Okanagan College Media Release

A retired Okanagan College employee who ensured the health and safety of thousands of students for more than a decade has been named the 2012 recipient of the Okanagan College Distinguished Service Award.

Catherine Williams worked at the College for 34 years until her retirement two years ago. She spent her last 11 years as the College’s safety officer.

Williams will be honoured for her dedicated service at Okanagan College’s Spring Convocation ceremony on June 2 at 10:30 a.m. at the Kelowna campus.

Williams is only the third person in the College’s history to receive the Distinguished Service Award. The award is bestowed on former employees who have given outstanding service to the College and the community and who exemplify the College’s mission of transforming lives and communities.

“Catherine made a tremendous contribution to the College during her 34 years here,” said College President Jim Hamilton. “Her dedication and her passion for extending her knowledge to the greater Okanagan community is exemplary. Anyone who has ever had to handle a crisis knows they are in good hands when Catherine is in charge.”

In her role as safety officer, Williams built relationships that took her from the boardroom to the classroom.

Students got to know Williams well, especially those in Trades where she was a frequent guest speaker for the mandatory WHMIS (Workplace Hazardous Materials Information) courses.

“Working at the College was really a challenge because you’re a jack of all trades,” Williams said. “You’ve got Autobody, Welding, Chemistry, and all those hazards, so you learn to develop good relationships with people who have expertise in certain areas.”

And she could always be counted on to watch the summer Convocation ceremonies like a hawk.

“I remember one year it was really hot, and one of the vice presidents came to me afterwards saying: ‘wasn’t that great?’ And I said: ‘I guess you didn’t see the ambulance.’ Two guests collapsed.”

While at the College, Williams devoted a great deal of her personal time to volunteering for the Emergency Social Services, working alongside Beryl Itani during such momentous events as the Okanagan Mountain Park fire and later the West Kelowna fires.

Today, she continues to serve the community as the Emergency Social Services Director of the Regional District of Central Okanagan, and works with the B.C. Justice Institute educating volunteers in Emergency Social Services.

Okanagan College Media Release

Okanagan College has been named the 2012 Let’s Can Hunger Challenge National Champion for the third year in a row by national charitable organization Advancing Canadian Entrepreneurship (ACE) and proud supporter Campbell Company of Canada. The awards presentation took place at the 2012 ACE National Exposition yesterday in Calgary.

The Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) team from Okanagan College was victorious based on their ability to develop and implement a wide number of projects and initiatives that specifically addressed the needs of hunger in their community.

The team successfully implemented 20 projects, which served to raise awareness about hunger, and collected over 47,000 pounds of food for the local food bank and charities, while transferring skills and knowledge to more than 1,000 individuals caught in the cycle of hunger. The team also implemented a marketing campaign on campus, partnered with organizations including Kelowna Rotary, Kelowna Food Bank, and the Salvation Army, and took their skills to local classrooms where they taught students about budgeting and nutrition. To support local farmers, the team also supported 18 local farmers by finding new ways of getting their produce to market.

“Once again, SIFE students from across Canada raised the bar in finding new and innovative ways to address the issue of hunger in the Let's Can Hunger Challenge,” said Mark Childs, Vice President of Marketing, Campbell Canada. "The SIFE Okanagan College team stood out because of their creativity and the impact of their projects. All of the teams who participated in this initiative continue to inspire us to do what we can as a food company to help alleviate hunger in Canada.”

By supporting the Let’s Can Hunger Challenge, Campbell Soup Company has engaged students from Mexico, the United States and Canada in a powerful movement to build a foundation for lasting hunger support through innovative initiatives and awareness generation across the globe.

“The SIFE Okanagan team was recognized for their innovative solutions for hunger in their community, raising donations and awareness for this important cause,” said Amy Harder, President, ACE. “These students are shining light on how easy it can be to make a relevant impact and provide hunger relief in communities across Canada.”

