Proudly UNB awards: 2008 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 2008 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 2008 recipients are:

John Bliss (BScCE’55) and Dorothy McDade (BSc’57), Fredericton

John Bliss was born Feb. 13, 1933, in Montreal. His family moved to Fredericton, the original home of both his parents, in late 1933. While attending UNB, he held a Beaverbrook Scholarship. After graduation, he was employed briefly with the provincial government, then joined the Canada Cement Co. and spent a year and a half in Moncton and four years in Toronto. He moved to Woodstock, Ont., as a consulting engineer for about two years and then to nearby Stratford for two years with a contractor. Returning to Fredericton in 1965, John spent 14 years with ADI Ltd. and in 1979 took the job as city engineer with the City of Fredericton, retiring in February 1998. Recently the City of Fredericton named their new $8.1-million water treatment plant in his honour. He served as a member of Fredericton City Council for two years, from 1971-1973, and served for several years on the executive of the Fredericton branch of the Association of Professional Engineers of New Brunswick (APENB).

His community work has included several years on the board and executive of the Fredericton Area United Way, serving as campaign chairman in 1977 and as president in 1979. John sat for several years as a board member of the YMCA endowment fund, and has participated in YMCA capital campaigns and the Chalmers Hospital Foundation cat-scanner campaign. His hobbies in the past have included flying and scuba diving, but more recently he sticks to sailing and cross-country skiing. He has been a long-time strong supporter of UNB and currently serves as chair of the Beaverbrook Scholars award committee.

As life president of the UNB Class of 1955, John has helped organize and participated in a number of reunions. He was elected a fellow of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering in 1995. John married Dr. Dorothy McDade in 1971, and they live in a Charlotte Street home that has been in the Bliss family since 1912.

Dr. Dorothy McDade was Born Oct. 7, 1935, in New Market, N.B., the youngest of 11 children. She moved to Fredericton in 1944 and attended St. Dunstan’s School, Fredericton High School and UNB, graduating in 1957 with a bachelor of science, honours. She graduated from Wayne State University in 1959 with master of science in medical technology, then from the University of Western Ontario in 1964 with doctor of medicine. Dr. McDade then interned in Montreal, and did a residency in internal medicine from 1964 to 1969. After obtaining a fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, she returned to Fredericton and practised internal medicine from 1969 to 2004 as a member of the Fredericton Medical Clinic, the Victoria Public Hospital and the Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital (DECH). In 1992, Dr. McDade was awarded the Dr. Garfield Moffatt Medal for exceptional standards as a practising physician in New Brunswick. She was also a member of the York-Sunbury-Queens Medical Society and has taught at Dalhousie University. She was also four-time chair of the department of medicine at the DECH. In 1993, Dr. McDade was appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council to the Board of Governors of UNB.

She served on the properties committee and joint board senate residence committee during her board term from 1993-99. She has also been active in organizing alumni functions and reunions, as well as hosting alumni functions in her home. She is an active member of the UNB Associated Alumnae. John and Dorothy have been constant philanthropists for local causes and organizations, supporting recreational works such as the YM-YWCA and Fredericton Indoor Pool, the United Way, cultural activities through support to The Playhouse, and education in the form of major donations to UNB.

David Ganong (BBA’65), St. Stephen, N.B.

David Ganong is chairman of the world-renowned candymaker Ganong Bros., Limited, based in St. Stephen, N.B. Born in St. Stephen on Sept. 14, 1943, he is married and has three children. While attending UNB, he was a resident of Neil House, serving as house president. He received the Outstanding Business Student Award upon graduation, and was business manager of the Red ’n’ Black Revue. He then earned his MBA from the University of Western Ontario in 1970 before joining the family business. David has a long record of engagement in corporate and community organizations. He currently is a director of Ganong Bros.; director, Canadian Council of Chief Executive Officers; director, Sun Life Financial; member, North American Competitiveness Council; member, Governor General’s Canadian Leadership Conference; and member, Board of Governors, UNB.

