Alberta Champions Society unveils first “Field of Fame”

Calgary, AB – On May 20th, the  Alberta Champions Society unveiled six monuments to pay posthumous tribute to some of the greatest Albertans who ever lived, five prominent men and one woman, who helped shape our city, our province and our nation. The unveiling is set for 1:30 p.m. and Honorable Lindsay Blackett, Minister of Culture and Community Spirit, will assist with the unveiling. He will be joined at the podium by Gordon Hoffman, President and Founder of Alberta Champions.

This first “Field of Fame,” created by Alberta Champions Society, is located in the Winter Garden on the Plus 15 level of the Jamieson Building, 308-4 Ave. SW, which is named for Alice Jamieson, one of the honorees. The other honorees include:

R.B. Bennett, Senator Patrick Burns, Chief David Crowchild, Eric Harvie, and Colonel James Macleod.

The Field of Fame is a group of monuments created from structural steel, designed by local architect Michael Shugarman of Templar Architecture and Design. Each Field of Fame features six steel “stalks of wheat”, thirteen feet high, symbolic of the prairies and the farm and ranching culture that formed the early backbone of the Calgary area. Each stalk features a photo, biography and signature of one of the six individuals.

In all, there will be 50 Fields of Fame rolled out over the next 10 years, located throughout Calgary and southern Alberta. The groups to be honoured in each Field of Fame will be selected by a nominating committee of community leaders working closely with local historians.

“We believe no one can build a better future without first understanding and honouring the past,” said Mr. Hoffman. “We also believe it is critical to engage our youth in learning about these important Albertans.”

At the event, the winners of the recent city-wide contest for junior high students were announced. Students were challenged to write an essay or create a multimedia presentation related to one of the individuals in the first Field of Fame. The grand prize winner of the contest will be flown to our nation’s capital with a guardian for a tour of the parliament building and a variety of activities, including a visit with the Kratt Brothers of PBS’s Emmy Award-winning Zoboomafoo. Other prizes include a Net book computer, iPod and digital camera.

The contest is sponsored by Alberta Champions Society, TELUS, Prime Funds, The Calgary Herald, Unicom Graphics and WestJet.

Sponsors for the Field of Fame included: Alberta Lotteries, ARC Energy Trust, Hoffman Dorchik Barristers and Solicitors, as well as members of the families of the individuals being recognized.

ABOUT THE ALBERTA CHAMPIONS SOCIETY:
Alberta Champions Society in Recognition of Community Enrichment was founded in 2003 by Mr. Gordon Hoffman, QC to posthumously commemorate, recognize and honour those individuals who have made a significant contribution to the city of Calgary and area. This is achieved by placing pieces of public art designed from structural steel in Fields of Fame to provide recognition as well as inspiring today’s citizens to make their own worthy contributions to our community.

For more information about the Society and to view a model Field of Fame, please visit our website at www.AlbertaChampions.org

MEDIA CONTACTS

Pat Christie,Executive Administrator Tel: Email: Pat.Christie@telus.net Website: www.AlbertaChampions.org

Susan Costello Coordinator Community Partnerships Tel: 403-251-4917 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              403-251-4917      end_of_the_skype_highlighting Email: Susan.Costello@shaw.ca

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The United States Consul General cordially invites you to uncork California’s sunshine in a bottle at the 2010 California Wine Fair. And as if FABULOUS wine weren’t enough,  iconic rockers Nickelback and Three Days Grace have thrown in a little song, by way of signed guitars they are donating for the Silent Auction. Tom Hanks, Dolly Parton and The Kratt Brothers have also donated autographed items.

Date: Monday, April 19^th, 2010     Time: 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Place: The Fairmont Royal York                                                Admission:
The Canadian Room                                                                           • General Ticket Price $ 65.00
100 Front Street West                                                                       • Wine Club Members $ 60.00

Toronto, ON

The James Fund for Neuroblastoma Research will be operating a silent auction at the event. Also, $40 from every ticket purchased through The James Fund will go to the neuroblastoma cause.

Enjoy a unique opportunity to sample a wide selection of more than 400 premium wines from 125 of California’s top producers at this event, the largest tasting tour of California wines in Canada! And know that you’re helping fight one of the most deadly forms of childhood cancer that there is.

