This Monday, graduates from Red River College’s Hospitality and Culinary Arts programs will help to serve a trial run of the dinner that will represent Canada at the Culinary Olympics in October.

The grads, now members of the Junior Chefs of Winnipeg, will team up with members of Canada’s Junior National Culinary Team to prepare the seven-course dinner that will hopefully carry Youth Team Canada to the podium at this year’s Culinary Olympics in Erfurt, Germany.

The event takes place Monday, Sept. 10, at Prairie Lights Restaurant on the lower level of RRC’s Notre Dame Campus. Tickets are sold out.

Creative Communications instructor Dan Vadeboncoeur
(Photo: Bernice Pontanilla/Metro Winnipeg)

Creative Communications students from Red River College took to the airwaves this week, to debut an online radio station that allows them to embrace new broadcasting technology.

The newly-launched Red River Radio provides CreComm (and other current RRC) students with production, programming and on-air training opportunities, while filling the void left when former campus station KICK-FM folded earlier this year.

The new streaming station will adhere to a similar format as KICK-FM — offering both news/talk and musical programming — and will continue to serve as a valuable showcase for local folk and indie-rock acts.

“We want to offer our students the chance to have everything they had at KICK-FM,” CreComm instructor Dan Vadeboncoeur (shown above) told Metro Winnipeg this week. “We’ve gone from over the airwaves to the biggest medium in the world.”

Vadeboncoeur and other CreComm instructors are currently fielding pitches from students before settling on a programming schedule. Any current RRC student — regardless of program of study — can pitch an idea for a show.

To listen online, visit radio.rrc.ca. Students interested in hosting a show on Red River Radio can contact Vadeboncoeur at dvadeboncoeur@rrc.ca.

Join us at the Exchange District Campus next Thursday, Sept. 6, as we celebrate the launch of Changing People’s Lives: An Illustrated History of Red River College.

Written by former RRC Dean Dave Williamson, Changing People’s Lives traces the College’s development from a small industrial training centre in the 1930s to one of Canada’s leading institutes of applied learning.

Along the way, Williamson (shown in grey, with RRC Board member Don Robertson) shares stories and photos of the many important people and projects that have driven the College’s growth.

Changing People’s Lives is available now for $34.95 from RRC’s Bookstores, at both the Notre Dame and Exchange District Campuses.

Date: Thu., Sept. 6, 2012
Time: 6pm – 7:30pm
Location: Roblin Centre Atrium, 160 Princess Street

Join the event page on Facebook.

Red River College’s Rebels Athletics program is pleased to welcome the following new recruits to the men’s volleyball team:

Brad Angus – 6’ 4” Outside Hitter
Angus joins Red River after competing in the 2011-2012 season with the University of Winnipeg Wesmen. Prior to joining the Wesmen, he captured a silver medal as a member of the 2011 Western Canada Games team. Angus is a graduate of Dakota Collegiate, where his team was named the 2010 AAAA Provincial Champions.

Zach Duncan – 6’6” Middle/Outside Hitter
Duncan competed in the 2010-2011 season with the University of Manitoba Bisons. Prior to joining the Bisons he was a gold medalist at both the 2010 18U Provincial and National Championships. He was also the co-captain of his Miles MacDonnell Collegiate team that reached the AAAA Provincial Final Four. Duncan was named a Volleyball Manitoba Graduating All-Star, and also selected to the All Manitoba Team in 2009.

Erik Hansen – 6’ 7” Middle
Hansen will be rejoining the Rebels after taking a year off from competition. He was a member of the team from 2008-2011, contributing in 3 undefeated seasons and capturing 3 consecutive MCAC Championships. During this time Hansen was also twice named to the MCAC All-Conference team.

Mitchell Hendry – 5’ 10” Outside Hitter/Libero
Hendry is coming off a very successful 2012 18U club season with the 204 Volleyball Club, where he was coached by Dan Gilbert — also head coach of the Rebels men’s team. He was a gold medalist at the Provincial Championships and a silver medalist at the National Championships. Hendry is a graduate of MBCI, where he helped his team to a AAAA Provincial Final Four appearance.

Kyle Kasdorf – 6’ 5” Middle
Kasdorf was a teammate of Hendry with the 204 Volleyball Club, where he was a gold medalist at the 18U Provincial Championships and a silver medalist at the 18U National Championships. In addition to being named a Volleyball Manitoba Graduating All-Star, Kasdorf also received the Stefan Savoie Memorial Scholarship.

“I’m very excited with our new recruits for the 2012-13 volleyball season,” says Gilbert, noting the team is on the verge of adding two talented and experienced former university players to its roster.

“We will also be using the summer to evaluate a large number of prospective athletes who have expressed an interest in joining our team. I believe all this new talent, combined with our returning veterans, will result in the strongest team in my five seasons coaching with the RRC program.”

