A trio of Red River College grads have teamed up to launch a new company that’s poised to become the leading distributor of specialty foods in Central Canada.

Chris Boreski (Business Administration, 2004), Wayne Doerksen (Red Seal Chef, 2001), and Brennan Taniguchi (Business Administration, 2010) are the driving forces behind World Wise Distribution, a new Winnipeg-based company that was launched to meet the growing demand among retailers and restaurants for natural, organic, gluten-free, kosher, vegan, locally-grown and other specialty food products.

“It’s a great feeling to see the amazing reaction from our wholesale customers when they see our wide assortment of products,” says Boreski, operations manager at World Wide Distribution. “They know they can purchase them here — from a local company.”

Since most distributors are based in Toronto or Vancouver, local retailers are usually forced to purchase specialty items from out-of-province.

“Shipping dollars outside (of Manitoba) is no longer necessary,” says Doerksen, a former chef and self-described product guru who saw the market need for a local distributor specializing in locally-grown products.

“Our business model is based on fast delivery and local expertise — something that was really lacking in the marketplace, when the closest specialty natural foods distributor was based in Toronto.” Read More →

Red River College grad Scott Brown (Creative Communications, 1998), has been named Manitoba Communicator of the Year by the provincial chapter of the Canadian Public Relations Society.

Brown, Senior Director of Corporate Communications for True North Sports & Entertainment, will receive the award at a special luncheon on March 27, 2012, at the Hotel Fort Garry.

Though he’s been with True North since 2004, Brown recently found himself at the centre of the biggest local news story of 2011 — the triumphant return of the Winnipeg Jets. He and his communications team (which includes fellow CreComm grads Kalen Qually and Christina Caligiuri) played a crucial role in both the high-profile announcement and the ensuing strategic rollout, which covered everything from the new logo to uniforms, team name to ticket purchases.

“There’s no question that a great deal of rehearsal, planning, strategizing and thought had to happen behind the scenes,” said Siobhan Kari, president of CPRS Manitoba. “The media attention on the return of the Jets was enormous — locally, nationally and internationally — and the pressures to meet all requests must have been daunting. Yet it was all handled professionally.”

CPRS Manitoba received two separate nominations to acknowledge Brown with the award, which honours individuals or organizations that have demonstrated excellence in public communications.

“It was indeed a tremendous challenge to bring the NHL back to Manitoba’s passionate hockey fans, not only on the communications front, but in all areas,” Brown said. “We have been overwhelmed by the public’s support of the team and the organization, from the ‘Drive to 13,000’ to the unveiling of the logo and jersey, to the vocal presence at not only every home game, but games away from the MTS Centre, as well. The return of the NHL has truly been a community success.”

It’s been a whirlwind couple of months for Red River College grad Lisanne Pajot (Creative Communications, 2003), whose debut documentary Indie Game: the Movie won the World Cinema Documentary Best Editing Prize at last month’s Sundance Film Festival in Utah.

Directed and produced by Pajot and James Swirsky (shown above), the film chronicles the world of independent video game developers, and has drawn rave reviews from critics across North America since it bowed at the Park City fest in January.

Even in its infancy, the film received strong support from the online community. After launching the project in May 2010, Pajot and Swirsky appealed to fans online via a pre-order campaign that helped raise production capital. They met their initial goal in just 48 hours, and in June 2011 again reached out to fans to help offset post-production costs. Their second goal was met in just 24 hours.

“We cannot tell you how much this means to us and how completely and utterly our minds are blown,” the duo wrote on their website following the Sundance win.

“The festival’s belief in this little film has very much changed our lives. It’s been amazing, hugely educational and most importantly, endlessly inspiring.

Pajot and Swirsky recently announced plans to tour the film through the U.S., via a series of in-person screenings in 15 American cities. (Earlier this month, they debuted the film for Winnipeg audiences at two back-to-back sold-out screenings.) Read More →

But if you want to find work at CGA Manitoba — the self-regulatory body responsible for 2,000 CGAs and almost as many students in this province — there are other avenues open besides a straight business background.

For proof, look no further than the above trio of Red River College grads, who followed divergent career paths on their way to the Donald Street employer: Bruce Granke (Business Administration, 1982), Director, Professional Regulations; Marni Russell (Business/Technology Teacher Education, 1999), Manager, Communications; and Zachary Minuk (Creative Communications, 2008), Coordinator of Marketing and Communications.