He also is the past chair of the UNB board, and was a member of the UNB’s Forging Our Futures campaign cabinet. He received the BBA Achievement Award from UNB Fredericton’s faculty of business administration in 1989 and was the recipient of the 2002 Gulf of Maine Visionary Award, which recognizes innovation, creativity and commitment to marine protection of the Gulf of Maine. In 2003 and again in 2008, he was named one of Atlantic Canada’s Top 50 CEOs by Atlantic Business Magazine. Also in 2003, he received an honorary membership in the UNB Saint John chapter of the Golden Key International Honour Society. He was named to the Order of Canada in 2005, and in 2007, David was inducted into the Junior Achievement New Brunswick Business Hall of Fame as Laureate. David and his wife Diane, along with Ganong Bros., Limited, have been generous supporters of UNB over the years.

David Le Blanc (BBA’82), Ottawa

David Le Blanc has a continuing record of involvement with UNB as both a student and an alumnus since the day he started at the university in 1977. He began his volunteer activities as a member of the Neill House committee, later serving as Neill’s social chairman. His other student activities included the intramural sports program, the Orientation Committee and the Winter Carnival committee. He served as the business manager for The Brunswickan for a year and as the business rep for the SRC for a term. In 1982, he was elected secretary\treasurer for the Life Executive of the Class of 1982, and was awarded the Gold Activity Ring. After leaving UNB in 1982, David moved back to Ottawa, where he still lives. He was been working for Statistics Canada since 1985, and currently serves as a network administrator. He attended his first UNB chapter event in Ottawa in November 1985, and started volunteering with the UNB Club of Ottawa in 1986.

In the intervening years, he has served as the club treasurer, and as president for five years. During his third year as president, he was elected to the Associated Alumni Council, eventually serving on that body for more than 10 years. While on council, David served on the awards and member services committee, and on a number of ad hoc committees examining such programs as reunions, young alumni, and the alumni survey. Outside of his involvement with the Associated Alumni and other community organizations, David has been active for years with a number of soccer clubs as a head coach for his two sons Christopher, born in 1985, and Jonathon, born in 1990. David says receiving recognition through the Proudly UNB Awards “is truly an honour. Thank you to all those I have worked with in the past, and to those I will meet and work with in the future. Thank you to the awards committee and the Alumni Council for allowing me to join a group of wonderful alumni who have volunteered their time to help UNB to become the great university that it is.”

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 2008 recipients are:

Peter Bessey (BBA’86), Halifax

Peter C. Bessey of Halifax is senior vice-president, Scotiabank, retail and small business banking, Atlantic Region. While attending UNB, Peter played an active role in the Business Society and the Student Representative Council. He joined Scotiabank in 1986, where he has held a series of progressively more senior management positions, including two branch manager's postings and two senior commercial banking appointments. In July 2008, Peter and his wife Mary Jane moved to Halifax, where he accepted his current assignment.

Peter is a past director of the Saint John and Fredericton Chambers of Commerce, past president of the Kiwanis Club of Fredericton, past president of the Bridgewater Chamber of Commerce, past president of the New Brunswick Chamber of Commerce, past director of the Atlantic Provinces Chamber of Commerce, and has served on the boards of a number of economic development agencies. In 2003 he was awarded the Queen’s Jubilee Medal in recognition of his contributions to the growth and development of business in New Brunswick through his involvement in the Chamber of Commerce movement. In May of 2005, Peter was selected as one of the Top 50 CEOs in Atlantic Canada, by Atlantic Business Magazine. Peter and Mary Jane have two children, Christopher, who is a recent pharmacy graduate from Dalhousie University, and Alex, who is a fourth-year business administration and honours economics student at UNB Fredericton.

Jennifer Flanagan (BSc’96), Ottawa

Jennifer Flanagan has devoted her career to making science and technology come to life for young people. As president and CEO of Actua, a national charitable organization based in Ottawa, Jennifer co-ordinates a network of 29 member organizations that annually engage more than 250,000 youth in every province and territory in Canada. Together, these groups deliver science and technology education programs via camps, classroom workshops, clubs, and community outreach. Under Jennifer’s leadership over the past 10 years, Actua has established a niche in engaging youth who are typically underrepresented and underserved in science and technology, including girls, Aboriginals, underprivileged youth, and youth living in remote communities. Prior to co-founding Actua in 1997, Jennifer was the New Brunswick provincial director of the Innovators in the Schools program, where she created a province-wide science club for girls.

