Next Toronto Alum Meeting, June 8th

Everyone is invited to drop by a meet some other alum before the summer starts to make those Sunday afternoons even more precious.

We are starting at my house (Browning, near Broadview & Danforth) at 3 pm and then heading down to The Pantheon Restaurant on the Danforth for another Greek dinner.

Leave a comment or drop an email if you need directions.

If you are interested in being a contributing author to this blog, please leave a comment and we will be in touch!

Great Dinner with Fringe Benefits

Hey - great Thai food, nes pas?



Simply Thai turned out to be a great venue. I hope everyone had a good time?



The conversations ranged from the Tibetian protests of the Beijing Olympics, to Mount stories stretching over several decades, to the personal stories of greeting life (death in the family, challenges of parenting) and career. Very much worth the investment of time and energy.



There was an immediate authenticy and trust. For me, seeing Crista Renner again after about 20 years was a blast. We talked like it was more like a few months since seeing each other.



She was riding high on a work experience from her day that was great intelligence for me. Her company, http://www.juiceinc.ca/ released a white paper in the morning and had a great response. The content is good stuff. Get "The Five Drivers of Engagement: The Role of Emotional Motivators in Employee Performance" here. And make sure you forward the link to all of your friends.



Since, I am getting ready to release a paper regarding the changes that broadband communications have introduced into how corporate value is created and defended, the behind the scenes info of how they crafted the paper based upon a book by one of her partners, raise awareness about it and distribute it is all great insight that she was able to share.



Thanks again to all that could make it out.





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Reminder: Dinner tonight! Are you coming?

Here are the details:

Simply Thai Cuisine, 2253 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON, M6S1N8

Time: 6:30 pm.

On the map it looks like it is just East of Jane St. on Bloor St. W (at the foot of Beresford Ave.).

Reconfirms and interest over the last few weeks have not matched up. So at the moment I don't know who is coming for sure. See you there?

If you are interested in being a contributing author to this blog, please leave a comment and we will be in touch!

Crista Renner, gets connected

Hey folks, here is the skinny on Crista Renner ...

Crista is driven to help others realize and pursue their gifting, and find the professional balance that rewards them in all areas of their lives. Currently, she strives to maintain that balance as “mom” to three young children, and “partner” at Juice Inc., a company born the same month as her youngest son in April ’03.

Juice was built on the premise that better conversations create stronger relationships. Within a corporate environment, that means better performance and more engaged people. Crista oversees the company’s marketing strategies and develops and executes client communication strategies. She has a comprehensive understanding of what it takes to build momentum in a new business by attracting the people who are in need of your service, and comfortable with your style.

Crista brings almost 20 years of marketing experience working in a small-business setting. She has been a part of four start-up companies, including her own marketing company, One Fish Two Fish, which she started in 2000. As a “builder” she readily admits she loves the excitement in getting a new business off the ground, and grows a little weary of the maintenance after it’s flying.

Her past also includes marketing and program development with Guelph-based Eagle’s Flight , speechwriting at Queen’s Park, and selling computers in the eighties when a twenty-meg hard-drive was a big deal.

As part of her balancing act, Crista likes to demonstrate to her children, the value of volunteer work. She spends time as a hospice volunteer with bereaved parents, she has served on numerous boards at Guelph General Hospital, she is on the St. Michael’s Parent Council, and she currently serves as Past President of the Grand Valley Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC).

Crista studied Public Relations at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax and she is a graduate of the Corporate Communication Program at Centennial College in Toronto, Ontario. As of August, she plans to return to school and study Social Justice at Royal Roads in Victoria, BC.

If you are interested in being a contributing author to this blog, please leave a comment and we will be in touch!

Dinner, West End, Thurs., Apr. 17th at 6:30 pm. Final Confirmation pls.

And the votes are in ... we are heading to Bloor West Village for dinner on Thursday.

Click this link for details on the location (map, etc):

Simply Thai Cuisine, 2253 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON, M6S1N8

I am a little worried about the place. I have never been there.

I thought that the West enders would either endorse or recommend an alternative.

If someone is in the area over the next day or two, please check it out, there is still time to change venues.

Please leave a comment on the blog or email mail me to give me a final estimate of how many are coming.




If you are interested in being a contributing author to this blog, please leave a comment and we will be in touch!

Apr. 6, MSVU Toronto Alum Meeting ReCap

Attendance:

1. Stefanie Pavlin
2. Arlene Steger
3. Shirley Forde
4. Brenda Joergensen
5. Lilly Chan
6. Marie Ann Skomorowski
7. Michael Cayley
8. Jean McNeil
9. Terri Malcolm
10. Fatima De Rosa

President Shirley Ford opened with a prayer and welcomed us all to the meeting.

Shirley collected $200.00 for our Christmas Charity and she put in a personal contribution from her own funds to top up the donation. Thanks to Shirley for your great generosity to this special fund for relief for those in the Phillipines who are in need of the basics of food and housing after the floods of 2007.

Michael sent emails and automated phone calls with voice mail to almost 700 Alumnae asking them to get in touch. The effort got several more alum reconnected and a week after the calls went out, we still had responses trickling in.

Jake York is the first Alumnae from the Mount to be gives the Rhodes Scholar. Jake is off to Oxford University to continue with Science Research. This is the first Rhodes Scholar in the history of the Mount. Jake was recently congratulated in the Nova Scotia Legislature. You can read the Hansard notes here.

The Student Union of the Mount has pledged $275,000.00 to the Capital Campaign.

This meeting was our annual Bring, Bid and Buy. Brenda was the auctioneer and we realized $134.00 from the sales of a variety of interesting things.

We are planning to collaborate with the alumni associations of other Halifax based school to organize a wine tasting event in October.

Next Meeting: Sunday, June 8, 2008 at the home of Michael. The meeting will be at 3:00 PM and dinner following meeting at The Pantheon on the Danforth

Notes prepared by: Brenda Joergensen

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Dinner in East End?

You have a few days left to cast your vote. Right now we have four votes for the East end.

If you are interested in being a contributing author to this blog, please leave a comment and we will be in touch!

Dinner, Thursday, Apr. 17 at 6:30 pm

Ok, Let's try Thursday, Apr. 17th for dinner. I have picked out three locations to vote on:

Simply Thai Cuisine, 2253 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON, M6S1N8

Korean Grill House, 214 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON, M5V1Z2

Sher-E-Punjab Restaurant, 351 Danforth Avenue, Toronto, ON, M4K1N7

If you are open to more than one location vote for more than one, if you want to suggest a different location, start time or kind of food, please leave a comment on the blog.


If you are interested in being a contributing author to this blog, please leave a comment and we will be in touch!