Proudly UNB awards: 2007 recipients

In 2005, the UNB Associated Alumni broadened its awards program to recognize more groups and individuals who have made significant contributions to the work of the Association and to the University of New Brunswick. We are proud to present the 2007 recipients.

Alumni Award of Honour

The UNB Associated Alumni’s most prestigious award recognizes truly outstanding service and commitment to UNB and the Associated Alumni. The 2007 recipients are:

Lynn Hruczkowski (BA’82), Edmonton

Originally from Truro, N.S., Lynn was involved in a variety of student activities, and was awarded the Student Union Gold Activity Award upon graduation. She began her career in educational fund raising in 1988 as UNB’s first annual giving officer. In 1993, she became UNB’s first residence life manager. During this period Lynn met and married her husband Tomasz. In 1996, Lynn and Tom left for McMaster University, where Lynn returned to fund raising, Tom enrolled in medical school and — most important — their daughter Hanna was born. Now living in Edmonton, Lynn is currently the associate campaign director, responsible for donor relations and stewardship, for the University of Alberta’s $500-million campaign. Since graduation, Lynn has remained committed to UNB. During her 12 years on Alumni Council, she took on numerous leadership roles, including chair of Homecoming 1995, chair of the reunion review committee, co-chair of the council reorganization committee and chair of the awards committee. In 2002, in honour of her 20th reunion and as life president for the Class of 1982, Lynn made a personal commitment of $10,000 to establish the Class of 1982 Bursary for students in financial need. Most notably, Lynn is the only person in UNB’s history to have directed the Red ‘n Black Revue three times — in 1981, as a student; again in 1989 as a staff member, when she directed the 40th anniversary show, and lastly, as a volunteer in 1996, when she directed the 50th reunion show.

Sally McAllister (BA’72, BEd’73, MEd’05), Fredericton

A teacher at Fredericton High School and the mother of four, Sally was president of the UNB Associated Alumni from 1997-1999. From 1994 to 1997, she held various positions of responsibility with the Associated Alumni, including chair of the finance committee, chair of the student relations committee (the student alumni group, SPARC, Student Pride and Alumni Relations Committee, was created at this time), and chair of the awards committee. From 1999 to 2006, Sally also served as a member of the UNB Board of Governors and sat on the UNB Senate while continuing as a member of Alumni Council. During this time, she was chair of the nominating committee of the Alumni Council. On the Board of Governors, she served on the nominating committee, the public relations committee and the executive committee. As a student, Sally received the Lieutenant-Governor’s Silver Medal for Education and, in 1973, was named UNB’s Female Athlete of the Year. UNB is an important part of Sally’s family tradition — her father, David Coughey (BA’34, BEd’52) was also an Associated Alumni president, and two of her children are graduates of UNB.

Kevin Ratcliff (BBA’82), Montreal

Kevin Ratcliff is a bilingual business executive and lawyer with 23 years of experience in positions of increasing responsibility in the legal and financial services industries. He is currently vice-president, compliance and legal affairs, administration and operations for Canaccord Capital Corporation, Canada’s leading independent full service investment dealer. While a student at UNB, Kevin served as Student Union president, Campus Services Ltd. president, Jones House president, Jones House treasurer, CHSR-FM manager, CHSR-FM business manager, and on the staff of The Brunswickan. He also served as a student representative on the UNB Board of Governors and Senate. Upon graduation, he was awarded a Student Activity Award Gold Ring. After earning law degrees from McGill University in 1986, Kevin continued to be involved with UNB. He served on the Alumni Council from 1994 until 2004. As an alumni representative to the UNB Board of Governors from 2001 to 2004, Kevin was a member of the board’s investments and human resources committees, and chair of the audit committee. He also served the Alumni Council as past president (2001-2003), president (1999-2001), and first vice-president (1997-1999).

Alumni Award of Distinction

This award recognizes the significant contributions made by UNB alumni in their local communities and beyond, for which they have been recognized regionally, nationally, or internationally. The 2007 recipients are:

Dr. Carole Estabrooks (BN’77), Edmonton

Dr. Carole A. Estabrooks is a full professor in the faculty of nursing at the University of Alberta and holds a Canada Research Chair in Knowledge Translation. Dr. Estabrooks is principal investigator of the Knowledge Utilization Studies Program in the faculty, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR). Dr. Estabrooks’ program of research is focused on knowledge translation in nursing and the health sciences. She studies the influence of organizations on the research implementation behavior of health-care providers. She holds a number of research grants from CIHR, AHFMR and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Her most recent grant is a five-year CIHR funded program of research that examines the effect of organizational context on knowledge translation, and the subsequent effect of knowledge translation on resident, provider and system outcomes in long term care facilities in the prairie provinces. Dr. Estabrooks teaches a doctoral level interdisciplinary course in knowledge utilization, and supervises several postdoctoral fellows, and doctoral, masters, and honors undergraduate students.

