From left: Vida Reader (2012 Conference Committee Co-Chair, PMI Manitoba), Debbie Wilgosh (President, PMI Manitoba), Kirk Johnson (Program Manager, IT and Professional Studies, RRC), and RRC grad Scott Hinkson.

Red River College alum Scott Hinkson has been honoured by RRC and PMI Manitoba, having received a $1,000 student achievement award at the organization’s annual conference last week.

Hinkson, who earned his Project Management certificate through RRC’s School of Continuing and Distance Education in November 2011, works as a project manager for the Western Canada Lottery Corporation. But he’s also well-known in certain local circles as an acclaimed singer and songwriter.

“Every year, we ask all of the Project Management instructors to nominate a student for this award based on a combination of academics and attitude,” says Kirk Johnson, RRC’s Program Manager, I.T. and Professional Studies. “This year, the clear winner was more than just a good student — he’s actually an all-out rock star!” Read More →

Wayne Doerksen, Business Development Manager; Brennan Taniguchi, Logistics Manager; and Chris Boreski, Operations Manager at World Wise Distribution.

A trio of Red River College grads have teamed up to launch a new company that could soon become the leading distributor of specialty foods in Central Canada.

Chris Boreski (Business Administration, 2004), Wayne Doerksen (Red Seal Chef, 2001), and Brennan Taniguchi (Business Administration, 2010) are the driving forces behind World Wise Distribution, a new Winnipeg-based company that was launched to meet the growing demand among retailers and restaurants for natural, organic, gluten-free, kosher, vegan, locally-grown and other specialty food products.

“It’s a great feeling to see the amazing reaction from our wholesale customers when they see our wide assortment of products,” says Boreski, operations manager at World Wise Distribution. “They know they can purchase them here — from a local company.”

Read More →

Red River College grad Scott Brown (Creative Communications, 1998), has been named Manitoba Communicator of the Year by the provincial chapter of the Canadian Public Relations Society.

Brown, Senior Director of Corporate Communications for True North Sports & Entertainment, will receive the award at a special luncheon on March 27, 2012, at the Hotel Fort Garry.

Though he’s been with True North since 2004, Brown recently found himself at the centre of the biggest local news story of 2011 — the triumphant return of the Winnipeg Jets. He and his communications team (which includes fellow CreComm grads Kalen Qually and Christina Caligiuri) played a crucial role in both the high-profile announcement and the ensuing strategic rollout, which covered everything from the new logo to uniforms, team name to ticket purchases.

“There’s no question that a great deal of rehearsal, planning, strategizing and thought had to happen behind the scenes,” said Siobhan Kari, president of CPRS Manitoba. “The media attention on the return of the Jets was enormous — locally, nationally and internationally — and the pressures to meet all requests must have been daunting. Yet it was all handled professionally.”

CPRS Manitoba received two separate nominations to acknowledge Brown with the award, which honours individuals or organizations that have demonstrated excellence in public communications.

“It was indeed a tremendous challenge to bring the NHL back to Manitoba’s passionate hockey fans, not only on the communications front, but in all areas,” Brown said. “We have been overwhelmed by the public’s support of the team and the organization, from the ‘Drive to 13,000’ to the unveiling of the logo and jersey, to the vocal presence at not only every home game, but games away from the MTS Centre, as well. The return of the NHL has truly been a community success.”

Click here for more information on the Creative Communications program at RRC.

It’s been a whirlwind two months for Red River College grad Lisanne Pajot (Creative Communications, 2003), whose debut documentary Indie Game: the Movie won the World Cinema Documentary Best Editing Prize at last month’s Sundance Film Festival in Utah.

Directed and produced by Pajot and James Swirsky (shown above), the film chronicles the world of independent video game developers, and has drawn rave reviews from critics across North America since it bowed at the Park City fest in January. Read More →

RRC business students will have a valuable opportunity to rub elbows with leaders from Manitoba’s business community at Red River College’s 2012 Directions Business Conference.

Approximately 600 people, including past RRC alumni, are expected to attend this year’s event, which will be held on February 1 at Canad Inns Polo Park.

Read More →

A group of first-year Creative Communications students at Red River College recently put their writing talents to work, highlighting the achievements of RRC graduates. The volunteer effort — which was a collaborative project coordinated by journalism instructor Duncan McMonagle and the College Relations department at RRC — provided the budding writers with an opportunity to gain valuable hands-on experience and exposure for their talents.

