Canada's IT community recognizes its Canadian IT Heroes

TORONTO, May 25 - As part of Canada's IT Week celebrations, the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC), in conjunction with Industry Canada, created the Community IT Hero Award to recognize individuals who have assisted their communities in a significant way through the use or application of information technology (IT).

This awards program had the grassroots objective of getting communities involved in IT Week, by identifying and selecting heroes who have made a significant difference in the lives of people in their communities. The selection committee consisted of people from communities all across Canada.

Award recipients range from teachers and students to businesses and community volunteers. All have contributed countless hours, expertise, knowledge and dedication, in promoting the use of IT. Here follows a list of Canada's IT Heroes:

Innovatia Inc. - Saint John, New Brunswick
For innovation, creating development opportunities, employment and access for the Greater Saint John community via the Living Lab.

Jim Haywood - Principal, Inglis Street Elementary School, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Jim is recognized for setting up a website for the school, promoting interaction between parents and students and upgrading the school's technology.

John Ehinger - Teacher, Agassiz Adult Education Centre, Beausejour, Manitoba
Teacher, mentor, computer lab administrator, community activist, technology trainer

Knowledge Industry Task Force (KITF) - Fredericton, New Brunswick
An important industry organization in New Brunswick. KITF has been effective in increasing the profile of the Greater Fredericton area with an enviable reputation as a key IT cluster or technology boomtown. Attracting business and investment into the community has been a major achievement.

Llyod Roche - Computer consultant, Evergreen School Division, Gimli, Manitoba
The main driver of increased technology and better infrastructure at Evergreen School Division; recipient of the Prime Minister's award and one from Nortel for his innovative work.

Mary Graham - Librarian, Hapnot Collegiate, Flin Flon, Manitoba
For her services to children and young adults and the Hapnot Collegiate web magazine, Error in File.

Linda Cobham - Teacher, M Gerald Teed Elementary School, Saint John, NB
For nearly 20 years, Linda has integrated technology in her teaching and actively helped other teachers to do the same.

Merv Tullock - Teacher/IT coordinator, Rankin Inlet
Teacher, mentor, volunteer of time and knowledge in encouraging the integration of IT in the classroom.

Mike Cummings - Teacher, Grade 6 Inglis Street Elementary School Halifax, NS
For promoting technology and its application in the classroom.

Mike Kusyk - Teacher, Dr. F.W.L Hamilton School, Winnipeg
Developed and expanded the school's website to incorporate better, interactive learning. Projects such as the Spaghetti Bridge Contests were supported by IT tools educating on bridge strength and construction, making for fun, interactive learning experiences.

NB Easter Seals March of Dimes - Fredericton, NB
Delivery agent for the program called Volnet, which puts technology, tech training and Internet use in the hands of volunteer agencies throughout the province.

Norman Lee - Volunteer, Aboriginal Community Cyber Centre, Winnipeg
For donating hundreds of hours of IT expertise to help the Aboriginal community of Winnipeg bridge the digital divide. His efforts have helped improve literacy, skills, access, employment, youth training and self esteem.

Orin Durey - Teacher, Amitnaaq School, Baker Lake, Nunavut
A teacher of Northern Studies, Durey maintains the network and access for the school.

Pam Candlish - webmaster, Kenilworth, Ontario
Author of Not Deaf Enough, Candlish spent two years putting information on www.hardofhearingchildren.com for anyone interested in hard of hearing and moderate hearing loss issues.

Paul Doyle - Teacher, Vincent Massey Collegiate, Winnipeg
For driving every technological initiative at the Collegiate and promoting classroom instruction with the use of technology. Pioneered online course development and one of his students was first prize winner in the Canadian Home Page Olympics.

Richard Korotash - Teacher, Hapnot Collegiate, Flin Flon, Manitoba
The Hapnot Collegiate web magazine, Error in File.

Rudy Nikkel - Teacher, Landmark Collegiate, Landmark, Manitoba
Mentor, computer coordinator, piloted the IMYM multimedia class in the school.

Shelley Rinehart - Electronic Commerce Centre, Saint John, NB
All Rinehart's efforts have the goal of raising awareness of IT in the greater Saint John community. Among the many accomplishments, Rinehart developed the first e-commerce program at UNBSJ, directs the e-comm center, is a speaker and ambassador at IT events and Cyber socials, bringing together the IT community and business.

