Everest Reinsurance announced the promotion of Scott Paddington (HBComm'99) to Chief Agent and Chief Underwriting Officer of Everest Reinsurance Canada.

Paddington will oversee the operations of Everest's reinsurance business in Canada. The appointment is part of the company's continued investments in its deep bench of reinsurance talent and strategic goals and will continue to strengthen Everest's leading market position.

"Everest's leadership in the global reinsurance market can be credited to its exceptional team of talent. Scott's diverse banking, broker and financial advising background, coupled with his tenure at Everest uniquely positions him to drive the Everest reinsurance business forward," said Jill Beggs, Head of North America Reinsurance. 

Since Paddington joined Everest in 2010, he has successfully led the growth and profitability of the Everest portfolio. Prior to joining Everest, Paddington worked as a financial advisor at Nesbitt Burns, in insurance at Empyrean and in reinsurance at Guy Carpenter Canada, as well as at various Canadian banks where he developed expertise in both capital markets and global risk management. He holds an MBA from Schulich School of Business and an Honours Bachelor of Commerce from Lakehead University.

Source: www.everestre.com

Burlington, ON, March 4th, 2022:

Colin Ballantyne (BAdmin'92) a long-time volunteer with Scouts Canada and 1st Port Nelson Scouts, has been awarded the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers. This medal, administered by the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General, is part of the Canadian Honours System and celebrates exceptional volunteer achievements in a wide range of fields. 

For more than two decades, Colin has been involved with the Scout movement, through which he has organized training courses for thousands of youth in the community, co-founded the Burlington Area Canoe Camp, coordinated the Burlington Area Competition Camp, and worked as camp chief of the Burlington Scout/Guide Co-op Camp. He currently serves as group commissioner and troop scouter for 1st Port Nelson Scouts.

 
“Volunteers like Colin are the heart and soul of Scouting,” said Mark Wyatt, Central Escarpment Scouts Council Commissioner. “Colin goes out of his way to ensure that we deliver an exceptional program for local youth, encouraging them to try new things, make new friends, give back to the community and build skills that last a lifetime. Beyond working with the youth, he gives back to the broader Scouting organization by mentoring other volunteers and providing input into programming at the National level.” 

Colin was originally scheduled to receive the Sovereign’s Medal at a group ceremony at Queen’s Park in 2020; however, the event was cancelled at the onset of the pandemic. Colin received his medal from the Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario in a private outdoor ceremony, in the presence of his family and a few of his fellow Scouting volunteers. 

Media contact:

Mark Wyatt

Council Commissioner, 

Central Escarpment Council

905-379-0888

mark.wyatt@scouts.ca

At the Monday, Jan. 10 council meeting, Deputy Mayor Frederic Diebel was appointed the new mayor of Nairn & Hyman Township following a notice of motion for his nomination.

At 22-years-old, Mayor Frederic Diebel is one of the country's youngest mayors. The Township of Nairn and Hyman appointed him to the vacant slot after the previous mayor resigned.

Diebel already made headlines three years ago as one of the province's youngest councillors in his hometown, located west of Greater Sudbury.

The mayor's dance card is full and he's already developing quite an impressive resume. Not only has he held the position of councillor, deputy mayor and now mayor, he's also completed an undergraduate degree at Carleton University and is currently enrolled in year one at the Bora Laskin Faculty of Law at Lakehead University.

Read more here.

Karilynn (Kari) Kluke is returning to her home town as the new Director of Recreation and Culture in Elliot Lake, ON.

"I was born and raised in Elliot Lake and my first job with the city was as a lifeguard at the pool and beach," she explained.  

"I was also part of the recreation summer students when I was in post secondary. I went Thunder Bay (Lakehead University) for four years and to St. Catharines (Brock University) for two years after that."

"I'm excited to be bringing my skills and past experience that I've been accumulating in recreation, whether that's on the management side," she said. "I'm hoping to just work with the team here to continue to expand and grow the recreation and culture assets and programs."

