Former Lakehead Thunderwolves player and associate coach Brennan Menard has been added to the coaching staff of the Ontario Hockey League's Kitchener Rangers.

He'll be an assistant under coach and general manager Mike McKenzie.

Brennan was the Associate Coach for the Lakehead University Thunderwolves Mens Hockey Team for two seasons and spent one season as an Assistant Coach with the Spruce Grove Saints of the AJHL, and is a member of the Belfry Hockey Coaches and Skill Coaches Development Network.

Prior to coaching, the Thunder Bay native played five years at Lakehead University and one year with 3 Oberliga in Germany.

(sources: kitchenerrangers.com and tbnewswatch.com)

Nathan Lawrence (HBComm'07), is a Managing Partner with Royal LePage Lannon Realty and a Licensed Mortgage Broker with Dominion Lending Centres Mortgage Excellence.  Drawing on his experience and knowledge of the Northern Ontario Real Estate Markets, he works closely with both his teams and clients.

Nathan earned an Honours Bachelor of Commerce, Majoring in Human Resource Management from Lakehead University in 2007.

He is an active community member and proud member of the Chamber Network.  He has served two terms on the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and served as the 2018/19 Chair of the Board.  He is the Past President of the Northwestern Ontario Associated Chambers of Commerce.  Served on the Board of Directors of SHIFT: Thunder Bay’s Young Professionals Network, two years as President of the Board.  He joined the Ontario Chamber Board of Directors in 2015.

Following an intensive search, the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Beth Potter (BA English 1990) as the new President and CEO starting March 15, 2021.

Beth has a long and distinguished career in Canada's tourism sector, including most recently serving as the President and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario. She is a recognized leader with more than 30 years of experience in the not-for-profit and tourism industries and has worked with a variety of boards and committees, including her recent contributions to the World Travel & Tourism Council’s tourism recovery efforts.

Beth Potter said: “I’m excited to be taking on this new challenge as the President and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada. This is a critical time for the tourism industry. The decisions the government takes in the coming weeks and months will have a significant impact on our ability to bring back the jobs and economic growth that tourism contributed to the Canadian economy before the COVID-19 pandemic.

These are undoubtedly challenging and difficult times, but the tourism industry is an innovative and resilient sector. I will harness all of my thirty years of experience in advocacy, shaping government policies and experience in collaboration on the international stage to meet these challenges head on.

In the past eleven months, TIAC has made significant progress in winning key economic support programs for the tourism industry. I am determined to build on these achievements and ensure that tourism receives the sector-specific support it requires to rebuild.

I’d like to thank TIAO’s past and present staff members and directors for their unrelenting support during the past eleven years TIAO, like the tourism industry in Ontario, has grown exponentially during my tenure. No more so than in the last eleven months, where TIAO has worked with government, stakeholders and members to provide vital support for our industry.

I am invigorated by the challenge lying ahead at TIAC and look forward to working with my new colleagues and board members to position tourism front and centre of Canada’s economic recovery” continued Beth Potter, TIAC’s new President and CEO."

-courtesy of tiac-aitc.ca

Northwestern Ontario’s largest independently owned engineering consulting firm, TBT Engineering Consulting Group, announced the appointment of Scott Peterson as the new President, TBT Engineering Limited.

Peterson, who previously held the position of Vice President, assumes the role of President from the company’s co-founder, Rob Frenette (B.Eng'88), effective February 1, 2021.  Peterson is widely respected in the geotechnical, geological, transportation and environmental engineering community. As Vice President, he was responsible for providing technical, professional and project management services for several of the company’s core divisions. This experience coupled with the company’s current leadership team and business strategy will allow Peterson to integrate quickly into the President role. Peterson will work closely with the TBTE Senior Management team including Liana Frenette (BEd'88), CEO.

-TBT Engineering website

Maclean’s canvassed the landscape for Canadians with qualities they think represent power in a time of transformative change.  Lakehead alumnus Sean Speer (HBA'05) made their Top 50 list: "By their actions, words or character, they force us to watch, listen and learn. They are moving the needle in their chosen fields, and in many cases the wider world. Importantly, they are good-faith actors. History may judge them wrong, but they act in the belief that doing so will result in a better world."

Sean's entry writes: "The Tories in Ottawa feast on scandal, always hunting for the next ethical lapse or spending spree that might knock the Liberals off their game. Sean Speer, a big-ideas machine and former economic adviser to Stephen Harper, takes a longer view. Speer publishes papers at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and serves as director at Ontario 360, a think tank based at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy. His arguments on economic growth and recovery are credible enough that Liberals have a hard time disagreeing with him. He wrote that no party is speaking to the “forgotten people” of Canada who struggle to shift to an “intangible economy” based on intellectual property and data. Those voters are up for grabs. Will the Conservatives listen to one of their keenest thinkers and build a tent for them?"
(written by Nick Taylor-Vaisey)

Read the complete article here: https://www.macleans.ca/rankings/canadas-most-powerful-people-2021/#ranking

Alumnus Scott Kress (HBOR'93) was recently named a Fellow of the The Royal Canadian Geographical Society.

Fellows of the RCGS are individuals who have distinguished themselves by directly contributing to scientific knowledge in the field of geography, geographical exploration or allied sciences or through teaching, academia, community service and the arts.

Lorne G. Everett, Ph.D., DSc., Hon.D.WRE, F.ASCE, CEO and chief scientist of L. Everett & Associates LLC and one of only a few true experts in groundwater monitoring, characterization and remediation technologies, has been honoured by ASCE with inclusion in its 2020 class of Distinguished Members for his major contributions to the field of contamination remediation.

