News

Staff at RRC are feeling a bit healthier and energetic
thanks to the Wellness Committee at the College.

Two weeks ago, the Wellness Committee encouraged staff to take part in the “Take 5 Challenge”, an initiative encouraging staff to take
five minutes each day to enhance their well being.

There were free yoga lessons, “Meet and Greet” events with
various departments, exercise groups run by Recreation Services, plus daily
tips on how to relax and feel good while at work.

At one Meet and Greet, Sara MacArthur, Sustainability
Manager at RRC, hosted an information session on the College’s recycling
program and composting program at the Notre Dame Campus.

• The recycling program started in 1999 and collected paper
  and aluminum
• RRC recycled nearly 500,000 lbs of material last year
• RRC diverts about 300 lbs of organics from the landfill
  daily and sends it to its on-site compost pile

The Civil Engineering Technology (CET) department also
played host to RRC staff wanting to know more about its program area. CET
instructors demonstrated different GPS surveying equipment and let the guests
try it out. They also toured staff through the College’s Centre for Applied
Research in Sustainable Infrastructure (CARSI) located at the Notre Dame
campus. The CARSI building is the first dedicated research lab at a college in
Manitoba. Some interesting facts about CET:

• CET is the second-largest program at RRC with seven
  different program areas and the new Construction Management degree program
• CET trains students to use high-quality GPS equipment that can measure
  to a spot within a centimeter

Besides the information sessions, one of the most popular
activities during the week was the potluck lunch. Departments were encouraged
to host or join a potluck lunch with others at the College. This was the second
time organized potlucks were held at the College this year and they were even
more successful this time around. The event built upon a tradition established
by areas such as Aboriginal Education and ACCESS Programs, who held a potluck
and invited everybody from the College community to join. All around, people
shared a lot of food, laughs and a good time.

RRC Regional Campuses also participated in many of the
activities, which truly made the “Take 5 Challenge” a College-wide initiative.

Upcoming Wellness Committee events include a breakfast and a walkathon to kick-off College Week on Monday, June 7.

The Wellness Committee was established as part of RRC’s
People Plan to help foster and sustain a healthy campus community for students
and employees through the development and implementation of a holistic health
and wellness program that is comprehensive, accessible and affordable.

Innovative and entrepreneurial, John P. Gale made his mark
in the mineral drilling industry before turning his attention to real estate
development.

A native of The Pas, Gale began his career setting up remote telephone systems
in Northern Manitoba after obtaining a Certificate in Radio and TV Servicing
from Keewatin College.

Seeking greater challenges, he moved to Winnipeg to pursue a diploma in
Mechanical Engineering Technology from Red River College. Gale graduated in 1980
and began working in research and development for Midwest Diamond Drilling.

With Gale leading the way, the company revolutionized the industry through the
development of a new bit that was capable of drilling rock at three times the
speed of the technology it replaced.

Gale and three business partners subsequently bought Midwest
in the mid-eighties, forming a new operation called Dimatec Inc. The company
continued to develop innovative drilling products and manufacturing methods by
assembling a strong and capable engineering team coupled with the most current
technology available.

Numerous awards were given to Dimatec as a testament to the strength,
dedication and professionalism of its employees. ISO-9000 Quality Assurance
certification, a "Best in Business" award from Manitoba Business
Magazine and membership in "Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies" were
highlights of a long list of accolades.

Gale decided to semi-retire in 2008 to spend more time on his beloved Lake of
the Woods. But after a few months the entrepreneurial bug bit again with the
opportunity to acquire a significant amount of property from the town's former
largest employer, AbitibiBowater.

Gale has since developed an ambitious plan to transform Kenora into a
world-class tourist and business destination, including the development of
several major new resort and residential properties over the next decade. He
recently sold his ownership interest in Dimatec to help finance the project.

Gale will be presented with the Distinguished Alumni award
at the RRC convocation ceremony at 7:30 pm on June 3rd.

Longtime Red River College partner, Toyota Canada, donated
two vehicles to the automotive programs at the College on Wednesday.

The two vehicles, a Corolla Sport and a Lexus RX350, will be
used as teaching aids for the instructors and will create hands-on learning
opportunities for the students. 

Vince Di Vetta, Area Parts and Service Manager at Toyota
Canada, explained that the vehicle donation is only a small part of the
partnership with Red River College. “From providing scholarships and work
experience opportunities for students to hosting workshops for instructors at
local dealerships, Toyota Canada is committed to the education of automotive
technicians,” says Di Vetta.

Ken Webb, Vice-President, Academic and Research at Red River
College, says partnerships with industry are important to provide students with
the best training possible.

