News Release

Snobelen announces 1995 "Ontario Premier's Awards" Recipients Honouring College Graduates

WINDSOR (February 8, 1996) – Minister of Education and Training John Snobelen will announce today the recipients of the 1995 Premier's Awards honouring graduates of Ontario's colleges of applied arts and technology who have made outstanding contributions to their professions and communities. Minister Snobelen will present these awards tonight at the annual conference of the Association of Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology of Ontario in Windsor at the Cleary International Centre.

"I offer my congratulations to all recipients of the 1995 Premier's Awards," said Premier Michael Harris. "All Ontarians, including students, staff and faculty within the college system, can be proud of the accomplishments and contributions of these people. Their accomplishments are truly outstanding, and they have contributed to the vitality of their communities, and have built a strong foundation for future success."

The awards are presented in each of the four areas of programming offered by colleges: applied arts, business, health sciences and technology. This year's Premier's Awards recipients are:

Applied Arts – Carol Alaimo, Niagara College, Welland;
Business – David Singh, George Brown College, Toronto;
Health Sciences – Cindy Pettersen-Rugsten, Sir Sandford Fleming College, Peterborough;
Technology – Francis Lapointe, Centennial College, Scarborough.

Fifty-four graduates from across the province's 25 colleges were nominated for the 1995 Premier's Awards.

"Everyone who has been part of the college system can take great pride in these awards," said Minister Snobelen. "The awards show how important the colleges have become to the social and economic well-being of our province throughout their 27-year history."

A special honourary award will be given this year to Bruce Hodgson, a former member of the Mohawk College board of governors, who has made outstanding contributions to college life in Ontario as a volunteer.

The award recipients will receive a specially designed medal, and a bursary of $5,000 will be designated by each recipient to the college of his or her choice.

Biographies of the 1995 Premier's Awards recipients

Applied Arts Award
Carol Alaimo, graduate of Niagara College

An award-winning investigative reporter with The St. Catharines Standard, Carol Alaimo is a graduate of the Niagara College Print Journalism Program. She has the distinction of being the only three-time Western Ontario Newspaper Association Journalist of the Year, in addition to recognition from the Press Institute of Canada, the Southam Business Writing Award, and her most important honour, the Mother of the Year Award from her children.

Ms Alaimo has a genuine interest in and concern for her community and the surrounding Niagara Region and her work has had a positive impact on her city. Her story about mismanagement at St. Catharines Hydro led to the appointment of new commissioners who then reduced residential electricity rates and restructured the utility to prevent fraud in the future. After she exposed the mistreatment of young offenders in a local youth home, the facility was closed and charges of assault were laid against staff members.

Carol Alaimo's dedication to journalistic ideals have earned her the tribute of a 1995 Premier's Award.

Business Award
David Singh, graduate of George Brown College

Mr. Singh was a teacher from Guyana before he moved to Canada in 1974. Soon after, he enrolled as a full-time student in the Business Administration Program at George Brown College, and continued to work full-time while in school. He started a career in insurance after his graduation, and soon entered the mutual funds market and began sponsoring seminars on financial planning.

When he lost all his investments in the 1987 stock market crash, Mr. Singh treated the misfortune as a positive experience. He set new goals that included opening his own business. In 1989, during recessionary times, he opened Fortune Financial Management Inc. His company has grown to 40 offices serving 100,000 clients in eight provinces. In 1994, Fortune Financial Management was named one of the 50 Best Managed Private Companies in Canada.

Recently appointed to the board of governors of George Brown College, Mr. Singh has been speaking to young people about opening new opportunities to themselves. His ambition and belief in himself are qualities truly embodied by Premier's Awards winners.

Health Sciences Award
Cindy Pettersen-Rugsten, graduate of Sir Sandford Fleming College

A graduate of the Nursing Program at Sir Sandford Fleming College, Cindy Rugsten began her career at St. Joseph's Hospital in Peterborough. After two years, she found herself in Kenya in charge of a mission dispensary and responsible for the diagnosis and treatment of all patients in remote regions of the country.

Two years later, she returned to Peterborough, but was then offered a position as a health officer with World Vision International, to work with a famine relief program in Somalia. She supervised two feeding centres with a daily attendance of about 500 people and an immunization program in rural areas. From Somalia, she went to Tanzania, where she treated refugees fleeing the civil war in neighbouring Rwanda in a refugee camp.

Since July 1994, Ms Rugsten has been working in Sudan, supervising the Primary Health Care Program of Yambio County. She trains field staff and promotes community participation in health care. The nature of her work makes it more than a nine-to-five job – it has become her lifestyle.

Cindy Rugsten's commitment to health care in her global community makes her an ideal recipient of the 1995 Premier's Award.

Technology Award
Francis J. Lapointe, graduate of Centennial College

In addition to his diploma in Architectural Technology from Centennial College, Francis Lapointe also holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Laval University and a Master of Architecture from the Technical University of Nova Scotia, where he was the recipient of a number of scholarships.

Since receiving his masters, Mr. Lapointe has worked with native communities in Ontario and Nova Scotia on contemporary aboriginal housing policies and programs and has instructed Native craftspeople on design and construction techniques. While many government programs have improved housing on reserves over the years, the lack of economic activity and the need to import expensive construction materials from distant markets have led to substandard buildings with little aesthetic value.

As part of his master's thesis, Mr. Lapointe developed small diameter timber technology to maximize the use of natural and human resources found on reserves. This technique uses small softwood trees to build low-cost, environmentally-friendly structures. This technique was first applied to the Eskasoni Early Childhood Education Centre in Nova Scotia and Mr. Lapointe supervised phase one of its construction.

Francis Lapointe's contributions to the development of aboriginal communities are qualities representative of Premier's Award winners.

Honourary Award for contributions to the college system
Bruce A.R. Hodgson

Since joining the board of governors of Mohawk College in 1990, Bruce Hodgson has given his knowledge, skill and counsel to many committees, both at the college and system-wide through the Association of Colleges of Applied Arts & Technology of Ontario (ACAATO).

As a college governor, Mr. Hodgson served in almost every area pertaining to college operations, including audit review, strategic planning, program review, operational review and governance. He has also been Mohawk College's representative on committees working with the City of Brantford.

As chairperson of Mohawk's board of governors, Mr. Hodgson was elected chairperson of the council of governors of ACAATO, a position he leaves this year. Mr. Hodgson earned the respect of many members of faculty, staff and administration at Ontario's colleges as he guided the pension plan developed for the college system through some recent major changes.

Bruce Hodgson's dedication to not only Mohawk College, but also Ontario's college system have earned him the honour of being the third recipient of the Premier's Award.