Currently in its third year in Canada, this year the Let’s Can Hunger Challenge involved hundreds of students from close to 30 SIFE teams who have collectively raising over 219,000 of pounds of food to help individuals in urgent need in their communities and abroad.

For news and competition results during the event, please visit @acecanada on Twitter.

Okanagan College Media Release

There’s more to wood than meets the eye, particularly when that eye has a flair for the artistic.

That artistic bent will be on display Saturday, May 12 when students from Okanagan College’s Studio Woodworking program host their second annual exhibit, Raising the Grain, at the Tutt Street Gallery in Kelowna.

“This show is the product of eight months of work for these students,” said instructor Tim Diebert who has worked in high-end wood craftsmanship for decades, turning out custom guitars, furniture, spiral staircases, and even yacht interiors.

Visitors to the gallery will see a wide display of craftsmanship, with influences ranging from the contemporary back to the pivotal American Arts and Crafts movement of the early 1900s.

“These were important transition years when wood-based furniture design went from very fussy high detail to cleaner, softer, simpler, modern,” Diebert said. “It was the leaping off point to much of the design we know today.”

Pam Ehrecke, from Penticton, entered the 35-week full-time program after a lifetime spent pining to work with wood.

“I was a custom dressmaker, but I always had an interest in wood and I wasn’t encouraged to do it because I was a girl,” she said.

Now she, along with a dozen other students, will be at the show to share both their work, and their passion.

Ehrecke’s pieces include a Greene & Greene inspired telephone table, well-polished handcrafted boxes made of hardwood, and a veneered cube featuring the image of a scorpion made using marquetry techniques. The scorpion itself is made up of tiny pieces of wood that has been carefully burned using a technique called sand shading.

“The College here is so beautifully set up that I can learn anything I want, and none of us have been able to stump Tim yet,” she said.

“What I’m hoping is that the show opens people’s eyes to the fact that there are far more options for people who love wood than making kitchen cabinets,” said Diebert, who uses a collection of videos to show the work of masters from a variety of fields, most recently a harpsichord maker, just to make his point.

While the course is foundational, students come into it with a wide-range of experience. Some have entered directly from high school; others have been working in their home shop for years, creating highly complex pieces.

Diebert said no matter what, studio woodworking reflects a way of thinking as much as a practical skill.

“It’s really an attitude, a way of life,” he said. “People spend a lot of time on their pieces, and want to feel proud of the stuff that comes off their bench. Attending the show is a great way to support the students, who have worked so hard to bring their ideas to life.”

The show runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Tutt Street Gallery, 9 – 3045 Tutt Street, in Kelowna. Items displayed will be available for sale, and admission to the show is free.

Okanagan College Media Release

Okanagan College’s 2012 Honorary Fellows each have something in common – the three local recipients are renowned for their vision, advocacy for youth, and impact on the people of the Okanagan.

Yasmin John-Thorpe, Lane Merrifield and Janet Shaw have each been granted Okanagan College’s highest recognition as Honorary Fellows.

“It is a privilege to welcome the 2012 Honorary Fellows to Okanagan College,” said President Jim Hamilton. “To say this year’s recipients have had a deep impact on our communities is an understatement. In their own unique ways, Yasmin, Lane and Janet have made meaningful contributions that have served, and continue to serve, the people who call the Okanagan home.”

Well-known in the South Okanagan as a writer, literacy advocate, and philanthropist, Penticton-native Yasmin John-Thorpe will be honoured at Okanagan College’s Spring Convocation ceremony on June 2, at 10:30 a.m. in Kelowna.

John-Thorpe is passionate about literacy and writing and is a co-founder of Penticton Writers and Publishers. She is coordinator of Raise-a-Reader in the South Okanagan and organizes the annual British Columbia Youth Writers Camp in Penticton, where she serves as a mentor to young writers. Her efforts to promote literacy in the province earned John-Thorpe the BC Community Achievement Award in 2010.