Of the three, Granke was the first to pass through RRC’s doors, having seen the College’s Business Admin stream as a good gateway to the CGA program.

“I thought for me it was going to be a terrific learning environment, and I thought from an educational point of view it would be a very hands-on, practical education,” says Granke, whose roles in professional regulations — and communications and recruitment — help ensure the CGA Association’s membership is properly qualified, and held to a code of professional, academic and moral standards.

Granke worked in the private sector after graduating, and says he benefitted as a student from the program’s Entrepreneurship Project, in which teams spend nine months building a model company from the ground up.

“It was a great example that I found out afterwards was a very realistic exercise,” says Granke, noting some of the companies that arose from the project are still in existence. “Those are the types of skills and tools that were a huge help to me going into the workforce and into the CGA program.” Read More →

Having grown up in northern Manitoba, Winnie Giesbrecht knows first-hand just how hard it can be for people living in remote communities to access quality health care.

A 1972 graduate of Red River College’s Licensed Practical Nursing program, Giesbrecht has made it her life’s mission to serve those in need of medical care — overcoming many professional and personal challenges along the way.

Originally from Grand Rapids, Giesbrecht moved to southern Manitoba as a teenager to go to high school, but moved back to her hometown soon after when she got married and settled down to raise a family.

Tragically, Giesbrecht’s husband died, leaving her as the sole provider for her three young children. She relocated to Selkirk to be closer to family, and eventually completed high school while working to support her family. Upon earning her high school diploma, she enrolled in the LPN program at RRC.

“While I was taking my GED in Selkirk, we went on a tour of Red River College and at the time, they had just started the LPN program, and it drew an interest for me. I had always had a desire to work with people and in the medical field before,” said Giesbrecht. “I knew I had to do something to create a better life for my sons and provide for them the best I could, and the only way to do that was to get an education.”

Giesbrecht went to school during the day and worked at a local restaurant in the evenings and weekends to support her family, and graduated from the LPN program in 1972. She was quickly hired on at Selkirk General Hospital, but continued her studies while working at the hospital to earn a Registered Nursing Diploma, and her hard work and sacrifice hasn’t gone unnoticed by her children

“It wasn’t easy for mom to work to pay the bills, study, and look after us,” said Giesbrecht’s son, Reg Fredborg. “But she persevered and made it.” Read More →

Jessica Saunders says the key to her job is being a good listener, non-judgmental and non-biased.

Saunders is a child and youth care practitioner for Macdonald Youth Services in Winnipeg, a United Way member organization that “fosters hope and opportunities to empower children, youth and families throughout Manitoba.” MYS has over 700 employees and served over 6,200 youth in 2008-2009. Saunders is based at one of its many group homes and works with six boys aged 13-18.

“I thought it was going to be scary but it’s not,” she says. “It surprised me that the kids can still be happy after all of the things that happened to them. They can still laugh and have fun.”

Saunders graduated from high school in 2007. She went to university for one year and then took a year off to decide what she wanted to do. Saunders knew an instructor at Red River College who told her about its Child and Youth Care program.

“I looked up the course, read about it and knew I wanted to do it.”

Saunders enrolled in the program in 2009. At the time she knew she wanted to help kids but had no idea what type of job she wanted.

“If I hadn’t gone to Red River College, I probably wouldn’t have known about working at a group home,” she explains. Read More →

Red River College continues to take a lead role in providing management and leadership education to the health sector in Manitoba, through the delivery of its Health Service Management (HSM) program.

In October 2011, a class of 32 students — all of them employees of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority — successfully completed the program, making for a total of more than 200 HSM graduates over the last 10 years.

The program’s success rate demonstrates the College’s continued commitment to leadership in the health service field, and to providing health sector employees with the knowledge and theory to become effective, proactive managers.

“They are acquiring relevant and applied skills and knowledge relating to management and leadership in health services,” says Jo-Anne Shay, Program Director of RRC’s School of Continuing and Distance Education. “It’s a very applied focus, so these are skills that have been identified by the Canadian College of Health Leaders. That is the foundation of this program.”