Andrea (MScF’88) and Ugo (MScF’91), Fredericton

Andrea Feunekes is a founding partner and president of Remsoft Inc., a Fredericton-based provider of software for integrated, spatial forest management. An award-winning entrepreneur, Andrea is responsible for the company’s strategic direction and plays a key role in the day-to-day operation of the business. Ugo is Remsoft’s executive vice-president and chief technology officer, and is a founding partner of Remsoft. Ugo is responsible for Remsoft’s research and development program, and overall product development. He also plays a leading role in the company’s training, start-up service, and maintenance programs. Under Ugo’s direction, the Remsoft Spatial Planning System has become widely-used by resource managers in public and private sector organizations around the world. Ugo is recognized the world over as the leading developer of software for integrated land management using linear programming technologies. Under their leadership, Remsoft has grown from a start-up with a handful of key clients in 1992 to become a leading provider of software and services for sustainable forest management with clients on five continents. The company’s flagship Remsoft Spatial Planning System is used by leading forest product companies, government agencies, consultants, universities and others concerned with responsible stewardship of the world’s forest resources. In 2005 Andrea was honored as the Royal Bank of Canada Entrepreneur of the Year in the Intel Innovation category, and in early 2006 Remsoft was named a Top 5 Performing Company in Atlantic Canada by Atlantic Business Magazine. Additionally, Remsoft has won a number of business awards over the years, including an IT Hero Award from the Information Technology Association of Canada and Export Excellence Award from the Association of Manufacturers and Exporters of Canada. In addition to being active in the Fredericton business community, Andrea and Ugo are volunteers with several local charitable organizations. They have two sons, Eric, 18, and Chris, 16. Eric is currently attending UNB as a student of engineering.

Dr. Siauw Hoi Ng (PhD’70), Edmonton

Dr. Siauw Ng was born and primarily educated in Indonesia. He started his career in 1970 with the Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOCC) as a research engineer. He won four merit awards and prepared some 30 technical reports in 11 years with IOCC. In 1982, he joined CANMET, the Canadian government research arm in energy, metallurgy, and mineral science, in Ottawa, as a research scientist. In 1995, he was transferred to the National Centre for Upgrading Technology, Devon, Alta. For most of the span of his 25-year career in the public service, he has been devoted to oil-sands-oriented research with some 200 peer-reviewed journal articles and reports. He holds several patents and has won a number of major awards, including the CANMET Business Development Award (1992), Anshan Research Institute of Thermo-Energy Scientific Collaboration Award (1994), Federal Partners in Technology Transfer Leadership Award (2005), Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology Research Collaboration Award (2005), Energy Technology and Programs Sector Merit Award (2005), and Natural Resources Canada Departmental Merit Award (2005). His biographical profile has been selected for inclusion in the special edition of Marquis Who’s Who in the World. He currently serves as adjunct professor at BIPT and Hanoi University of Technology (HUT), and as co-supervisor of PhD students at HUT and China University of Petroleum, Beijing, China. He thanks UNB for nourishing his research skill, expertise, and knowledge, which have contributed to his accomplishments.

Young Alumni Achievement Award

This award recognizes those who received a bachelor’s degree within the last 10 years or a graduate degree within the last five years.The 2007 recipients are:

Michael Gallant (BScCE’03, MScCE’06), Charlottetown

Michael Gallant grew up on a farm outside of Charlottetown, playing sports in the fields and building forts in the woods. While attending UNB, he became involved in environmental and social justice issues. He was the president of the UNB Students’ Environmental Society. In 2004, he and Jennifer Dysart, an engineering colleague, co-founded the UNB Chapter of Engineers Without Borders. The chapter has been a resounding success by engaging the Fredericton community through school presentations, and awareness activities such as ‘Beat the crap out of poverty’ and ‘Bridging the Gap’ at the Fredericton Market. The chapter has sent five university students overseas for four months, and two graduates for a year or more, giving them a life-changing experience working in international development in Africa. After graduating with his masters, Michael himself went to Mali, West Africa, to work with Engineers Without Borders on a Malian development project that promotes rural women’s development and poverty alleviation through access to mechanical energy and training programs. He is now working at Golder Associates in Calgary as a junior design engineer.