The Okanagan College alumna is a respected author, having written several children’s stories, two were published in education readers and one was selected to appear in a Caribbean reader for young hospital patients. John-Thorpe documented a 2010 pilgrimage trek through Spain, which resulted in a coffee table book. Donations to the book benefitted the Raise-a-Reader program.

A longtime supporter of Okanagan College, John-Thorpe served as the Honorary Co-Chair of the $5-million Campaign for Okanagan College's Centre of Excellence in Penticton. In 2005, she and her husband Rick contributed $250,000 to establish a scholarship fund to support local students entering Okanagan College and UBC’s Okanagan campus. To date, 28 students, from the Okanagan, have received the scholarships.

Lane Merrifield, one of the Okanagan’s best-known entrepreneurs, will receive his Honorary Fellow distinction at the College’s afternoon Convocation ceremony on June 2 at 1:30 p.m.

Merrifield is the co-founder of Club Penguin, the Internet’s largest virtual world for children, and now serves as executive vice president of Disney Online Studios where he oversees Disney’s Virtual Worlds and Connected Games.

Merrifield exemplifies key attributes of an Okanagan College Honorary Fellow; chief among them are innovation, passion and leadership. Club Penguin began in 2005 out of a desire to provide a safe online space for children around the world to connect in a fun, creative and meaningful way. The company grew significantly and was acquired by Disney in 2007.

His projects have won numerous awards including a Webby, BAFTA, and various Parent Choice Awards. In addition to such external successes, Disney Online Studios was recently named one of the top 20 Best Places To Work in Canada, affirming Merrifield’s vision and leadership within the company.

The company’s philanthropic contributions as a result of the company’s success have been impactful through the development of a giving culture of global citizenship. Since Club Penguin’s inception, millions have been donated to a wide variety of charitable organizations.

Longtime Oliver resident Janet Shaw will receive Honorary Fellow status at the College’s Summer Convocation ceremony on June 28 at 6 p.m. in Kelowna.

Shaw has deep roots in the South Okanagan as a post-secondary advocate, policy maker and devoted volunteer. She led Okanagan College’s Board of Governors in the role as Chair from 2006-09 and previously served Okanagan University College’s Board in the role of Vice Chair.

Shaw was first appointed to the OUC Board in 2001 and spent the next eight years enhancing Board processes. Upon retiring from the College Board in 2009 Shaw was highly respected among her colleagues both on the Board and within the College for her contribution to developing the College’s Board governance model.

The former registered nurse has spent many years advancing the needs of education in the province both in her roles at the College and through her volunteer work in the K-12 system. Her involvement in education comes from a deep personal philosophy in the value of education and training.

Shaw has been instrumental in shaping a sector at a time when advanced education in British Columbia has been undergoing significant changes. She helped coalesce the Boards of British Columbia's colleges and refine their approach to sector advocacy and policy development.

Prior to her work in post-secondary and in board governance, Shaw served as mayor and as a councilor for the District of Logan Lake. She has been involved in a number of volunteer organizations and is the current president of Desert Valley Hospice Society.

Okanagan College Media Release
 
Students at Okanagan College are getting an advanced appreciation of dental radiology, thanks to a generous donation from the Thompson Okanagan Dental Society.
 
Through its annual silent auction, the group raised $10,488.28, and donated the funds to the College’s Certified Dental Assistant program to purchase a highly specialized dental x-ray trainer.
 
“This provides a tremendous opportunity for the students,” said Catherine Baranow, chairperson of the Certified Dental Assistant department.
 
The $8,800 high-tech DXTTR model is made, in part, from a human jawbone complete with teeth, which enables students to safely x-ray the “patient” while benefiting from seeing true human teeth characteristics.
 
“Our graduates don’t diagnose, but they do need to interpret the information, and this allows them to do that,” Baranow said.
 
The new model arrived last week, marking a big change for students who had been working with an older model that featured plastic teeth. This meant important aspects of the tooth’s structure were absent, and therefore couldn’t be viewed in the x-ray.
 
