A Red River College student with a distinguished military record has again turned his attention to a different form of service — by launching a foundation to raise scholarship money for students with developmental disabilities.

Andrew McLean, a former Warrant Officer who retired from the Canadian Forces last summer after 22 years of service, recently donated $25,000 of his own money to start the Canadian Torch Foundation — which will provide its first $1,000 CTF Award to an RRC student next year.

The award is available annually to a full-time student with a developmental disability (physical, mental or documented learning disability, or visual or hearing impairment), who’s studying one of the following RRC programs: Child and Youth Care, Disability and Community Support, Early Childhood Education or Early Childhood Education Workplace.

McLean’s goal is to eventually raise $2.5 million in funding for similar post-secondary scholarships at 10 colleges and universities, and to complement them with annual grants for rehabilitation efforts benefitting children and youth across Canada.

He’s hoping the scholarships will help to foster students’ potential, regardless of the obstacles they might face.

“There’s a difference between someone’s performance and their potential,” says McLean, a former search and rescue technician who’s currently in his first year of RRC’s Disability and Community Support program. “A lot of people try to achieve performance, but potential is what really makes a difference. That’s what affects change — fostering people’s ability to be the best person they can be, or to achieve a more fulfilling life.” Read More →

As a participant for the last 15 years, Red River College grad Sean Grassie brings a unique perspective to his time with the MCA Bonspiel, the biggest and longest-running curling competition in the world.

So it’s no surprise Grassie, a 2009 Creative Communications grad, and skip of both the 1999 Manitoba junior champion and 2009 Canadian Mixed champion teams, has put all that inside info to good use via a new book chronicling the Bonspiel’s 125-year history.

Kings of the Rings was completed as the major project for Grassie’s final year of CreComm, and is the result of more than 100 interviews and untold hours spent poring through the Winnipeg Free Press archives. The book was published by Great Plains Publications, with an initial print run of 3,000, though given the level of curling’s popularity in Manitoba — not to mention the Bonspiel’s pending 125th anniversary — Grassie might soon need a second run.

First launched in 1887, the Bonspiel has become a cultural institution in Winnipeg — and remains unparalleled in sport as an event where amateurs might find themselves competing against world champions.

“It’s unlike any other bonspiel you’ll see in the world,” Grassie told the Winnipeg Free Press. “Most bonspiels feature either the really elite teams of the next tier, but the MCA is that rare event that brings together the whole fabric of the curling community — from the world champions to the once-a-week curlers. That’s what attracts me.”

Grassie himself came within one game of winning the entire bonspiel last year — skipping his team all the way to the finals before losing in the last game to a team from Wisconsin.

The long drive to class turned out to be worth it for Steinbach Campus student Carmina Dueck, who last week won a Literacy Partners of Manitoba (LPM) scholarship recognizing success in adult learners.

Dueck, who completed the Health Care Aide program through Steinbach’s Adult Learning Centre, was awarded an Eastman Region LPM Learner Scholarship at a Nov. 20 ceremony celebrating Literacy Partners’ 25^th anniversary.

Despite the 100-kilometre drive to campus, Dueck completed her Health Care Aide certificate on a part-time basis, received her mature high school diploma in June 2012, and is currently registered for RRC’s Bachelor of Nursing degree program.

She detailed her RRC experience in the most recent issue of LPM’s Write ON magazine.

“My horizons were broadened. My eyes were opened. My mind was expanded,” she writes.

“I felt vulnerable as I experienced worry about grades, frustration over assignments, and a pounding heart as exams were handed back. But everything was balanced out with joy, accomplishments, and higher levels. I persisted in my academic journey and won.”

Shown: Carmina Dueck (right) with Holly Banner, President of Literacy Partners of Manitoba

When I was asked to attend Red River College’s 2012 Alumni Dinner — and act as a student ambassador on behalf of the Creative Communications program — three thoughts danced around in my head.

