Tuesday, May 24, 2011

MHC News

First Three Entrepreneurs Receive JMH & Co. Gift

After promising in April to provide $250,000 over five years to Medicine Hat College's business program and Entrepreneur Development Centre, JMH & Co. officially awarded the first of those dollars Thursday at crave. Three students each received $2,000 (another $2,000 to follow after they've completed the summer term) toward start-up fees for their new businesses.

Those awarded the money are:
  • Angelica Bonaparte/Kristan Votta - Sugar Strings Swimwear
  • Cody Wheeler - 10-03 Photography
  • Gerrit Kat - Ginger Kid Studio
JMH partners and staff were on hand from Medicine Hat, Brooks and Calgary to see their hard work and donation come to fruition. Jacquie Penner, Division of Business dean, said the "best jobs for our grads are the ones they create themselves."

"This money is going to take my business from a crawl to a running leap forward," said Kat.



Jayson Feyter Places First at Provincial Skills Competition

Second-year plumbing student Jason Feyter placed first at the 19th Annual Provincial Skills Canada Competition May 12 and 13 in Edmonton. Feyter beat out six other competitors from post-secondary institutions across the province for the chance to represent Alberta for plumbing in Quebec City at the Skills Canada National Competition June 2 and 3.

“We are extremely proud of his accomplishments,” said Danny Wilson, coordinator for the Plumbing/Gasfitting programs. “It’s not very often a small institute produces this type of quality.”

Feyter is halfway through his second year of plumbing classes with the Department of Trades at Medicine Hat College. He works for DMT Mechanical in Lethbridge and in four short weeks will be taking his exam to become a third-year apprentice.

The provincial competition involved creating a high-level bridge from a supplied blueprint and parts. Requirements for judging were strict, with measurements having to be precise within 2 mm, and points docked for students needing to use any parts beyond what they were given.

Feyter is hard at work practicing for the national competition. His blueprint of a pump-base fountain was sent to him in advance so he had time to prepare. The Department of Trades and his four instructors – Rob Stroh, Scott Stickel, Dennis Beaudouin and Ryan Schaufele - have supported his efforts, purchasing necessary tools Feyter didn’t already own and providing extra instruction in class.



Update on Northern Lakes College

The following is a summary of an update message from Northern Lakes College president Rick Neidig.

"In Slave Lake, all three of our campus facilities survived the fire (so far). Our main building in Slave Lake remains in the hands of the Emergency Operations group and will remain that way for at least two weeks. Water was restored to our campus for the emergency teams this morning. During the fire the town pump house was destroyed so water was not available at all. A few College employees are back on campus to support the emergency operation.

Our College phones at this site are in operation but on call forward to our High Prairie location. A minimum of 15 employees have lost their homes in the fire. The number may be much higher but until they can get back in to the community it is difficult to tell what the final number will be. There will be students in similar situations. We are in the process of re-establishing contact with both employees and students through various means.

Our Loon River facility was evacuated Sunday evening to Peace River due to the Red Earth fire. Cadotte Lake students were affected by the smoke from the Little Buffalo fire. During all of this three other fires started and caused fear in Driftpile, Faust, and East Prairie; these fires are more or less under control.
So for the moment we are coping okay... We anticipate a much larger problem related to “state of mind” as homeless faculty and students deal with necessities first. Teaching/learning will obviously be much lower down the priority list for many."



Convocation Streaming Live Online

This year’s Convocation ceremonies will take place on Friday, June 3. If you are unable to be at Medicine Hat College for the ceremony, the entire event will stream live online at http://mhc.convocation.tv/. This information will also be shared with graduates, but please feel free to share this web address with students as well as their family and friends so that they have the opportunity to be a part of this special day. There is no charge to view the event online.

The morning ceremony will commence at 10 a.m. MST and the afternoon ceremony begins at 2 p.m.





May Issue of real is Here

The May issue of real is online now and on newsstands around the MHC campus. Stories include a feature on the Conservatory, a profile of alumnus Tony Lacher, and a showcase of Dr. Richard and Deborah Northcott (pictured above), the winners of this year's Honourary Baccalaureate.

Click here to view it online.



Rebuilding the Slave Lake Library

The public library in the Town of Slave Lake was completely destroyed on May 15, as a result of the forest fire. The beautiful new Rotary Club of Slave Lake Public Library had just opened in 2010.

About forty per cent of the town is gone and support for those who lost their homes and possessions is pouring in via the Red Cross and other organizations. Support for the library is also pouring in. Libraries, bookstores, publishers and other library-related organizations have been in touch with Peace Library System to see how they can help the library rebuild. Here’s what you can do:

Donations of new or nearly new books (no more than two years old) can be shipped to Peace Library System headquarters where they will be catalogued, processed and stored until a temporary library opens in Slave Lake. Please ship prepaid to:

Peace Library System
8301 – 110 Street
Grande Prairie, AB T8W 6T2
ATTN: Books for Slave Lake Library
Cash donations can be made by going to the library’s web page at www.slavelakelibrary.ab.ca and clicking on the “Make a Donation” link.

The Slave Lake Library and Peace Library System thank all who make a contribution to rebuilding the library. For additional information, please contact Carol Downing, Assistant Director, at cdowning@peacelibrarysystem.ab.ca.



Sign up for Project 50/50 Winner

Congratulations to Allen VandenBerg, the April winner of Project 50/50. Allen won $255 and the other $255 is going into the Students' Greatest Needs Scholarship.

Stop by College Advancement and drop off your $10 for June's draw. You can also fill out a pledge form at Human Resources for automatic payroll deductions that will make you eligible for the June draw.

Please note, donations to this project are not eligible for charitable tax receipts due to CRA regulations. For a complete list of rules, please visit this page.



NAOSH Week

Thank you to all employees who participated in NAOSH week events. Eighteen walkers enjoyed a pleasant 5K walk in support of the Steps for Life Charity. Keith Walker was the winner of the book "Forget Me Not: Stories of workplace tragedies from the family’s perspective." Your Health and Safety Committee is looking forward to making this a much bigger event next year!



Employee Recognition Banquet

Thanks to HR for another great Employee Recognition Banquet last week. Please take a moment to read the program and pass along your congratulations to these fine employees.



HR’s News You Can Use

The Early Bird gets the Payroll Worm!
Please put a reminder in your office calendars that the payroll submission dates are significantly earlier in May, June, and July. The submission dates to put in your calendar are: Monday, June 20, and Friday, July 15. Time sheets are to be completed as usual (from the 21st to the 20th) and submitted to payroll by 3 p.m. on those dates in order to ensure they are included in the Monthly payroll.



Convocation Volunteers Needed


Medicine Hat College will celebrate Convocation 2011 on Friday, June 3. Ushers, greeters, and student marshalls are needed to make the ceremonies run smoothly. If you are interested in volunteering at the morning, afternoon, or both ceremonies, please send an email Colleen Graham at cgraham@mhc.ab.ca. Please be sure to indicate which ceremony you would prefer to volunteer at. For complete details about Convocation 2011, visit our website page.



Kids Summer Camps

Planning for your summer? Check out the Medicine Hat College Kids Summer Camps!

For more information please click here.



NISOD Newsletter

The May 2011 NISOD newsletter is available here.
*The username is member and the password is nisod2011.*

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