The largely seniors demographic in Elliot Lake is gradually changing with efforts at city hall to attract and support the recreational needs of people of all ages.

"I think it's important to be well-rounded and offer all programs for everyone in the community," continued Kluke.

"The world is changing every day with the pandemic and we have to see what we can offer for recreation and just being able to adjust and adapt so we can still offer services for all people.

"I've been living in northern Ontario for two years but a little different than Elliot Lake and I'm excited to get back," Kluke continued.

Credit:  ElliotLakeToday.com

Written each day in rehab, Ash Winters’ debut collection is a vulnerable and powerful portrait of the struggle against addiction.

“This is a weird place to wake up / For someone who has woken up in some pretty strange places before.” With one poem written each day during Ash Winters’ ninety-day stay at a Vancouver rehab centre, Run Riot is a fiercely personal account of what it feels like to stop drinking after a decade of excess. Run Riot takes the reader through moments of determination, anger, hilarity, and heartbreak. Winters’ frank portrayal of early sobriety offers companionship to those who know it well and insight for those that want to know it better. Weaving the past and the present together with ruthless vulnerability, Run Riot is a powerful portrait of one person’s struggle against addiction, laying bare an honest search to heal and better understand one’s self.

Source: https://caitlin-press.com/our-books/run-riot/

Ash Winters is an emerging Toronto-based poet. Queer and sober, their work navigates the intersections of addiction, identity, and trauma. Growing up queer in small town Ontario gave Ash a chance to develop a lavish sense of humour and a deep respect for empathy both of which come through in their work. They graduated with their BA in English from Lakehead University in 2010. Their poetry has recently appeared in; Existere, Open Minds Quarterly, and The White Wall Review. Run Riot is Winter’s first book of poetry it comes out with Caitlin Press in winter 2021.

Source: http://ashwinters.com/about/#about

Aurelia Jas, one of the winners of the Green Dream Internship Program, is working at Weyerhaeuser in Grande Prairie, and proving there’s lots of opportunity for women in forestry.

Jas, a fourth-year forestry student studying at Lakehead University, moved to Grande Prairie from Thunder Bay Ont. to work at Weyerhaeuser as a woodland intern.

She made the move after being selected as one of the winners of the Forestry Products Association of Canada’s (FPAC) Green Dream Internship Program.

“I want to encourage other women to pursue jobs and careers in a male dominated industry,” said Jas, adding “There’s something about proving people wrong and showing them I’m much more capable than they assumed me to be.”

Jas became one of the winners of the internship program because of her desire to work in the field where there hasn’t traditionally been a lot of women, and also because her life took a major pivot from artist to forestry worker.

Jas, who also has a bachelor’s degree in fine arts and is a professionally trained sculptor, tried for years to break into Toronto’s art scene before making a change.

“The whole starving artist thing wasn’t really working out for me,” said Jas, who felt the burning desire to work outside instead.

“The idea of being a forester just got me excited,” said Jas.

Derek Nighbor, president and CEO of FPAC, believes there are many opportunities in forestry for women.

“Women only make up under-20 per cent of our workforce, and we have a real opportunity to increase that number,” said Nighbor, who added that Jas’s story was very compelling because of her decision to shift careers.

Although the forestry industry has traditionally been a male-dominated workplace, companies are always vying for talent, and women like Jas will likely play a major role in their future.

“From a historical perspective, there have been fewer women in this field, fewer women loggers, fewer women foresters, that’s changing rapidly and It’s certainly changing within our company,” said Karl Wirsing, director of communications at Weyerhaeuser.

Jas is one of 15 students who won the Green Dream internship contest. Each year, FPAC selects students for a wide variety of internships, spanning numerous types of jobs across their member companies.

“The biggest drive for us is to allow young people to see themselves in a potential career in forestry and, and I think, for people to understand what jobs are out there, or what might be possible,” said Nighbor.

