Three new Alberta Health Services Board members were recently appointed by Health and Wellness Minister Gene Zwozdesky, ’68 BA, ’76 BEd. Joining the Board are former CEO of the Alberta Mental Health Board Ray Block, ’76 BCom, ’96 MSc(Ag), ’08 PhD; noted cardiologist and professor Ruth Collins-Nakai, ’72 MD, ’98 MBA; and past president and CEO of Capital Health Sheila Weatherill, ’66 Dip(Nu), ’89 BSc(Nu).
’75 Victor Carl Friesen, PhD, a prolific freelance writer since 1983, is the published author of stories, poems and more than 250 articles, which have appeared in such publications as Queen’s Quarterly, Nature Canada and Canadian Geographic. An avid birdwatcher, his studies of the crazy flight phenomenon of the ruffled grouse have drawn response from wildlife researchers and university biology departments in the U.S., Scotland and France. Victor has spoken about history and literature at six provincial conferences and at a symposium in Nebraska, conducted workshops on science instruction, and been interviewed on the CBC radio programs Identities and Morningside. Friesen continues to write in Rosthern, SK, where he lives with his wife Dorothy. Verlyn Olson, BA, ’78 LLB, the MLA for Wetaskiwin-Camrose, was promoted to the position of Minister of Justice and Attorney General in February 2011.
’76 Don E. Sieben, BCom, ’94 PGDip, of Edmonton, was recently named a fellow of the Chartered Accountants of Alberta. Don is a partner with Peterson Walker LLP and is currently a member of the board of directors as well as the
chair of the audit and finance committee of Alberta Health Services. Robert Yaro, BEd, reports that he is now the pastoral coordinator at St. John the Baptist Parish in Fort McMurray, AB. ’77 Henry Vos, BSc(Ag), of Fairview, AB, was re-elected District 1 director of the Canadian Wheat Board. ’78 Lucinda Chodan, BEd, an award-winning journalist, was recently appointed editor-in-chief of the Edmonton Journal. For the past five years, she was editor-in-chief at the Victoria Times Colonist. ’79 Gordon Keller, PhD, director of Toronto’s McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine, was recently named as one of 25 Transformational Canadians. The Transformational Canadians program is a partnership between The Globe and Mail, CTV and Cyberpresse which celebrates Canadians who have made a difference by immeasurably improving the lives of others. Bruce Wiskel, BSc, reports that in 2007 he returned to Calgary, AB, where he is president of Corrpro Canada, Inc. Prior to this, he was vice-president of Corrpro in San Francisco, CA, and president of Harco Technologies in Singapore.
Meet Your Reunion Organizer: Hugh Hoyles, ’66 BPE For 33 years, Hugh served as the U of A’s director of campus recreation, which provides year-round recreational sports, fitness and lifestyle programs to more than 37,000 students and 7,000 staff. He also taught in the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation and coached the Golden Bear and Panda volleyball teams for 13 years. Outside of the University, Hugh served as director of volleyball for the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, QC, and for the 1983 World University Games in Edmonton. As a result of his efforts, he received the Sports Canada Queen’s Silver Jubilee Medal. He was also inducted into the Alberta Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2004 and into the Canadian Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2007.
Karen Lynch, ’79 BA, is the executive director of Volunteer Alberta, Alberta’s only provincial capacity builder for the non-profit and volunteer sectors. Originally established in 1990 to organize National Volunteer Week celebrations in Alberta, Volunteer Alberta has grown from having six staff in 2004 to now having 15 staff supporting nonprofit organizations and volunteers across the province. According to Karen, one of the best things about her organization is that its core staff are U of A alumni. Volunteer Alberta delivers innovative and community-centred programs and policy solutions to build the capacity of non-profits and to strengthen local communities. To learn more about Volunteer Alberta’s support for local non-profits, board and volunteers, visit: volunteeralberta.ab.ca.
Current staff at Volunteer Alberta include many U of A alumni. From left to right: (front row) Ellie McFarlane; Rosanne Tollenaar, ’96 BSc; Lisa Michetti, ’08 BA; Toby Rabinovitz, ’73 BA; Donna Smith; Amanda Leipert; (back row) Cindy Walter; Yvonne Rempel; Jean Wrathall; Robert Mitchell; Karen Lynch, ’79 BA; Evan Romanow, ’08 BA, ’11 MA; and Victoria Poschadel, ’06 BPE. Missing from the photo is Blythe Morrow, ’06 BA.
’80s
’81 Glenn Feltham, BA, recently assumed the role of NAIT’s sixth president. Glenn is the former dean of the I.H. Asper School of Business at the University of Manitoba. Prior to entering academia, he was a lawyer with Atkinson McMahon in Calgary, AB.
After retiring in 2004, Hugh has remained busy in sports organization, serving on boards and committees for the 2005 World Masters Games and Edmonton’s GO Community Centre, just to name a few. He also sits on the U of A Alumni Council as the representative for the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation. Hugh and his wife Bev Hoyles, ’74 BEd, live in Edmonton and have four adult children. ® Class organizers plan events for their class and encourage their classmates to return to campus for Alumni Weekend. If you want to learn more about becoming a class organizer or about attending Alumni Weekend, contact Colleen Elliott at 780-492-0866 or colleen.elliott@ualberta.ca. Are you a class organizer? Send us your story and photo to be featured here in the next issue. E-mail alumni@ualberta.ca.
’82 Larry Louie, BSc, placed first in National Geographic Traveler’s 2010 “World in Focus” contest. He won with his image of Nepal’s Tripureshwar Mahadev Mandir Temple, beating out more than 3,700 amateur photographers who had entered more than 10,000 images into this annual competition. Larry is a photographer and optometrist in Edmonton. Dru Marshall, MSc, ’89 PhD, University of Alberta deputy provost, was presented with a Geoff Gowan Lifetime Achievement Award on November 19, 2010. Created in 1996 by the Coaching Association of Canada, this award recognizes lifetime contributions to coaching development. Inger Eakin, BA(RecAdmin), recently returned to Edmonton after many years and is working as a project manager for Alberta Health Services. Tammy Oberik, BSc(HEc), of St. Albert, AB, recently joined Cash Store Financial as vice-president of human resources. Tammy is a past member of the U of A Alumni Council. Spring 2011
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