Gilbert and members of the men’s volleyball team will hit the court in late August to host skills camps for youth in grade 6-12. Cost of the week-long camps is $120 and registration closes on August 13.

Congratulations to RRC student Tannis CochraneCook (Computer Applications for Business, Peguis-Fisher River Campus), whose efforts to set up a recycling program at Peguis First Nation have earned her a 2012 Spirit of the Earth Award from Manitoba Hydro.

CochraneCook first began advocating for environmentally-safe waste disposal practices while volunteering at the Peguis Landfill site in 2009. (Her motivation was simple: The landfill was located next to her home, and owners were burning materials rather than recycling them.)

She’s since launched a community-wide recycling program at Peguis, for which now serves as Project Coordinator. In just two years, the program has proven so popular that an estimated 25% of businesses and residents on the reserve now recycle on a regular basis. Read More →

Red River College’s Rebels Athletics program will once again help young athletes develop their skills this season, through a series of Summer Sports Camps aimed at youth of all ages.

The camps will run from late July to August, and will be led by experienced RRC coaches and athletes.

Read More →

Students and staff from Red River College marched in the 2012 Pride Winnipeg Parade over the weekend, as a means of showing support for the local LGBTT* community and of celebrating diversity in all walks of life.

A contingent of more than 60 RRC representatives joined the throngs of supporters at the Legislature for an opening rally attended by Manitoba Justice Minister Andrew Swan and parade co-marshals (and longtime local activists) Chris Vogel and Richard North.

From there, they joined the thousands of parade participants — many of them sporting eye-popping costumes and rainbow flags of all sizes — as they made their way through the streets surrounding Memorial Park.

The College’s presence in the parade marked the first time RRC has taken part in Pride Winnipeg festivities. This year’s entry was an extension of RRC’s LGBTT* Initiative, which provides educational opportunities and resources to build communication, understanding and respect for diversity throughout the College.

“Red River College is committed to building a strong relationship with our community, and supports efforts that contribute to a more inclusive and respectful society,” says Nora Sobel, Diversity Initiatives Coordinator at RRC. “We were proud to be participating for the first time in the Pride Winnipeg Parade, where students, instructors, staff, family and friends showed our College’s support for the LGBTT* community!”

(From left): Michael Bernier, Director of Education – CIQS Prairies and NWT; Mark Gardin, CIQS 2nd Vice-President; Nancy Wheatley, Dean of RRC's School of Construction & Engineering Technologies; Dave Burns, President – CIQS Prairies and NWT; Jerry Johnstone, Chair of RRC's Civil Engineering Technology program; Dave Lai, CIQS Education Administrator; and Roger Ward, CIQS Director (at large).

Red River College’s Bachelor of Technology in Construction Management degree program has received its first national accreditation from the Canadian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (CIQS), a self-regulatory body that sets the highest standard for construction economics on Canada.

The Institute represents an estimated 3,000 cost consultants, project managers and construction estimators across the country, and offers two professional designations: Professional Quantity Surveyor (PQS) and Construction Estimator Certified (CEC).

Representatives from CIQS — from Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto and Halifax — joined RRC staff and students Wednesday for a short ceremony marking the new accreditation.

“This program came out of industry consultations that told us industry needs construction managers with technical knowledge and managerial expertise, and that graduates from a program such as this would find jobs,” said Nancy Wheatley, Interim Dean of RRC’s School of Construction & Engineering Technologies. “But they also told us the program must have solid credentials for our graduates.” Read More →

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Red River College is developing a Campus Master Plan to direct future planning and growth relating to sustainability, campus life, learning and relationships with the community.

We’re interested in hearing your ideas and encourage you to let us know what you think by commenting on posts on our Community Forum blog.

Whether you’re a current student, staff, faculty or alumni, we look forward to hearing from you soon!

Armando Galindo (right), with Heather Black, Director of Volunteers and Events for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Winnipeg.

(Originally published on our Going Places blog)

Congratulations go out to Continuing Education student Armando Galinda, who was recently named Outstanding Student of the Year by the Boys and Girls Club of Winnipeg.

A student in RRC’s Youth Recreation Activity Worker program, Galinda served as a volunteer for the Boys and Girls Club before enrolling at the College. He’s continued to work for the organization while pursuing his studies — completing his practicum there (at two different locations) and serving as a special events planner in his off-time.

The Outstanding Student of the Year Award recognizes commitment to the Boys and Girls Club’s vision, community involvement, and dedication to children. Galinda received his award at the Club’s volunteer reception on Thursday, May 10, 2012, where he also picked up the Jacques Nollette Memorial Award for Outstanding Volunteer Leadership. Click here for more information.