“I feel like forestry is moving towards a more positive environment where women are encouraged to pursue these kinds of jobs,” said Jas, “So, I definitely have hopes for the future.”

Source: https://www.fortmcmurraytoday.com/news/local-news/green-dream-intern-car...

Steven High (MA'94) is a leading oral and public historian whose research empowers individuals and broadens understanding of Canada’s multi-faceted history.

As a co-founder of the Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling at Concordia University, Dr. High works collaboratively with the communities that he studies and is a pioneer in digitizing the life stories that he collects.

Much of his work is grounded in the everyday lives of Canadians, connecting individual experiences to bigger narratives in history. As a national leader in oral histories, he has published extensively on the methodology and ethics of this approach.

From 2006 to 2012, Dr. High led a project to collect the life stories and experiences of Montrealers displaced by war, genocide and other human rights violations.

Through radio programming, academic publications, theatrical performances, art installations, educational modules, and museum exhibitions, these stories were further publicised and shared with the public. His monograph, Oral History at the Crossroads: Sharing Life Stories of Survival and Displacement, explores the work of this project and challenges previously held conceptions about how oral histories should be recorded and shared.

Dr. High is committed to broadening our understanding of Canada’s history and to disseminating the voices of ordinary people in multiple formats. He regularly writes for the popular press and explores new digital tools and platforms to open up creative spaces for Canadians to engage with and listen to these histories.

His approach to collaborative research and sharing authority highlights his belief that history is a societal project rather than the job of a select few.

Source: https://www.canadashistory.ca/awards/governor-general-s-history-awards/award-recipients/2020/steven-high

Sarah Pash (MA'04/PhD'14) has been re-elected chairperson of the Cree School Board, the organization founded in 1978 to provide education in Eeyou Istchee, the Cree territory in northern Quebec. 

Pash campaigned for greater transparency, meeting firm education standards, and hiring Crees. 

This will be her second three-year term at the helm of the organization after first being elected chairperson in 2018. She is pushing to expand the range of Cree content taught in schools, in addition to the Cree language and culture classes which she called "ghettoized." 

Pash has a PhD in First Nations education from Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Before becoming elected to her first mandate as chairperson of the Cree School Board, she was executive director at the Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute in Oujé-Bougoumou. 

Read full article here.

Sean Monteith (BEd, 1994, MEd 2008) has been appointed as Senior Vice President Academic at Loyalist College effective August 3rd.

Monteith was Director of Education for the Hastings Prince Edward District School Board and was Director of Education for the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board.

“I am excited and energized to join Loyalist College as its Senior Vice President Academic, and contribute to a learning and innovative executive team,” said Monteith. “The opportunity to build a new Strategic Academic Plan for the future, and out of a pandemic, is an opportunity of a lifetime. The added opportunity to work collaboratively with First Nations and communities in support of advancing career paths and postsecondary achievement, is work that is generational and I am proud to be part of an organization that will lead it.”

Dedicated to lifelong learning, Sean holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) from the University of Ottawa; a Bachelor of Education and a Master of Education from Lakehead University; and is currently pursuing his Ph.D. through the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education/University of Toronto.

Source: intelligencer.ca

A third-generation pulp worker, Kelly has used his engineering background and penchant for change management to lead multiple improvement initiatives in his five years in the machine room, including a profiling steam box design, construction and install for PM1, vacuum optimization and PH control design projects for the pulp machine, and production loss analysis implementation and tracking.

“The passion, commitment, and energy that he puts into his role here at Mercer has led to significant reliability, production and morale improvements,” says Jeff Dechaine, Kelly’s manager and nominator. “He is a leader beyond his years, and a shining example of what the next generation of leaders in our industry can be.”

Upon receiving the news of his award, he shared, "I owe a lot of this success to the education I received at Lakehead. I graduated in 2008 with a B.Eng (Chem), and just can't say enough about the education I received at LU."

Source:  Pulp & Paper Canada and Mercer Celgar