To purchase tickets, please complete and submit to one of the following:

1. By fax to (705) 749-6907
2. By email: Scanned forms can be sent to diana.birrell@jamesfund.ca
3. By mail: The James Fund, 625 Whitaker Street #4, Peterborough, On  K9H 7L5

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Entertainment Icons and W Network’s “Big Voice” Divas Give back through song

Intimate one-night only event will benefit day club for senior homeless men

Only 112 tickets are available for Big Hearts, Big Night! Presented by Lenz Entertainment, an intimate evening of song and entertainment featuring Elaine Overholt, one of North America’s most treasured singers; Jack Lenz, a preeminent television producer, musician and a composer of the score for Mel Gibson’s “The Last Passion of Christ;” and the singing divas of W Networks’ new television show Big Voice.  The event will be on the evening of November 25^th at Toronto’s iconic Arts and Letters Club and will benefit The Good Neighbours’Club, a day club for homeless men aged 50 and over.

Who: – Elaine Overholt (Big Voice, How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria, vocal coach to the stars, including Richard Gere, Renee Zellweger, etc.)

- Jack Lenz, world renowned, multi award winning musician, television production studio head and Big Voice producer.

- The singing divas of W Network’s newest show Big Voice, which will debut on The W Network in December.  Big Voice is a transformational reality show, where ordinary women who love to sing are given some of the best vocal coaching in the world and the chance to perform a in front of a live audience.

What: An evening of song and entertainment, in support of The Good Neighbours’ Club, a day-centre providing comfort and resources for homeless and marginally housed men who are 50 and over.     All episodes of Big Voice for this season have taped; this performance is not being taped but rather is a chance for the women of Big Voice to work together for the very first time and give back to a very good cause.

When: Wednesday, November 25^th, 2009  7PM cash bar cocktail/appetizer reception followed by8pm Big Voice show with auction (both live and silent) to follow.

Where: Toronto Arts and Letters Club  14 Elm Street
Toronto, Ontario M5G 1G7

Ticket Cost: $185.00 per ticket ($150 tax receipt)

To purchase tickets contact Kelly Downs at 416-366-5377 Ext. 221
kelly@goodneighboursclub.org

Or go to www.goodneighboursclub.org and click on the link to Big Hearts, Big Night! Presented by Lenz Entertainment

About Big Voice: In each episode Elaine Overholt meets a new student and learns both their story and what their individual dream is – from singing at a wedding or family reunion to performing on a world-class stage.

After an initial meeting and audition Elaine will get to work with a training program that leads up to the big day. From choosing the song and the key to perfecting technique, a step-by-step journey will take the singer from craven to confident just in time for curtain call.

With her expert team of choreographers, stylists and fitness trainers, Elaine addresses all the elements of a winning performance.

We discover how difficult it can be to overcome personal demons while finding the strength to commit to a gruelling rehearsal schedule. Students will learn that finding their ‘big voice’ is just as much an emotional journey as it is a physical one, and to tackle the challenge successfully, each singer must face the music both literally and figuratively! But Elaine and the team keep each budding songstress on track with constant support and tough love when needed, refusing to let any of her student’s give up on their dream.

When the big day finally comes, Elaine will be there to watch, listen and critique as her student performs.

About Lenz Entertainment: Lenz Entertainment is a world-renowned music and television production company that provides diversified creative services to the entertainment industry. Best known for writing and producing award-winning music for film, television and multi-platinum recording artists, Lenz is a global leader in music composition.  The company’s film and television production portfolio is expanding rapidly with a variety of successful projects including lifestyle and children’s properties.

The Good Neighbours’ Club: Founded in 1933 and located at Jarvis and Shuter, The Good Neighbours’ Club is a day centre for homeless and under-housed men who are 50 and over.   Its members have faced the despair of downsizing or have lost everything due to illness, addiction, poor choices or bad luck.  They receive new, donated clothes and have access to mail services, showers, laundry facilities, hot meals, phones, televisions, games, computers, a weekly medical clinic staffed by Street Health nurses, a safe place to lock up valuables…and compassion.  GNC provides counselling, assist with housing and harm reduction, host computer courses and other activities to improve skills and promote social integration.

The club also provides final arrangements for members whose bodies would otherwise go unclaimed.

Funded largely by the United Way of Greater Toronto, the Ontario Ministry of Health and the City of Toronto, The Good Neighbours’ Club is assisted by the Daily Bread Food Bank, Second Harvest, Whole Foods Market and Torontonians who realize that these men could be their fathers, their brothers, their sons or even themselves.

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Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and author Michael Colgrass is no slouch – so when he gushes and glows over a book, you know it’s worth reading. The Unveiling, a new book by first time author Leah Lambert is garnering all kinds of praise from all kinds of important people. Lambert is a dear family friend, a trailblazer whose career has spanned criminal justice, social work and education. This novel is historically based, a look at one Jewish family’s escape from Czarist Russia and its resilience in the face of a mental illness and the secrecy around it. Read on….