“Dexter,” as the students call it, has quickly become the star patient, complete with his slightly crooked teeth and other anomalies.
 
“Until now, we haven’t been able to see the actual bone and the layers of the teeth,” said 19-year-old Janelle O’Rourke, one of 23 students now working with Dexter. “The model shows the facial landmarks as well. It’s a lot easier to see things.”
 
Gayle Faigan, fundraising chair with Thompson Okanagan Dental Society (TODS), appreciates how important it is for students to learn with the most advanced training equipment available.
 
"As technology changes there can be a disconnect between learning institutions and clinical practice. This presents a challenge for the program to stay current," said Faigan. "By supporting the dental assistant program in this manner, students are better equipped and trained to enter the workforce. The dental community is very supportive of initiatives like this that promote clinical quality and service."
 
The society’s fundraising event is done with volunteer staff support from Scotiabank, which last week topped up the donation by another $5,000.
 
“Our business and professional banking team works closely with many dentists in the Thompson Okanagan so it’s a natural fit for us to partner in the charitable works they are involved with,” said Gladys Fraser, Scotiabank branch manager in Kelowna. “We strongly believe in giving back to the community.”
 
Baranow said news of these additional funds mean more equipment can be purchased to enhance the program even further.
 
“We are tremendously grateful for the support we’ve received from both TODS and Scotiabank,” Baranow said.
 
Kathy Butler, executive director of Okanagan College Foundation, said donations such as these enrich the student experience in meaningful ways well beyond the classroom.
 
“For students in the Certified Dental Assistant program, this donation means they will be entering the workplace with not only highly technical and relevant skills, but a raised level of confidence,” she said. “We appreciate that the community thinks of us when they take the time the raise funds.”
 
TODS has built a long-standing relationship with Okanagan College through its provision of an annual bursary. TODS works to provide professional development for its members in the interest of improving the health of the public.
 
Since 2005 the TODS fundraising initiative has donated more than $85,000 to various dental related organizations such as the Gospel Mission Dental Clinic, the Dental Unit at the BC Cancer Agency Sindi Ahluwalia Hawkins Centre for the Southern Interior Dental Unit, Rotaplast Canada and other non profit community dental clinics and initiatives.

Okanagan College Media Release

The tenth annual Okanagan College Half Marathon, 10 K and Relay Race went off without a hitch, despite cooler than normal temperatures at the start line.

In the women’s division, Mary Edgar of Vernon won the half marathon with a time of 1:29:33. Edgar was followed by Kelowna’s Nikki Reiter, who captured second place with a time of 1:30:14, and Cindy Rhodes finished third at 1:30:20.

Kelowna runners swept the men’s half marathon. The event was won by Nathan Reiter with a time of 1:15:21. John Machunga finished second at 1:15:29 and Chad Reid was third with a time of 1:17:19.

Okanagan College student Riley Martin won the wheelchair half marathon division, finishing the 21.1 km course in 3:00:14.

Students from UBC’s Okanagan campus swept the men’s 10 K division. Garrett Anstett recorded the winning time of 37:12. Alex Hansen followed in second place at 38:28 and Aurelien Schilles finished third at 38:29.

Kelowna women finished in the top three spots in the 10 K division: Tiffany Fowler came first with a time of 43:37, Lisa Vinge followed with a time of 44:24 and Victoria Frost finished third at 44:36.

In the relay race the team from Kelowna Mazda finished first with a time of 1:37:23. Team members included: Fernando Alves, Larry Stephens, Jonathon Mertz, Andrew Mertz and Paul Hutchinson. Dan Middleton, Emma Middleton, Quinn Middleton, Justin Boersma and Kristin Boersma from Zoom finished second at 1:40:59 and the Beelineweb.com Speedy Bees finished third at 1:50:56: Christine Neilson, Laura Gaglardi, Maizal Munif, Siona Holomis and Jennifer Johnston.

More than 500 runners took part in the annual fundraising event – all proceeds support student recreation and athletics at Okanagan College.