NEWS RELEASE
GEORGIAN COLLEGE
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Georgian College’s board of governors recognized an exceptional group of employees, alumni and community partners during the annual Awards of Distinction on May 2.
The awards are considered the college’s highest honour and recognize those who exemplify excellence.
“The board of governors extends heartfelt congratulations and gratitude to each of this year’s recipients for all they’ve achieved in support of the college, our students and the communities we serve,” said Richard C. Gauthier, board chair. “Through various initiatives and projects, they’ve made significant enhancements to Georgian’s teaching, learning and service experience and been outstanding ambassadors. The board is both impressed and inspired by their level of creativity, commitment and compassion.”
Georgian recognized the Joyce Family Foundation with a Community Partner Award. The college and the foundation are united in shared values around transforming the student experience, improving access to education, and removing financial barriers for students. In 2022, the foundation established a $1.5-million endowment in the Health-care Heroes Closer to Home campaign to support bursaries for honours bachelor of science nursing students at Georgian. The college welcomed the first cohort of nursing degree students to the Barrie and Owen Sound campuses in September.
The Joyce Family Foundation’s generous investment will ensure financial hardship doesn’t prevent aspiring nurses from pursuing a degree and help Georgian continue to address the critical talent gap and shortage of nurses that’s affecting health-care delivery and wellness in our campus communities.
Two Georgian graduates received Distinguished Alumni Awards — one granted posthumously.
Const. Morgan Russell, alumnus of Georgian’s law and security program (class of 1988), gave his life serving the community on Oct. 11, 2022. He was a 33-year veteran of the South Simcoe Police Service who chose to stay on the front line past retirement, dedicated to creating lasting community relationships to ensure better outcomes and interactions with police.
Const. Russell served as founding member of the Emergency Response Unit, where he worked for 22 years. He was also a coach officer, sharing his wisdom and experience with new hires, trained crisis negotiator who placed high value on human life and helped to ensure the best possible outcomes, and a member of the recruitment team — conducting interviews and presenting to local colleges, including Georgian.
“Const. Russell represented the best of humanity, demonstrating courage and grace in the face of dangerous situations, connecting personally with everyone he met along the way, listening deeply to others, and constantly looking for ways to improve,” said Kevin Weaver, Georgian president and CEO. “He left an inspiring legacy with considerable influence on Georgian students and alumni who he warmly encouraged and generously shared his experiences with.”
His wife, Marisa, and two daughters, Madeline and Maggie, accepted the award on his behalf.
The second recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award was Kelly Watson, graduate of the business administration program (class of 2012), and current director of global engagement at Georgian. Over the last two years, Kelly’s passion and drive contributed to the successful implementation of the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Safe Isolation Project in Simcoe County.
She partnered with the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit to secure $753,000 in grant funding to help vulnerable students and community members who faced a high-risk contact or positive test result from COVID-19 and didn’t have a safe place to quarantine. Through immense collaborative effort, the program proactively addressed a service gap and supported the safe isolation of 81 students and 77 community members.
Five additional awards were handed out to employees — an Employee Entrepreneurial Award, two Team Awards, and three Awards of Excellence.
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