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Attention: Book, Health Editors

Contact: Leah R. Lambert

(416) 962-0291

Email: leahrae@rogers.com

The Unveiling Shines Light on A Family’s Escape from the Stigma of Mental Illness

Toronto, On / November 11, 2009 – The Unveiling ($19.95/ iUniverse), an evocative, historically based novel about one family’s journey through the stigma of mental illness,  launches today at The University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Studies Atrium. The event runs from 4pm to 5:30pm with a reading from the book by the author, Leah Rae Lambert, at 4:30pm.

A portrayal of a valiant Jewish woman, The Unveiling chronicles Ettie Burin’s journey, along with her family, during much of the twentieth century. The story unfolds as family members gather in Pittsburgh to share memories during the mourning period following her husband’s death.  These memories re-create the dangers they experienced escaping the harsh life in czarist Russia and later the more profound struggles with the secrecy and stigma surrounding mental illness.

“The book is about the darkness that family secrets often bring with them and the light that comes when the truth is revealed. It is about resilience in the face of adversity and ultimately liberation and peace,” says Leah Rae Lambert, who has a Ph.D from the University of Toronto, and whose career has spanned social work, education and criminal justice.

The author has drawn upon interviews with her own relatives along with historical research to weave together the dreams, fears and accomplishments of three generations within a family.  She presents a picture of the social interaction and physical difficulties among people in the Eastern European shtetls, among immigrants in Pittsburgh’s hill district, and among the poor in Pittsburgh’s first public housing project.  One major theme involves society’s attitudes toward mental illness and the impact this had on families.

Pullitzer Prize-winning Toronto based composer and author Michael Colgrass says this about the book:  “I just finished your book and found it enthralling… I didn’t feel as though I was reading a book, I felt as though I was having an experience, one I could never have had without reading specifics of family life as you portray it in pre-revolutionary Russia.”

“I could not put this book down,” says Emil S. Trellis, M.D.,Distinguished Life Fellow, American Psychiatric Association about The Unveiling.  “I recommend it enthusiastically to families bearing the burden and stigma of mental illness and to mental health professionals who work with them.”

“Reading The Unveiling evokes a complex set of strong feelings: indignation, guilt, sadness and eventually a sense of joy,” says A. S. Macpherson MD, MSc., FRCPC, Professor Emeritus, Psychiatry, McMaster University.

Despite the challenges confronting Ettie and her family, this is a story of love, determination, hope and resilience.  Surprising events and courageous actions during the year following the mourning period enable the family to lift the burden of silence and experience a true unveiling.

The book is available through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse. 

About the Author

Leah Rae Lambert has had an extensive career in education, social work, research and planning.  Although she has published articles in various professional journals and magazines, this is her debut novel. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto and undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Pittsburgh.  She grew up in Pittsburgh and has enjoyed living and working in Toronto for many years. Copies of the book are available at www.amazon.com, www.amazon.ca, or www.barnesandnoble.com. To schedule an interview or to obtain more information, please contact Leah Rae Lambert by phone or email at numbers shown above. Review copies are available on request. (Website: www.leahlambert.net )

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ATTENTION: News, City Editors:

Dignitaries and Homeless to honour former journalist who died from a violent beating

TORONTO, August 18, 2009 – The First Annual Day of the Homeless: A Memorial for Paul Croutch will be held in front of the Good Neighbours’ Club at 170 Jarvis Street on Tuesday, August 25, at 11:00am, with a barbeque to follow at noon and tours of the club running from 10am-2pm. Paul Croutch was the former journalist who died after being beaten by intoxicated soldiers from a nearby armoury in August, 2005.

What:

The event is to honour Paul Croutch and others who have lived and died on the streets.  It is a day to let older men who are homeless or marginally-housed remember those they have lost to violence. It is also a chance for the community to stand with those who have lived or are living in extreme poverty or with homelessness as so many of the members of The Good Neighbours’ Club do.

The event has been organized by members and staff of The Good Neighbours Club with participation from other organizations in the area, including the Salvation Army and Fred Victor.

