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WINTER 2010 Tom Mauro 2009 Distinguished Alumnus Man of Action I The Serious Business of Humour I sait.ca/ alumnilink 2009 Outstanding Young Alumna Smita Acharyya n o shares a laugh with our s l o h 2009 Distinguished c i N Alumnus, Tom Mauro. n a CONTENTS w E 10 My Way Linkages 2009 Distinguished Alumnus Tom Mauro talks about Director’s Message 2 how to build an empire, one satisfied homeowner SAIT News and Views 3-8 at a time. SAIT recognized as a great place to work Energy coup 14 Man of Action Postcards from Heidelberg Whether it’s running a business or designing high-end Hot invention needs some ice wheelchairs, Christian Bagg just does it. Self made woman creates a lasting WorldSkills legacy Highwood newest link in 18 The Serious Business of Humour soup-making chain Coat of Arms represents the 2009 Outstanding Young Alumna Smita Acharyya heart and soul of SAIT shares her love of laughter with audiences. Scanning new horizons in healthcare education Lights, camera… waiting 22 2009 President’s Gala for action SAIT rolls out the red carpet for 400 special guests at a gala evening to thank major contributors to the Services Promising Futures TM campaign. Awards and Honours 21 Inside the Events 30 Class Notes 32 Get Involved 34 Trojans’ Schedule 35 First Person 36 SAIT ALUMNI LINK Winter 2010 1 xxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx What a year! 2009 will go down in history as a stellar season of growth and ALUMNI LINK renewal for SAIT. Without you, our valued alumni, none of our achievements this EDITOR-IN-CHIEF past year would have been possible. From the hugely successful WorldSkills Brian Bowman 2009 to the launch of the Promising Futures TM Campaign — the stage is set MANAGING EDITOR Irene Chanin for the arrival of a new era at SAIT. To get a glimpse at our future, take a C0-EDITOR moment and visit sait-promising-futures.ca. Linda Symmes, Pierre Hamel Alumni have re-connected with SAIT this past year more than ever before. CONTRIBUTORS From homecomings, the Fun Festival, our new alumni Facebook, Twitter and Sergei Belski, Cathi Bishop, Laura Fetherstonhaugh, Turc Harmesynn, Melanie YouTube pages, Calaway Park, Skate with Santa, and a multitude of other Jones, Ric Kokotovich, Emily Kreiberg, means, alumni from around the globe are reconnecting and we couldn’t be Colleen Lavender, Stephanie LeBlond, happier about it! Your achievements are important to us too — so please James MacKenzie, Richard Manuel, Ewan Nicholson, Alison O’Connor, Lori Pichette, share them with us so we can celebrate with you. Stephanie Moore, Eric Rosenbaum, Kevin Udahl, Gaia Willis-Owen And speaking of pride, our buttons are bursting over this year’s recipient of the LAYOUT AND DESIGN Distinguished Alumnus Award. Tom Mauro may well be SAIT’s proudest alumnus Design Asylum ever — he has not only been immensely supportive of the Promising Futures TM PRINTING Campaign, but he also wears his affiliation to SAIT on his sleeve each and Commercial Print Craft every day. Smita Acharyya, our first-ever Outstanding Young Alumna, is a ON THE COVER courageous individual willing to break barriers and explore ideas and issues Tom Mauro, 2009 Distinguished Alumnus Photo by Ewan Nicholson affecting women and families today. Together, these two outstanding SAIT The Alumni Link is published three times a year grads are a testament to the quality of our alumni. by SAIT Alumni and Development as a service to SAIT alumni, donors, students, partners, And to ensure we’re meeting your needs, watch for an email survey on your faculty and staff. impressions and suggestions for AlumniLink. We want to keep this magazine Alumni Link invites your advertising, letters fresh, relevant and engaging and welcome your valued input. to the editor and comments. Please direct them to [email protected]. As always, keep in touch! We’ve enjoyed receiving your stories and invite you ALUMNI LINK to keep them coming! We’re open 24/7 to receive your story suggestions, SAIT Alumni and Development updates and feedback at [email protected]. 1301-16 Avenue NW Calgary, AB T2M 0L4 Email your Letter to the Editor: [email protected] We hope to see you again soon. I Ph: 403.284.7010 (address updates) or 403.284.8279 for all other inquiries Fax: 403.284.8394 Email: [email protected] sait.ca/alumni PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT Brian Bowman NO.40064317 Director, Alumni and Development RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO: CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT 1301-16 AVE. NW, CALGARY, AB T2M 0L4 YOUR PRIVACY and SAIT Alumni and Development Who has access to my information? The Official Word Only individuals working or volunteering for SAIT, who have signed a non-disclosure SAIT’s External Relations Division collects information on behalf of SAIT, under the agreement, and who have a specific need to see