Jennifer’s interest in developing youth science and technology programs was sparked in 1993 while attending UNB, when she became involved in their summer science and engineering program for children (Worlds UNBound). She also holds a masters in management and leadership from McGill University in Montreal. Jennifer’s interest in youth education and leadership extends to her volunteer activities, as a member of the boards of Power Camp National, the Science and Technology Awareness Network and the International Network of Women Engineers and Scientists, where she led a global youth engagement strategy. For both her work and Actua’s, Jennifer has won numerous awards. Jennifer lives in Ottawa with her husband Michael Plamondon, an industrial designer who owns a design studio, Origin Studios. She and Michael welcomed their first child in September 2008.

Denise LaForge (BScME’88), Calgary

Denise LaForge is a prominent bilingual Alberta business executive with 20 years of management experience in the oil and gas industry. She has co-founded and actively participated in the start up of several companies in Calgary. As an accomplished corporate strategist, she serves on boards of private companies where her investment and mentorship interests lie. Originally from Edmundston, N.B., Denise also holds a masters in business administration from the University of Calgary. Most recently, she co-founded and was the first board chairperson of Tarpon Energy Services Ltd, an Alberta-based company that provides a broad range of integrated products and services to energy producers in Western Canada and other industry sectors abroad. Tarpon, which employs more than 1,500 people, has just been ranked the second-fastest-growing company in Alberta, and, for the second year in a row, has been named to the list of best-managed companies in Canada.

Today, Denise actively supports charitable organizations that are close to her heart. Over the last four years, Denise has been engaged on the advisory board of Impact Society, a charitable organization specializing in strength-based character development programs in youths. Denise has helped raised in excess of a million dollars and has personally donated in excess of $100,000 to help the program expand to rural Alberta. In addition, she has recently donated $100,000 to UNB’s Richard J. CURRIE CENTER. Her unwavering personal commitment to “making a difference” will enable the Alberta Alumni Recreation Center to have advanced facilities for exercise and fitness. Recently, Denise accomplished her personal goal of completing Ironman Canada 2008. She truly understands what it takes to succeed in all aspects of life. And her simple message to all is “If I can do it, so can you!”

Dr. Gordon Porter (BA'70, BEd'72, LLD'89), Woodstock, N.B.

Gordon Porter is a consultant, trainer, researcher and teacher. He was instrumental in developing an inclusive approach to education in schools in New Brunswick, a program recognized as an example of good practice by UNESCO and the OECD. He retired in 2006 as a professor of education at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. Dr. Porter is director of inclusive education initiatives with the Canadian Association for Community Living and is active in supporting inclusive education in Canada. He is also serving a five-year term as chair of the N.B. Human Rights Commission and has initiated strategies to address human rights and achieving inclusive education in New Brunswick and Canada. In 2005, Dr. Porter completed seven years as the president of Inclusion InterAmericana, a regional federation of national associations advocating for individuals with intellectual disabilities. He has been a visiting fellow at the New Zealand Institute on Mental Retardation, a consultant to inclusive education initiatives in Austria, The Bahamas, Panama, South Africa, Portugal and several countries in French West Africa.

In 2007 the Canadian Education Association named Dr. Porter the recipient of The Whitworth Award for Education Research, which honours an individual who has made a noteworthy contribution to educational research in Canada. The award supports leadership in the identification of emerging issues and promotes innovative and collaborative research approaches. The award recognizes Dr. Porter’s substantial contribution nationally and internationally at both a conceptual level (by broadening and redefining our understanding of disability and inclusive education) and a practical level. Using in-class participatory research (now called ‘appreciative inquiry’), he developed training programs for principals, teachers and parents, resulting in an extensive set of research and professional development materials on building inclusive classrooms.

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 2008 recipients are:

Sean Dowling (BScME’02), North York, Ont.

After graduating from UNB, Sean entered the University of Toronto in aerospace engineering at the Institute of Aerospace Studies, from which he graduated two years later with a master’s degree. Since then he has worked with MacDonald Dettweiller Associates (MDA), and, as a result of his work there, he recently was awarded the NASA Space Flight Awareness Award. Sean has had a distinguished career as an engineer at MDA. He has worked since 2004 in the Space Missions division, working on Canada’s contribution to the International Space Station (ISS), the mobile servicing system, which comprises the mobile base station, space station remote manipulator system (or “CanadArm 2”) and, most recently, the special purpose dextrous manipulator (SPDM or Dextre).