Kara Hachey (BBA’05, MBA’06), New Maryland, N.B.

Kara Hachey, president of Go-Go Gymnastics, began her business career in Grade 9 when she became involved in the Junior Achievement program. Her passion for business grew, and during her time at UNB, Kara and a classmate became recipients of the $20,000 N.B. Innovation Foundation grant in the university student entrepreneur category for their company, Go-Go Gymnastics Inc. The company became a reality in the spring of 2006. Its success has been immediate, with the company hiring 18 employees and putting more than 2,500 children through the program during its first 12 months. The company is committed to encouraging children to participate in recreational activities in hopes of reducing N.B.’s high obesity rate. Along with being CEO of a successful and ever-expanding business, Kara is also highly involved in her community. She is still active with Junior Achievements Fredericton and currently sits on both its board of directors and board of governors for the Junior Achievements Business Hall of Fame dinner. As well, she sits on the board of directors for New Brunswick’s Duke of Edinburgh program and is the current chair of New Brunswick’s Youth Advisory Council.

Outreach Group of the Year

The recipient group will have made significant contributions to UNB alumni, students, the university or the Associated Alumni during the previous year by holding events, demonstrating growth, and/ or undertaking new initiatives in support of these groups.

The UNB Saint John Alumni Action Team

From left, team members Judy Armstrong, Chris Weir, Mark-Anthony Ashfield, Mary Duffley, UNBSJ alumni program manager, Kim Hughes, David Thorne, Paul Palmer, and Jason Stephen. Missing from photo are members Larry Hachey, Bob Russell, Jason MacLean, and Barry Ogden.

In 2002, the Saint John Alumni Action Team (SJAAT) was established by Alumni Council as a volunteer group to bring a greater focus to serving the alumni of the Saint John campus and to promote and develop alumni activity in the Saint John area for alumni of both campuses. The team selects its own members, holds regular meetings, and works very closely with the Alumni Office. As a result of the efforts of the SJAAT over the past few years, the presence of alumni on campus has strengthened remarkably. During 2006, more than 500 alumni in Saint John attended events/activities co-ordinated by alumni staff and SJAAT volunteers. These activities included alumni movie nights, wine and beer tastings, the annual alumni golf tournament, and the annual holiday open house. In addition to the off-campus events, local alumni have participated in on-campus activities at Convocation as members of the alumni honour guard, participated in professional guidance panel discussions for students, and attended the annual graduating leaders luncheon. The SJAAT continually reassesses its role, particularly as it relates to current UNB students, and in October 2006 met with 20 student leaders to discuss ways in which the association can improve the student experience. The volunteers who sit on the SJAAT do an outstanding job as ambassadors in the community.

Outreach Volunteer of the Year

The recipient has made a significant contribution to advancing the objectives of the Outreach Program, either by being a member of an outreach group or individually.

Steve Fowler (BBA’86-SJ), Saint John

Steve Fowler has a long history of involvement with the UNB Associated Alumni, and particularly with activities that relate to the Saint John campus and its alumni. He has served as a member of the Alumni Council, was president of the Saint John Alumni Chapter, sat on the organizing committee for the UNBSJ Alumni Celebrations in 1994 and 1999, co-chaired UNBSJ’s Celebration 2004, was a member of the Beckett task force on energizing alumni in Saint John, and was a founding member of the Saint John Alumni Action Team. Steve also has remained active in his community. He was chair of the board of directors of Loyalist Days Inc. in 1992, has been an executive member of Hospitality Saint John Inc. since 1999, and since 2005 has held a seat on the Saint John Citizen’s Advisory Board for the Salvation Army. His hobbies include 18th-century military re-enactment and recreational hockey. Professionally, Steve was promotions manager for Market Square Development Ltd. from 1986 to 1987, and was a senior consultant with Morrison Marketing Inc. from 1988 to 2001. Since then, he has been director of sales and marketing for Select Community Funeral Homes Inc. based in Saint John.

• For more photos from the Proudly UNB Awards 2007 dinner, click here.
• For more information on the awards program, click here for a PDF brochure.
• For a nomination form in PDF, click here.