Everett served as Chancellor Emeritus (2000-2009) at Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.

Everett’s development of several patented characterization and remediation technologies for soil, soil gas and groundwater has enhanced the understanding of hydrogeology. He specializes in vadose (unsaturated) zone monitoring, characterization and remediation; soil gas sampling, vapor intrusion and remediation; soil moisture migration, LNAPL and DNAPL characterization; environmental regulations, training, expert witness testimony and environmental justice.

For more than 15 years, he has been the charter chairman of ASTM International’s committee, dealing with vadose/soil zone monitoring. He developed over 12 national ASTM Vadose Zone Monitoring standards and authored or edited over 12 books on the subject, along with some 150 technical papers.

Since 1983, Everett has served as an expert witness in the areas of contaminant hydrology and hydrogeology. He has built an established track record in more than 100 court cases with awards in excess of $2 billion. He has testified before Congress on different occasions and was an invited member on 16 “Blue Ribbon” Department of Energy peer-review panels.

Currently, Everett continues to focus on the technical excellence of his firm and provides consulting and expert witness services on major litigation cases. He is an ASCE Fellow and Life Member, having joined ASCE in 1974.

The Board of George Jeffrey Children’s Foundation is pleased to announce Cindy Levanto-Kawahara (BA'94) as the new Executive Director of George Jeffrey Children’s Foundation. Cindy replaces Steve MacDonald who has moved back to Southern Ontario.

Born and raised in Thunder Bay, Cindy has many years of professional fundraising experience. 

“I couldn’t be happier to be the new `chief fundraiser` for the George Jeffrey Children’s Fouundation! The Centre’s 60+ year history has impacted and enriched the lives of so many children and youth living with physical and developmental needs that it is my privilege to be a part of the Foundation’s team. I look forward to working with the Centre’s staff and meeting our wonderful donors and supporters”.

Tina Bennett, CEO of George Jeffrey Children’s Centre, says “We are excited to have Cindy join the team. The mission of the Foundation is to support the work of George Jeffrey Children’s Centre and we are fortunate that Cindy is local to Thunder Bay and brings a wealth of experience to the position. The Centre and Foundation work closely together and we are looking forward to working with her and the Foundation Board.”

Dr. Michael Walton (HBOR'83) has been appointed to the Yukon Environmental and Socio-Economic Assessment Board (YESAB) effective October 30, 2020.

YESAB is an independent arms-length body, responsible for the assessment responsibilities of the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Act (YESAA) legislation and regulations.  It's core purpose is to protect the environmental and social integrity of the Yukon, while fostering responsible development in the territory and respects the contributions of First Nations. 

Dr. Walton's diverse work background includes natural resources management, economic development, environmental conservation and Indigenous relations.  With over 35 years of experience addressing land use and conservation issues, Mike’s practical experiences on the front line as well as in senior management helped address complex social, economic and environmental issues. 

Mike has worked for the forest industry in Ontario and Alberta, as well as for the federal, provincial, municipal and First Nation governments in Ontario, B.C and Yukon, addressing development, conservation and Indigenous relations.  Mike also worked in the non-profit sector in Yukon and is presently an independent consultant based out of Whitehorse.  Mike serves as an Adjunct Professor with Lakehead University.

Greg Chomut, (BEd ’08, BA ’08) who teaches art, history and media at Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School, received a Certificate of Achievement in the 2020 Prime Minister's Awards program.

A government announcement credits Chomut with building multiple bridges between his students and the wider community "in a city with a troubled history of racism":

In a city with a troubled history of racism, Greg Chomut (BEd ’08, BA ’08) builds multiple bridges between his Indigenous students and the wider community. He organizes innovative classroom activities and runs diverse extra-curricular activities. Above and beyond all that, he regularly invites at-risk students to live with his family as they finish their education; all of the students who have lived with him have graduated.

Teaching approach

Greg focuses on giving his students confidence and helping them find their voices, whether they're making a painting, learning from Elders how to bead moccasins, recording a song with a Juno-winning act, or writing letters to politicians.

In the classroom

• Promotes students' artistic expression through an after-school art club: student artworks are displayed in airports and were the backdrop for journalist and author Tanya Talaga's Massey Lectures; many students have sold pieces and now consider art as a career path.
• Helps students earn college credits: art students became so proficient with digital tools, such as Adobe Creative Suite and Apple Final Cut, that Greg was able to set up a program with Confederation College that allows students to earn a college credit for their work.
• Stages an annual full-school re-enactment of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, using paintball equipment: the demonstration includes an hour-long lesson on Ojibway sniper Francis Pegahmagabow, with the grandson of this highly decorated First World War soldier speaking to students.
• Fosters political awareness: coordinates class visits by senators and members of Parliament; leads trips to Ottawa, where students meet politicians.

Outstanding achievements

• Founded the Wake the Giant Music Festival: students perform alongside Indigenous and non-Indigenous acts, such as Wolf Saga and Metric, in what is one of Thunder Bay's largest festivals, designed to boost inclusivity and cross-cultural understanding.
• Reaches out to local businesses: some 300 firms and organizations display decals noting they are inclusive spaces for Indigenous youth; a student said a decal made him more comfortable entering a counsellor's office; Greg organizes field trips to local businesses for hands-on activities, such as making gelato.
• Developed program to help students navigate the city: older students work with new students during an "Amazing Race"-style orientation, as they learn how to travel to useful local organizations and services on city transit.
• Sources:  TB Newswatch and ic.gc.ca