First, I was thankful because it meant I had a legitimate reason to go shopping and find a pretty dress. Second, I figured based on the ticket price alone, I was bound to receive a complimentary fancy dinner. And third, I thought the event was a valuable networking opportunity to chat with professionals in my desired industry.

When I entered The Fairmont Winnipeg on Nov. 16, the evening of the gala, I remember being taken aback by the sheer number of guests waiting patiently to check their table number. Thinking back now, I don’t know why I was so surprised – after all, our College will be turning 75 years old next year.

Aside from the well-dressed crowd, delicious meal, beautiful venue and exquisite décor — the 2012 Alumni Dinner proved to be much more.

The Dinner was a celebration and appreciation of the many grads that contribute to the success and growth of our college. When I looked across the dozens of tables that seated approximately 500 guests, I felt moved knowing each and every one of those guests had a special connection with my College.

During the evening, such speakers as Wayne Morsky, master of ceremonies and 2011 Distinguished Alumni recipient, and Stephanie Forsyth, President & CEO of RRC, commented on how the College has evolved over the years. As a current student fortunate enough to go to school everyday in Winnipeg’s Exchange District, it was humbling to hear stories about our history.

Those stories brought me back to a week prior, when a very generous host and his beautiful wife invited 16 current RRC students — myself included — to join them for dinner. Read More →

Congratulations to RRC alum Östen Rice (Culinary Arts, 2001), of Wasabi Sabi restaurant, on his recent win at the Gold Medal Plates competition in Winnipeg.

Rice was awarded top honours at the event, which took place Oct. 26 at the Winnipeg Convention Centre. As it does every year, the event celebrates the best in local cuisine, pitting the city’s premiere chefs against each other in a bid for a spot at the Canadian Culinary Championships.

Rice’s gold medal-worthy entry was a thrilling mix of sweet and sour, comprised of beet-cured butterfish, marinated sea asparagus, taro crisp and tobiko roe, and a slaw of julienned Fuki apple, golden beet and shiso leaf.

Food critic James Chatto, one of the judges at the event, described it thusly: “(Rice’s) dish had a personal narrative, inspired by the gravlax his Scandinavian grandmother used to cure, but given a Japanese twist to reflect the style of his restaurant.”

Rice shared the podium with fellow chefs Michael Schafer (Sydney’s at The Forks, bronze) and Jamie Snow (Amici at Niakwa). Also in attendance at the event were Senior Judge Jeff Gill, Culinary Instructor at RRC, fellow judge and RRC alum (and winner of last year’s gold medal) Michael Dacquisto, and RRC alum Adam Donnelly, who competed on behalf of his Segovia Tapas Bar and Restaurant.

Having won at the Winnipeg event, Rice now moves on to the Canadian Culinary Championships, which take place Feb. 8 and 9 in Kelowna, B.C.

Shown above: RRC alum Östen Rice (centre) along with Amici’s Jamie Snow (left) and Sydney’s at the Forks’ Michael Schafer (right), on the winner’s podium of this year’s Gold Medal Plates culinary competition.

Congratulations to Red River College alumna Jamie Isfeld (Digital Media Design, 2007), on being named Broadcaster of Tomorrow by the Broadcasters Association of Manitoba.

Isfeld, who currently works as a web producer for CTV Winnipeg, picked up the award during a reception that followed the Association’s annual fall meeting last weekend.

The award honours “future stars” who have been employed in the broadcasting industry for between two to five years. In addition to her work with CTV Winnipeg, Isfeld also does freelance work in web development and new media designs, and maintains blogs on new media topics and her artwork.

Click here to see Isfeld’s website, and here for more information on RRC’s Digital Media Design program.

He’s built a local business into a national retailer, cultivated a passionate base of customers through a tireless focus on service, and devoted himself to revitalizing his community and helping dozens of young people pursue their own career dreams.

That’s why Red River College is proud to name entrepreneur and philanthropist Bob Tallman as the 2012 recipient of our Distinguished Alumni Award.