Each participating CreComm student was assigned an RRC grad to profile, and asked to emulate the style and format of the articles featured in the College’s “Going Places” blog. The blog is regularly used to showcase the accomplishments of RRC alumni who’ve achieved success in their chosen fields, after studying at Red River College.

Click below to read the RRC alumni profiles produced by the following Creative Communication students:

• Alana Odegard wrote a profile on Jessica Saunders (Child and Youth Care, 2011)
• Amanda Thorsteinsson wrote a profile on Dan Dupuis (Aircraft Maintenance Engineer, 2008)
• Cindy Chan wrote a profile on Leilani Esteban (Child and Youth Care, 2007)
• Katherine Dow wrote a profile on Ellen Barron (Aircraft Maintenance Engineer, 2005)
• Matthew TenBruggencate wrote a profile on Grant Maluga (Biindigen College Studies)

Congratulations to Red River College alum Michael Dacquisto (Culinary Arts, 1996), who took top prize at last night’s Gold Medal Plates gala at the Winnipeg Convention Centre.

The annual event, held in partnerhsip with the Canadian Olympic Committee, marks the ultimate celebration of Canadian excellence in food, wine, athletic achievement and entertainment.

Dacquisto, head chef at the Kenaston Avenue restaurant of the same name, faced stiff competition from a number of the city’s premier chefs, among them fellow RRC grads Cameron Huley (12 Resto Bar), Adam Donnelly (Segovia Tapas Bar), Terry Gereta (Mise, Haute Prairie Cuisine), and Osten Rice (Wasabi Sabi).

Huley (Commercial Cooking, 1997; Apprenticeship Cooking, 1999) won the event’s silver medal, while bronze went to Sydney’s at the Forks chef Michael Schafer. Having won the gold medal, Dacquisto now moves on to the Canadian Culinary Championships in Kelowna, B.C., in February, where he’ll compete against chefs from all over the country.

The 2011 Alumni Dinner is right around the corner. The annual gala event, which provides an excellent opportunity for Red River College grads to reconnect with old friends and their alma mater, is taking place on Friday, November 18 at the Fairmont Winnipeg (One Lombard Place). Read More →

Staff and graduates of RRC's Youth Recreation Activity Worker program were joined by community leaders and local dignitaries earlier this month, to celebrate the program's 10th year of making a difference in the lives of inner city youth.

The program — which prepares young adults (aged 18 to 29) to work with inner city youth by providing healthy recreational activities — was launched in 2001, in response to a need for trained staff to facilitate drop-in programming at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Winnipeg.

Building on existing materials from RRC's Child and Youth Care program, a new 10-month certificate program was created to train young adults as recreational leaders.

Students involved with the program — all of whom face multiple barriers themselves — study such topics as child and youth care, psychology and first aid. Many go on to find employment with Boys and Girls Clubs and other inner city youth agencies, and as childhood educators and teacher's aides.

Read More →

As part of their efforts to make composite manufacturing more economical, an instructor and a grad from RRC's Mechanical Engineering Technology program have developed a new means of making dissolvable mandrels and patterns, otherwise known as "rapid prototype composite tooling (RPCT)."

Composite manufacturing currently has substantial overhead costs, partly due to the expense of tooling.

"To produce these tools, one typically requires expensive machines that are also very slow and costly to operate," says Leon Fainstein, the instructor who led the development of the new RPCT. "By contrast, RPCT involves only one affordable machine — a 3D printer."

The 3D printer will print virtually any shape of dissolvable mandrels and patterns in about four to eight hours, and even print multiple mandrels or patterns at once.

"Manufacturers require permanent composite molds for short production runs. RPCT can make them with dissolvable patterns," says Serge Broeska (shown, above), the program grad who's now working as a Research Technologist at RRC's Centre for Applied Research in Sustainable Infrastructure  (CARSI). "These composite molds can be very complex, have smooth surfaces, and are comparable to metal molds, with the exception that they are much less expensive."

While there are other methods of making dissolvable mandrels and patterns, RPCT is the only method whereby dissolvable mandrels and patterns can be made directly from CAD files.

"With the progressive development of RPCT, the possibilities for composite design and manufacturing are becoming endless," says Broeska.

To learn more about this breakthrough, read Broeska's article here.

Click here for more information about RRC's Mechanical Engineering Technology program.