Distinguished Alumni Awards 2011

The Distinguished Alumni Awards program honours individuals who have graduated from a Fanshawe College program and who have used their skills to improve themselves, their career field, their community, and their world. They are passionate about their interests and innovative in their actions, earning a high level of respect from their peer group of co-workers, industry associates and clients.

Distinguished Alumni often have an entrepreneurial spirit, acting as change agents, mentors or pioneers within the organizations they work for, or in the ventures that they start themselves. They exhibit a high level of personal and professional integrity within their career field and in their support of community and social issues that are close to their hearts. The Distinguished Alumni Awards were first presented by Fanshawe College in 1992.

Recipients of the award are presented with a sterling silver Alumni pin. The Alumni logo was designed by a graduate of the Fanshawe College Graphic Design program. The pins are hand crafted by Walt Jeschenig, a past member of the Board of Directors of Fanshawe College Alumni Association.

We are very pleased to honour our Distinguished Alumni for the year 2011. They have earned this recognition and we take great pride in their success.

Category: Community Service
(Law and Security Administration 95)

In Grade 8, Tim Berthiaume buried a time capsule along with his schoolmates and his prediction was that he would become a police officer. Just over 10 years later, that dream came true when he was hired as a young cadet in his own hometown. It was all he ever wanted to do - to serve and protect the people he grew up with in Amherstburg, Ontario.

Tim soon moved from cadet to uniformed Police Constable, and 11 years later, he made Sergeant. Four years in that role and he moved up to Staff Sergeant. Then in early 2010, he took on the additional duties of Deputy Chief, with plans in place to succeed the current Chief when he would retire. When that happened within the year, Tim Berthiaume became one of the youngest Chiefs of Police in any municipality across Canada.

The path to this dream job has been one of service and a commitment to life-long learning. He completed dozens of training programs over the years, including earning a Masters Certificate in Municipal Management in 2009. Fanshawe College was the first important step however when he attended from 1983 to 1985. He returned to take his last credit from Fanshawe 10 years later officially earning his diploma.

Over the years, his hometown has grown up in many ways. Despite being a border town to the USA, which is just across the water, Statistics Canada has listed Amherstburg as the 6th safest community in all of Canada. The Police Services takes obvious pride in its role which makes this possible.

Today as Chief of Police, Tim’s main duties are administrative, but he continues to be present as an active community leader. For more than 20 years he has been a Knights of Columbus member, and he was also a key organizer and volunteer of an athletic club which serves the needs of adults with intellectual disabilities.

Category: Health Sciences
(Physical Fitness Instructor 86)

Through completing two incredible 100 kilometre runs, Theresa Carriere turned her passion for fitness and health into more than $380,000 in charitable giving. While everyone else sees her as hugely inspirational, she remains humble, happy, and blessed to be healthy. She is a mother, wife, coach, and fitness trainer first, a cancer survivor next, and a proud and accomplished athlete from her Fanshawe College days.

In June 2010, her one-day 100 km run from London to Sarnia raised more than $180,000 in support of breast cancer research. In June 2011, she increased her base by inspiring thousands of young people in more than 100 schools. Collectively, through donations from across the region, more than $200,000 was raised in 2011. Theresa hastens to add that she was helped immensely by her support team, her extended family, and the many community donors who believed in her.

These runs came about in response to her own fight with breast cancer. Diagnosed in April 2007, she fought back with a double mastectomy and won, buoyed by her own determination, her faith and the love of family.

Once healthy again, Theresa set out her goals for the first run, summoning the same competitive spirit from her collegiate basketball days. Theresa was twice named Female Athlete of the Year at Fanshawe (1985 and 1986), and in 2005, she was inducted into the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association Hall of Fame. She also coached women’s basketball at Fanshawe for seven years after she graduated.

She currently runs the employee fitness program at London Life and serves as a trainer for GoodLife Fitness. While she does not plan another major fundraising run, Theresa is very happy that her employer continues to support her efforts to reach students with her message of the benefits of physical activity, goal setting and healthy living.

Category: Technology
(Construction Engineering Technology 82)

Vito Frijia is passionate about many things: his family and friends, his work, basketball, and of course, London, Ontario. He immigrated to Canada at age 8 with his family from Italy, and London has been home ever since.

Vito believes that for a city to be able to keep its young people after post-secondary, there has to be jobs, development, culture, sports and a quality of life that all these things bring. His company, Southside Group, has been building capacity in London since 1979 contributing in many ways to the fabric of life.

When Vito bought out the previous owner of Southside in 1983, the company was doing about $4 million in development and construction projects each year. Since that time, Southside has completed more than $2 billion dollars worth of development projects, including some of Southwestern Ontario’s most prominent buildings.

Vito’s passion for sports ignited when he played collegiate-level basketball at Fanshawe. He and his teammates remember fondly the 1980 and 1981 Canadian championship games that solidified their friendships for life and built their characters and competitive spirits. Vito was Athlete of the Year in 1981 and inducted into the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 2007.

