Algonquin College to Honour Accomplished Alumni at Sixth Annual Alumni of Distinction Awards Celebration

Posted on Wednesday, September 7th, 2022

For Immediate Release

OTTAWA (September 7, 2022) – Algonquin College is pleased to announce the recipients of its sixth annual Alumni of Distinction Awards, and the return to an in-person awards celebration. The Alumni of Distinction Awards Night will be held in the Algonquin Commons Theatre on Sept. 29.

The event will officially celebrate 10 Algonquin College alumni for their outstanding professional and community contributions, plus an employer from our campus communities who has empowered our graduates to make a difference.

This year’s honourees have demonstrated remarkable dedication to the well-being of others. They include a Paralympian and accessibility champion, a medical devices inventor, a pioneer for women in trades, a leader in the care of seniors, a constable with strong community involvement, a top fundraiser and radio host, an abilities advocate and long-time volunteer, an industry authority on cybersecurity, a global youth entrepreneurship leader, and a lifelong entrepreneur and philanthropist.

Examples of exceptional accomplishments include inventing a device that helped keep health-care workers safe during the pandemic; winning a bronze medal in Team Curling at the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Games; serving on Ontario’s pandemic Provincial Recovery and Planning Table; founding the National Peace Officers’ Memorial Run to honour fallen officers; and setting up a family foundation to serve the needs of victims of catastrophic events and other important causes.

This year’s Alumni Employer of the Year is a federal government department that has contributed to Algonquin College Cooperative Education in significant ways.

“Our 2022 Alumni of Distinction recipients are community leaders and community builders who exemplify Algonquin College’s mission to transform hopes and dreams into lifelong success,” said Mark Savenkoff, Algonquin College’s Vice President, Advancement and Strategy.

The 2022 Algonquin College Alumni of Distinction are:

  • Apprenticeship Award: Lorrie Potvin – Author, Tradeswoman, Artist, Teacher
  • Business Award: Wendy Beckles – President and CEO, Shepherd Village Inc.
  • Changing Lives Award: Collinda Joseph – Paralympic Bronze Medallist and Manager of Standards Development and Research with Accessibility Standards Canada
  • Community Services Award: Aaron Tompkins – Constable, Smiths Falls Police Service
  • Creative Arts & Design Award: Sam Laprade – Host, The Sam Laprade Show and An Hour to Give, CityNews 101.1 and Fundraising Strategist and Coach
  • Health Sciences Award: Frank Fiorenza – Inventor and Product Development and Vice-President Sales and Marketing, McArthur Medical Sales
  • Recent Graduate Award: Keshana King – A global youth leader and School of Public Service project coordinator
  • Rena Bowen Volunteer of the Year Award: Christina Ranieri – President and Executive Director at Ability First Ottawa
  • Technology Award: John Hewie – National Security Officer, Microsoft Canada
  • Employer of the Year: Canada Revenue Agency
  • Alumna of the Year: David Trick – Former owner of Perth Soap Co. and Trillium Health Care Products, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist

More information on the awards, recipients and the Sept. 29 awards night, including ticket purchases, is available here.

 

For more information:

Bruce Hickey

Communications Manager

Algonquin College

613-727-4723 ext. 2091

hickeyb@algonquincollege.com

 

About Algonquin College

The mission of Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology is to transform hopes and dreams into lifelong success. Algonquin College, an Ontario public sector community college, does this by offering hands-on, digitally connected, experiential learning in more than 185 programs. Based in the Ottawa Valley, Algonquin College is the largest polytechnic institute in Eastern Ontario.


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