The HSM program is open to anyone, but is tailor-made for those already employed in management positions or those aspiring to career advancement within the health sector. The WRHA has built its capacity over the years by sponsoring many of its own employees’ as students, and much of the program’s success can be attributed to the participation of key health care professionals who serve as guest lecturers on a regular basis. Read More →

In the world of marketing and branding, it helps to have a strong connection to your subject matter, since much of your job revolves around helping people create emotional ties of their own.

That’s certainly the case with Red River College alum Kyle Romaniuk, who as president of creative agency Cocoon Branding oversaw the recent rebrand of long-running children’s charity The Rainbow Society, now known as The Dream Factory.

Romaniuk, who graduated from RRC’s Graphic Design program in 1996, has been serving on the charity’s board since 2009. But his connection runs much deeper than that.

After being diagnosed with cancer at the age of 12, Romaniuk was on the receiving end of his own dream come true — a chance to swim with dolphins, made possible by The Rainbow Society. He sees his current work with the newly-revamped organization as a way to give back to a particularly worthy cause.

“My whole family was encouraged to participate in my ‘dream’ … so for my parents and my sister, I know it’s one of the highlights of their lives, as well as mine,” says Romaniuk, whose dream took him to the Dolphin Resource Center in the Florida Keys (the same place where TV’s Flipper was trained).

“It was during one of the most difficult times of our lives — while we were all trying to deal with the cancer of a child, which is hard enough on a kid, never mind how hard it would be on a parent. So it was an opportunity we all got to experience together, get our minds off the illness and treatments, and just escape in the dream.” Read More →

Impressions of Grant Maluga can be deceiving, particularly if your first meeting takes place on a football field. Six feet tall and broadly built, Maluga might come off as an intimidating presence. But nothing could be further from the truth.

“People might look at me and think I’m immature or tough or troubled,” he says. “But on in the inside, I’m soft as a teddy bear.”

Maluga moved to Winnipeg this past autumn to join the Winnipeg Rifles as a defensive lineman while taking Biindigen College Studies at Red River College. Biindigen (Ojibwe for “welcome”) combines introductory college programs with Aboriginal culture, language and history courses. Maluga says he feels at home.

“Everyone in Biindigen is friendly… you get a lot of one-on-one attention there,” he says. “A teacher the other day told me, ‘You’re more of a friend than a student.’”

Some people might be surprised at the momentum in Maluga’s life, considering the hurdles he’s had to overcome. When he was eight, his mother left the family home in Brandon; he hasn’t seen her since. He’s also had to cope with his Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

“Once I was in Grade 6, I realized I had ADHD. The stories I was told about when I was younger, you can hear the ADHD in them.”

Maluga took medication, but the pills either failed to curb his behavioural problems or turned him into – in his words – “a zombie.” Arguments with his father were frequent.

“I could tell I was going downhill,” he says.

In high school, however, another option presented itself. A teacher at his school suggested football. Read More →

The return of the Winnipeg Jets is the feel-good story of the year. But here at Red River College, we’ve got a different reason to be proud.

The Jets’ entire communications team — responsible for coordinating the May 2011 announcement that turned much of the city’s downtown into a giant victory party — is comprised entirely of graduates of our industry-renowned Creative Communications program.

Even better, the head of the department has for years enjoyed a close working relationship with the program, which he feels provides grads with relevant, real-world training.

“I’ve relied heavily on CreComm, not only for staffing resources in terms of graduating students, but also production resources from the College’s communications and multimedia programs,” says 1998 graduate Scott Brown, now the Senior Director of Corporate Communications for the Jets, the MTS Centre, and True North Sports & Entertainment.

“What the College is doing right now in terms of training is really in tune with what’s going on in the media industry … No amount of training can ever prepare you for what actually happens in the day-to-day of your job, particularly in the sports and entertainment industry. But I know the (CreComm) grads coming in are prepared to learn, and prepared to apply the tools they’ve been taught in a very flexible manner.”

Brown, who upon graduating spent six years as the late-night and weekend sports anchor for CTV Winnipeg, is supported in his current duties by Communications Coordinators Kalen Qually and Christina Caligiuri — both fellow CreComm grads. Together, they’re responsible for all communications on behalf of True North, MTS Centre, and the Jets, including printed publications, media relations, press releases and press conferences. Read More →