“Donations of vehicles and equipment are crucial to the
continued success of automotive programs at the College,” says Webb. “Giving
students the opportunity to work on actual vehicles helps prepare them for
their careers after graduation.” 

The next generation of TV news anchors and weather reporters
were honing their skills at Red River College last week as part of the
RRC/Manitoba Moose Respond to Reading program.

A grade five classroom from Niji Mahkwa School won the TV
broadcast field trip through the Respond to Reading program and got to
experience what life is like inside a TV studio. Students took turns reading
the news from behind the news desk and doing the weather in front of a green
screen while their classmates watched on televisions throughout the studio.

Now in its tenth year, the Respond to Reading program is designed to encourage students in kindergarten to grade five to get into reading in a fun, motivational way.

Last week, a grade four class from Ecole Noel Ritchot shut
their textbooks, put on chef’s hats and made some delicious food at Red River
College.

The culinary experience came as part of a prize for being
selected as one of the winning classrooms in the RRC/Manitoba Moose Respond to
Reading program. The program, now in its tenth year, is designed to be a fun,
motivational way to encourage children in kindergarten to grade five to read.

RRC Culinary Arts students and instructors helped the 30
grade four students make personal pizzas and decorate cookies. Afterwards, the
kids had a pizza party in the cafeteria before getting a tour of the campus.

Second-year Creative Communications students at Red River College are
showing off their Independent Professional Projects (IPP) at the Park Theatre
from March 10 to March 12.

The IPP is a self-directed course that Creative Communications students
are required to take in their second year. Here’s how it works:

1. Students come up with an idea for a project and
   present it to a panel of instructors. Projects generally fall into one of four
   different categories: creative, promotional, documentary or research-based.
2.  Once approved, students spend the next year
   completing it.
3.  After the project is complete, students market
   their work through the appropriate channels.

During the free, three-day IPP Presentations event, over 60 students
will be making 10-minute presentations about their work to peers, industry and
the general public. Projects being presented include novels, documentaries and events, just to name a few.

Take a look at the IPP Presentations program to see a full listing of students and
the projects they are presenting.

A member of Red River College’s Executive Committee is
already feeling the spirit of the 2010 Winter Olympics, a month before the
actual games.

David Rew, Vice-President of Student Services and Planning,
was asked by Coca-Cola to be an Olympic torchbearer because he represents
staff, faculty and student interests through his work at the College.

“When you’re asked, it’s one of those things that you think
won’t happen. When [the Vancouver Organizing Committee] called me, I was quite
surprised,” says Rew.

An avid runner, Rew carried the Olympic torch on Thursday,
January 7, for 300 metres in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba.

He says his favourite Olympic sports are bobsledding at the
Winter Games and marathon running at the Summer Games.

With the Olympics back in Canada, Rew says that not only are
the 2010 Games good for Canada’s economy, but they also bring out the best in Canadian
pride.

“It’s fantastic. Whenever we’ve hosted the Olympics, whether
it was the Winter Games in Calgary or the Summer Olympics in Montreal, it does
a lot for the country.”

The 2010 Winter Olympic Games kick off in Vancouver, British
Columbia, on February 12.

When the Olympic torch passed through Winkler on January 7,
2010, students at the Red River College Winkler Campus got into the spirit
and participated in one of their own traditions — an annual hockey game.

This year’s installment was titled “The Torch Relay Hockey
Game” to commemorate the Olympic torch coming through Winkler.

The boot hockey game, which pits the staff, Dental Assisting
and Applied Counseling students against the Business Administration students,
is held on the campus parking lot and is a thee-year tradition for the staff
and students.

 “It’s a
friendly competition that gets the staff and students together,” says Isabel
Bright, Regional Manager for the RRC Winkler Campus.

This year, the all-girls team faced off against the mixed
Business Administration team, but despite having more players, the girl’s team
lost.

“It’s just for fun, but the business students don’t like to
lose,“ says Bright, joking about her team’s loss. “It’s only because the boys
played like boys that we lost.”

Some Red River College Creative Communications students got to hone their skills in practicing hard hitting journalism, landing some of their final pieces in Winnipeg’s most read local newspaper.

Second-year Journalism students embarked on a Freedom of Information project back in September 2009, which consisted of them filing a formal information request, receiving the information, and making a story out of it. The requests covered a variety of topics, from 311 wait times, to the Manitoba tuition tax rebate to the number of times Winnipeg Police Service members discharged their firearms.

The project, which took the students to the beginning of December to complete, was featured in the Saturday, January 9, 2010 edition of the Winnipeg Free Press both in print and online, where some of the articles were published.