your contact information for alumni, authority of Alberta’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and the marketing or development purposes have access to your personal information. Post-Secondary Learning Act, for the purpose of administering alumni relations, marketing, and development programs for SAIT. Any information submitted by an Does SAIT Alumni and Development sell data? individual to SAIT may be used to update his or her record. Information gathered No, it does not. SAIT Alumni and Development enters into partnerships to provide for these purposes, is disclosed and used in compliance with Alberta’s Freedom benefits and services to its members and releases contact information to only these of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Individuals who submit information to partners. SAIT is at all times responsible for safeguarding your information. the External Relations Division acknowledge the above and consent to the collection I prefer not to be phoned and I only want to receive certain kinds of mail – of personal information. what do I do? Contact us at 403.284.7010 or [email protected]. It is our responsibility to ensure For more information or to make changes to your records, please contact that your information is accurate and treated according to your wishes. SAIT Alumni and Development at 403.284.7010 or [email protected]. 2 SAIT ALUMNI LINK Winter 2010 NEWS AND VIEWS SAIT recognized NetWORK Want to find out what’s as a GREAT place happening on campus? to work Interested in alumni, branch or homecoming events? It’s no surprise that happy employees perform better. Then join us on Facebook, But a great work environment also creates a better learning environment, Twitter and YouTube. which is great news for SAIT students! SAIT Polytechnic was selected as one of Alberta’s Top 50 Employers for 2010 by Mediacorp Canada Inc. It’s completely free! Alberta's Top Employers is an annual competition recognizing organizations Our sites are all that lead their fields in offering exceptional places to work. Employers are maintained by the evaluated on the physical workplace and work atmosphere; health, financial and family benefits; vacation and time off; employee communications; Alumni and Development performance management; training and skills development; and community communications team. involvement. They are compared to other organizations in their field to determine which offers the most progressive and forward-thinking programs. If you have any questions SAIT’s 2009 Employee Survey yielded the highest ratings ever in the several about how to log on to any years the Institute has used that measurement tool — a record 70 per cent of these networks please of employees participated, and more than two-thirds rated SAIT as above feel free to contact us at average or one of the best places to work. Ranking high on the list for employees were vacation and maternity leave benefits and public transit [email protected]. subsidies. Employees also appreciated a program that promotes a work-life balance in which they can draw 85 per cent salary for four years and then SAIT Alumni: take the fifth year off — also at 85 per cent pay. Great for those who want Virtual Reunion to go back to school or pursue a personal goal such as extended travel. And for those wanting to continue their education, SAIT also offers financial support to employees toward tuition costs of post-secondary studies. I SAIT Alumni: by Cathi Bishop Virtual Reunion SAIT Alumni If you haven’t already, make the trip to campus and check out the Market Place. Features of the facility include a deli counter that sells meat cuts, a bakery counter displaying artisan bread (delivered fresh twice daily) and fresh baking, and coolers featuring to-go style main course and side dishes. Look for specialty culinary items such as veggie chips, almond paste, rolled fondant and specialty oils and spices. The Market Place is located on SAIT’s main campus in the John Ware Building and is open Monday – Thursday, 10:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. and Friday 10:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. SAIT ALUMNI LINK Winter 2010 3 AND NEWS h c i v o t VIEWS o k o K c i R Energy Coup SAIT’s already significant profile with the energy industry is about to get a lot bigger. The Institute has teamed up with PetroSkills, one of the world’s largest providers of technical training to the petroleum industry, to deliver operations and maintenance (O&M) training around the globe to petroleum field and plant operators. PetroSkills is an alliance of leading petroleum companies formed in 2001 to define industry standards for technical training. Its course catalogues go to a targeted audience of 140,000 engineers, geologists and geophysicists worldwide, but they want to expand into O&M training for field and plant operators — an area that is a core competency of SAIT.