Dextre’s primary role is to carry out delicate maintenance and servicing tasks on the ISS, including installing and removing on-orbit replaceable units; operating robotic tools; and providing power and data connectivity to payloads. Dextre is controlled by the ISS crew and performs a great many of the tasks that would otherwise require an astronaut to perform on spacewalks. Sean was award the NASA honour as a result of his work with Dextre. Sean credits his success to “very supportive parents, a lot of motorcycles that did not work, and a father with a life-long interest in all things air and space related.” He still maintains an avid interest in motorcycles, as well as travelling. All his immediate family members are UNB alumni. He is engaged to Melissa Martin, a firefighter with the City of Saint John.

Dr. Kate Rogers (BA’99), Grand Bay-Westfield, N.B.

Kate Rogers of Grand Bay-Westfield, N.B., has spent her adult life working for the betterment of humankind, specifically in Kenya and Sierra Leone. From November 2007 until the present day, Kate has worked with the World Bank as program co-ordinator of Justice for the Poor in Sierra Leone. Before taking that position, Dr. Rogers working in New York for 23 months to prepare and launch State of the World’s Children, UNICEF’s flagship publication. After completing her graduate degree work at the University of Oxford, Kate tutored masters and PhD students in advanced social science research methodologies, African history and politics and gender studies with Oxford’s department of international development, coupled with working in the African Studies Centre as administrator and personal assistant to the Rhodes Chair of Race Relations.

As a program associate with Africa Peace Forum, Kate researched the design of an early warning system for the Great Lakes region of sub-Saharan Africa, and managed a research program on the illicit arms trade in East Africa. Working as an independent consultant in Kenya, she worked on projects related to municipal sanitation and institutional strengthening. During this time she also worked as a volunteer program associate, monitoring and analysing political violence as part of the elections monitoring unit during the 2002 national elections in Kenya. While at UNB, Kate filled her spare time in second year with reporting for The Brunswickan and serving as social issues commissioner. She worked as a peer mentor and on the orientation committee through second, third and fourth years. Kate assumed the role of Student Union vice-president (student services) in third year and served as Student Union president in her fourth year. After graduation, she spent the summer as a researcher and assistant to the president of UNB.

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 Toronto Alumni Group

The UNB Alumni Toronto Chapter encourages alumni of all decades to participate in a variety of social networking events, which are held throughout the year. With more than 3,000 alumni currently living and working in the Greater Toronto Area, the chapter helps old friends to connect and foster new friendships at casual pub socials, guest speaker events and the annually anticipated East Coast Reception. The UNB Alumni Toronto Chapter also participates at the annual UNB Humber Nursing Graduation Ceremony and Reception to welcome the new graduates to our UNB alumni family.

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.

Fred Welling (BScCE'71, MScCE'73), Ottawa

A native of Shediac Cape, N.B., Fred Welling attended UNB on a Lord Beaverbrook Undergraduate scholarship, studying in both the bachelor’s and master’s programs in the transportation program established by Dr. Frank Wilson and Dr. Albert Stevens. After graduation, he went on to a 33-year career with the federal government, serving in various engineering roles with Transport Canada, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, and Public Works Canada and Government Services Canada before his retirement in October 2005.

He is a past member of the Association of Professional Engineers of New Brunswick and the International Institute of Transportation Engineers, and a current member of the Professional Engineers of Ontario. Fred has been married to Christine Gillette-Welling for 28 years. He and Christine enjoy travelling, and their stops have included Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Caribbean, Mexico, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and France. Fred also enjoys playing sports, including softball, tennis, golf, downhill skiing and curling.  Fred has been a volunteer with the UNB Club of Ottawa for a number of years, and is the co-chair of the annual Ottawa Alumni Golf Tournament. He also has been a consistent donor to UNB over the past 20 years.

• For more photos from the Proudly UNB Awards 2008 dinner, click here.
• For more information on the awards program, click here for a PDF brochure.
• For a nomination form in PDF, click here.