Bob Tallman joined the family business, Princess Auto Ltd, in the mid-seventies, shortly after graduating from RRC with a diploma in Business Administration.

“I was the first in my family to be attending a post-secondary school,” he says. ”Our life had been focused around the family business, and I wanted to know something about business in general before I began working there on a full time basis.”

The investment in education paid off, as Bob and his brother Larry grew the small Winnipeg-based firm into a nationwide retail operation through the late-seventies and the eighties. Bob Tallman became the sole owner and CEO of Princess Auto in 1989.

Today, he oversees a network of 34 retail stores with over 1,800 staff specializing in industrial, garage and surplus items. The company prides itself on its diverse product assortment, boasting its one of the few places in the world where you can purchase a gas powered air compressor and an HDMI cable in the same building.

But it’s Princess Auto’s commitment to providing exceptional customer service that has earned it a cult-like following among shoppers, which is something Bob says was inspired by his time at RRC.

“I learned through my experiences at Red River College that a business ultimately is about the people who work in the business, the roles they play and most importantly, how they interact as a team,” he says. “It is probably the greatest lesson I learned at RRC, and has driven much of my strategy in building Princess Auto.” Read More →

For much of the last decade, he’s sailed the high seas. But this summer, Red River College alum Cameron Dueck is hitting the highway in search of his latest adventure.

Earlier this month, Dueck embarked on a 25,000-km motorcycle tour from Manitoba to South America, during which he’ll explore the state of modern Mennonite culture. He’s already been commissioned to write a book on the topic; in the interim, he’s documenting his travels on Facebook.

A 1996 graduate of RRC’s Creative Communications program, Dueck got his first taste of the globetrotter’s life while working as a financial reporter stationed in Chicago, New York, Singapore and Hong Kong.

He’s since taken a series of extended hiatuses to indulge his passion for the sailor’s life, touring through Asia and the Middle East, dodging pirates off the coast of Yemen, and sailing through sand storms in the Red Sea before crossing the Atlantic Ocean via St Helena.

Dueck’s recently-released book and film, The New Northwest Passage, details his voyage through Canada’s Arctic — marrying a story of grand adventure with reportage on climate change, and on the political and economic challenges faced by members of the region’s Inuit communities.

Click here to learn more about Dueck, and here to learn more about his travels through the Northwest Passage.

It’s a high-stakes field requiring a delicate balance of mental dexterity and mechanical know-how. But for aircraft maintenance engineer (AME) Chevy Peters, the work is quite literally in his blood.

“My grandfather and my father are both engineers, so it’s kind of the family business,” says Peters, now an instructor for RRC’s Aircraft Maintenance Journeyperson (AMJ) program. “There’s a lineage there — I’m a third generation AME, and I’m pretty proud of that.”

Peters’ grandfather worked on helicopters in British Columbia (and later, as an instructor at B.C.I.T.), while his father served as an AME before becoming a pilot with Air Canada. In fact, both his grandfather and his father had pilots’ licenses, so Peters logged his share of hours working in and around planes as a kid.

“For a while I was thinking I’d be a pilot, but I found out I enjoyed fixing planes more than flying them,” says Peters. “I’ve always been mechanically inclined, and I actually got started by helping out with inspections, then trading that (work) for flying time. I found out I loved fixing stuff, and that was where my true calling was.”

Having originally enrolled in the Business Administration program at RRC — an experience he found useful, but not quite a perfect fit — Peters returned to take part in the first-ever offering of the College’s Aircraft Maintenance Engineer Diploma program.

He found his second go-round at RRC to be even more rewarding than the first, praising the equipment and facilities at the Stevenson Campus, the expertise of the instructors, and the ample opportunities for team-building with classmates.

After graduating, took a job with Buffalo Airways in Yellowknife — “If you’ve seen the TV show Ice Pilots NWT, that was my job,” he quips — working first on engine buildups, before moving on to a post with Great Slave Helicopters shortly afterward. Read More →