 12 and their parents. For the past nine years, WISE has also hosted a Science and Engineering Olympics for girls in Grades 4 to 7. This is a fun day for girls to learn about engineering and science. This year the Olympics will be held Saturday, April 26 at Collège Boréal.
Environment: Thanks to VETAC, Greater Sudbury’s Re-greening Committee, our community is one of the few places on Earth where today's children live in a healthier environment than their parents and grandparents did. Thirty years ago some 80,000 hectares of land were desolated by a century of logging and mining and subsequent fires, soil erosion, enhanced frost action and sulphur dioxide emissions. Today, people come from around the world to study how community spirit and hard work healed the damaged landscape. Between 1978 and 2007, 3,300 hectares of land has been limed and seeded, and more than 8.8 million trees and 43,427 shrubs planted. VETAC continues to develop programs to enhance Sudbury's landscape.
Health Care: Sylvie Kozlowskyj, a pediatric satellite nurse co-ordinator, is respected for doing her job, and loved for the extra effort she gives children in her care. She works at the pediatric oncology out-patient clinic at the Regional Cancer Program at Sudbury Regional Hospital, which is supported in part by the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario (POGO). Kozlowskyj's role incorporates multiple aspects of the care for children with cancer and their families, from the administration of chemotherapy and of supportive care (such as blood work, transfusions, fluids) to the co-ordination of visits between centres to follow-up visits.
Sports and Recreation: Gerry McCrory is Sudbury's Mr. Hockey. He has had a positive impact on thousands of young hockey players. He was an executive member with the Sudbury Minor Hockey Association (SMHA), and a Northern Ontario Hockey Association council director. Under his leadership for 27 years, the Big Nickel Hockey Tournament has become one of the best in the province and raises thousands of dollars for Sudbury minor hockey.
Junior Citizen: Confederation Secondary School's Evolutionary Band set a Guinness World Record for performing the deepest concert underground last year. The world record is just one of the amazing things this group of teenagers has achieved under the watchful eye of their teacher and band founder Norm McIntosh. Evolutionary is built around a 24-piece rock band: four-vocalists, a five-piece rhythm section, four trumpets, four trombones, two alto saxes, and four tenor saxes. This is Evolutionary's 28th year in existence. In addition to entertaining thousands of people, the band members are goodwill ambassadors for a variety of causes.
Hall of Fame: The Lougheed family–Gerry Sr., his late wife Marguerite, sons Gerry Jr. and Geoffrey, and their spouses Louise and Colette–are being inducted into the Community Builders Hall of Fame. The Lougheeds, one of Sudbury's most trusted and generous business families, have distinguished themselves as dedicated supporters of community development, as well as advocates for a better life for all its citizens. The Lougheeds championed the campaign to build the Northeastern Ontario Cancer Centre. When Marguerite died in 2006, the Marguerite Lougheed Community Centre, was established by the family in her memory in a former church near the downtown area. The 30,000 square foot facility is available free for non-profit, charitable and family celebrations. Like Gerry Sr., who gave many years of service to the Rotary Club, Geoffrey is involved with the Rotary Club of Sudbury, and Gerry Jr. founded the Rotary Club of Sudbury Sunrisers. They live Rotary's motto "Service above Self." Geoffrey was the founding president of the Sudbury Food Bank, and continues to dedicate many hours to this organization. He also chaired the fundraising campaign to build the Samaritan Centre in downtown Sudbury.
Gerry Jr. won a Community Builders Award for his contributions to health care in 2004. In the 1990s, he led a campaign to raise $23 million in the Heart and Soul Campaign to improve health-care facilities in the city.