Stephen Ibaraki - Head of Research, Capilano College, B.C.
Ibaraki has spent his entire career in the IT Industry and worked consistently on the leading edge of technology. He received the World Computer All Star award early on and has continued winning awards since. He could easily ride his talent and expertise to fame and fortune, yet the majority of his time, effort and resources go to his students. An instructor at Capilano College in North Vancouver, Stephen has consistently received the highest teaching evaluation scores. He has also earned the Top Teacher Award. He has freely shared his research with Capilano College, enabling it to become a world leader in technology education.

Throughout his career Stephen has excelled. Yet what is so unique about him is the amount of time and effort he freely gives to help others. Whether it is in the classroom or on a consulting assignment he never misses an opportunity to help others understand how things work in the world of technology.

Tom Copeland - service provider, Cobourg, Ontario
Copeland has been instrumental in bringing Internet service to Northumberland County when large ISPs were not interested in providing rural service. He also established the region's first Community Access Program.

Ability Online - Toronto, Ontario
For empowering young people with special needs, giving them wings via technology.

Anja Haman - President, Wired Woman Society, Vancouver, B.C.
Haman is recognized for leading Wired Woman Society, extending its visibility and providing an environment that effectively allows women to achieve personal and professional success in the industry.

Alan Beilman - ITCoordinator/teacher, Joseph H. Kerr School, Snow Lake, Manitoba
Due to Beilman's contributions, the school and community have progressed from almost no IT resources to being recognized as one of the top 30 most innovative schools in the country by Industry Canada.

APTICA - Atlantic Provinces
Members of this committee are teachers, supervisors, retirees, who have all volunteered their time and resources to improve the Atlantic provinces.

Brian Harvey - webmaster, Nova Scotia Council, Scouts Canada, Nova Scotia
For playing a major community role in demonstrating the potential of IT to get the most out of scarce resources in a volunteer organization serving youth. His volunteer work, using technology, has resulted in the spread of information about the youth service programs of Scouts Canada.

Carol Knock Logan - Halifax Regional School Board Southdale North
Woodside, NS and Craig White - Avalon East School Board, Newfoundland One of the first Intel Teach to the Future Master Teachers, Logan and White have spent many hours in training and passing on their training to other teachers. They have overcome many obstacles including lack of funding for teacher out-of-classroom time, access to remote schools and strikes.

Don Whitty - Mosaic Technologies, Miramichi, NB
Whitty is recognized for establishing and growing the New Brunswick Community College Miramichi Mutlimedia Centre of Excellence. The Centre's programs are designed to train graduates with the technical and business skills necessary to start their own advanced training technologies companies, thereby helping to develop an industry in New Brunswick, and specifically, within the Miramichi community. Whitty is also credited with starting the Miramichi Distributed Learning Centre, establishing partnerships and projects with industry leaders in the field of on-line learning, and contributing to the growth of the industry in the region.

Eel Ground First Nation School
Eel Ground won a silver award in the leadership category of the International cyber fair school competition for learning through web projects. Their students united the school and community through story telling projects with elders. Their work can be seen at www.cyberfair2001.org

Dr. Jane Fritz - Professor and Dean, Faculty of Computer Science, UNB Fredericton Campus, NB
For her extraordinary effort in the pursuit of elevating IT within the province of NB, especially through the establishment of the information systems professional legislation.

Tanis Clayton - Teacher, Frontenac School, Winnipeg
For introducing many students, parents and colleagues to technology. Over the past few years, Clayton has been instrumental in involving students and their parents in a learning-on-line program. Each student in Gr. 5 at Frontenac School gets to take a computer home for three weeks to learn how to use the internet and the computer more effectively. Other projects -- such as technology buddies, pairing up students in Grade 1 and Grade 5; teaching colleagues and students how to do playmation -- animation of plasticine objects with the assistance of a webcam of digicam; or coordinating online studies -- have made learning and teaching fun and practical.

More information pertaining to IT Week and IT Heroes is available at http://itweek.ca. If your organization or community is interested in profiling any of these IT Heroes, we welcome the opportunity that you would provide in giving them more recognition for all their efforts in promoting IT in the community.

ITAC is the voice of the Canadian information technology industry. Together with its partner organizations across the country, the association represents 1300 companies in the computing and telecommunications hardware, software, services, and electronic content sectors. This network of companies accounts for more than 70% of the 512,000 jobs, $116.4 billion in revenue, $4.4 billion in R&D expenditure and $30.8 billion in exports that IT contributes annually to the Canadian economy.

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