His lifelong love of the game has led him to recently establish a National Basketball League of Canada team in London, Ontario called the Lightning. Vito also coaches high school basketball in London and supports many other charitable causes related to healthcare, education, culture, and sport in the city.

As a graduate, employer and supporter of Fanshawe College himself, Vito sees daily the impact of the College on its students, graduates and the community. He is currently serving as a Campaign Vice-chair with the Fanshawe Foundation, pleased to take a leadership role in this important cause.

Category: Business
(Mechanical Engineering Technology 80 / Industrial Management 86 / Human Resources Management 94)

John Kobarda knows that fire fighting is about protecting public safety, but his job is also about running an effective and efficient organization. As London’s Fire Chief and Director of Paramedic Services, he manages a $50-million annual budget and an organization with more than 400 staff at stations and offices across the city.

John draws very much on his education at Fanshawe and his work experience for 10 years with London Machinery, a local mobile manufacturing firm. He was a mechanical designer with them, before being promoted to production control manager, and later serving as plant manager.

In 1991, he made a career move and joined the London Fire Department as a fire fighter. He wanted a career that would allow him to make a positive impact on people’s lives. He got involved in the London Professional Fire Fighters Association in 1993 and served as president from 1997 to 1999. In 1999, he was named Deputy Fire Chief and in 2004, he was appointed to the top job he holds now.

Known as being tough but fair, John took on this leadership role with a refreshing perspective. He was one of the first leaders to encourage employee participation, especially when it came to procurement of new equipment. He felt that fire fighters would have valuable input towards new technology, since they would be the ones having to use it daily.

Fanshawe gave him a solid based to work from, starting with his diploma in Mechanical Engineering Technology (1980) and Industrial Management (1986). He earned a certificate in Human Resources (1994) before going on to study and graduate from the Executive Fire Officer Program at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

John is an avid reader, especially books about leadership and personal development, since he knows there are always new ways to improve ourselves, and in turn, improve our organizations and society.

Category: Recent Grad
(Police Foundations 08)

The day that Adrianna St. George was accepted into the RCMP Cadet Training Academy was an incredibly happy day. Her dream was coming true, but it still took six intense months in Regina, Saskatchewan, before she proudly graduated as a Constable in March 2009. She was posted to the RCMP detachment in Cranbrook, BC, and enjoys all aspects of this career path.

Even in high school, she had her eye on a career in law enforcement but her journey truly began at Fanshawe College. She attended both Woodstock and London campuses while taking Police Foundations for two years and she gained experience as a security guard.
Now in her role in community policing, she supports the Cops For Kids Charitable Foundation, which raises money for local children suffering with medical, physical or mental trauma. As a 2011 rider on the 1,000 km 10-day Cops for Kids bicycle ride, she exceeded the individual fundraising goal of $2,000, having raised more than $3,000 for the cause to date.

In addition to her demanding job, she gladly volunteers for community duties such as giving talks and presentations to elementary school children. For the last three years, she has participated with the annual GREAT conferences (Girls Reaching For Esteem and Trust) which help young women in Grade 9 who are transitioning to high school. She helps them understand issues such as cyber bullying and relationship safety.

In her free time, she stays fit by participating in triathlons. She has trained and competed with her 3-year-old horse in four archery competitions. Adrianna is an avid hiker and she has climbed Mount Fisher twice (the highest mountain in the Kootenays). She looks forward to the rest of her career and hopes that other police candidates will challenge themselves to become members of the RCMP.

Category: Creative Arts & Design
(Music Industry Arts, Recorded Music Production 83)

While testing himself to the ultimate limits, Les has survived alone in some of the world’s most treacherous and harshest environments. He strongly believes that survival comes down to four elements – knowledge, luck, the kit you have with you, and the will to survive. He is living proof that it can be done, and his life is an inspiration to others.

Influenced by his education at Fanshawe College in Music Industry Arts and his wilderness training with some of the world’s best adventurers, Les combines these passions into a unique and celebrated career.

His hit TV show, Survivorman, became the highest rated show in the history of both Outdoor Life Network (OLN) Canada and the Science Channel US, and is now licensed for broadcast in more than 120 countries. He branched out even further in 2010 with the Discovery Channel series, Les Stroud Beyond Survival, which earned top ratings on Discovery and OLN, and earned Les his 10th Gemini nomination.

Les is an advanced survival trainer for the Canadian Military Armed Forces, and he is also a mentor for young people by serving as executive producer and host of the hit children’s TV series Survive This.

As an author, he has written “Survive!–Essential Skills and Tactics to Get You Out of Anywhere–Alive!” by Harper Collins, which made the bestseller list for 20 weeks. Les’ most recent book, “Will to Live” (Harper Collins), is also a bestseller and he is currently working on his third book.

In his personal life, Les contributes to dozens of charities and benefits, including Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock Foundation, which helps guide teenagers and children. Les is an active promoter of Earth Day Canada, and he recently worked with the Wiraqocha Foundation which is a non-profit organization promoting a philosophy of life harmony with the natural world.