Who:

• Many who have experienced or are experiencing homelessness, including friends of Paul Croutch who are also members of the Good Neighbours’ Club.
• The Honourable James Bartleman, former Lieutenant Governor
• Police Chief Bill Blair
• Roger Petersen (event host), Citytv – CityNews Weekend Anchor
• Dion Oxford – Executive Director, Salvation Army
• Stephen Morrissey – Team Leader, Employment Resources Centre, Fred Victor
• Charles Hill – Chair, The Good Neighbours’ Club
• Bruno Scorsone – Executive Director, The Good Neighbours’ Club
• Raymond May, Member of the Good Neighbours’ Club (friend of Paul Croutch)
• Edmund Snook, Member of the Good Neighbours’ Club
• Police Pipers
• Metro Toronto Police Mounted Unit (with horses)

Where:

• In front of The Good Neighbours’ Club, 170 Jarvis Street
• PLEASE NOTE:  The West curb lane of Jarvis will be closed for the occasion

When:

Tuesday August 25th, 2009 10am – 2pm

Memorial: 11am,

Lunch/BBQ: NOON;

Tours of the Good Neighbours’ Club: 10am – 2pm

Anticipated Vis/photo ops include (times and events subject to change):

11:00am -11:30:

-band comprised of professional musicians playing with Good Neighbours Club members

-words from Former Lieutenant Governor James Bartleman

-unveiling of sign/picture

11:30-12:00:

-a Good Neighbours Club member will read the names of those who have died in the last year.

-moment of silence

-piper

-Assisted by dignitaries, Good Neighbours’ Club members will unveil a plaque to honour Paul Croutch, a club member. The plaque will reside at/on The Good Neighbours’ Club where Paul Croutch was a member.

12:00:

-Police Chief serves lunch to men who are homeless, marginally housed and their guests for the day (anticipated, about 150 people).

The Good Neighbours’ Club is a Toronto charity dedicated to the homeless or marginally-housed man who is 50+ and trying to find his way back to a normal life. By the time he is 50, a homeless man is aged well beyond his years. He is also vulnerable to attack by younger men. No other Toronto charity is so uniquely equipped to deal with the daytime needs of the homeless man over 50.

Founded in 1933 and located at Jarvis and Shuter, The Good Neighbours’ Club is a day centre for homeless and under-housed men who are 50 and over.   Its members have faced the despair of downsizing or have lost everything due to illness, addiction, poor choices or bad luck.  They receive new, donated clothes and have access to mail services, showers, laundry facilities, hot meals, phones, televisions, games, computers, a weekly medical clinic staffed by Street Health nurses, a safe place to lock up valuables…and compassion.  The club also provides final arrangements for members whose bodies would otherwise go unclaimed.

Funded largely by the United Way of Greater Toronto, the Ontario Ministry of Health and the City of Toronto, The Good Neighbours’ Club is assisted by the Daily Bread Food Bank, Second Harvest, Whole Foods Market and Torontonians who realize that these men could be their fathers, their brothers, their sons or even themselves.

-30-

NOTE TO EDITORS: ART AVAILABLE

For assistance or additional information, please contact:

Deborah Keegan
Babble On Communications
Tel:  416.691.5168
Cell: 416.525.5177
Email: deborah@babbleoncom.com
Web:   www.babbleoncom.com

Susan McLennan
Babble On Communications
Tel: 416.699.1846
Cell: 416.527.0426
Email: susan@babbleoncom.com
Web: www.babbleoncom.com

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There are some extraordinary men who pass their days at The Good Neighbours’ Club,Some held responsible jobs or were professionals. Many had families they lost along the way.

Members of the Good Neighbours’ Club come from all walks of life but they are all over 50 and they are all homeless or marginally housed.

This year, Good Neighbours’ Club members and staff joined together to found The First Annual Day of the Homeless: A Memorial for Paul Croutch. The event honours the former journalist who lived on the streets and died as the result of a beating by drunk soldiers from a nearby armoury.

Croutch was a Good Neighbours’ Club member.

When Good Neighbours’ Club members unveil a plaque in Croutch’s memory, they will have help from dignitaries, including Former Lieutenant Governor James Bartleman,  the executive director of the Salvation Army, Don Oxford and the chair of The Good Neighbours’ Club Chair, Charles Hil.

Police Chief Bill Blair will serve assembled guests, which will include dozens of those who call the streets home, a BBQ lunch.

Roger Petersen, weekend anchor of Citytv news, is hosting the event.

This is a community event for a community that lives with so many hardships every day. People like Ray May, one of the event’s organizers, inspire us. Ray has battled back from homelessness and volunteers a considerable amount of time delivering meals to and helping however he can members of the Good Neighbours’ Club in their times of need.

Ray, we are honoured to help you, your many friends at The Good Neighbours’ Club, including the dedicated staff and hardworking board who toil so hard to better the lives of those who have so few resources available to them. You humble us with your humanity.

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Go to any coffee shop and you’re bound to meet at least one day-jobber, someone doing something to pay the bills while they self-fund their true calling.

They are actors and painters and poets and screenplay writers, all in vocations their parents wish they’d abandon for the relative safety of secure jobs. Journalism used to be one of those secure jobs. But not anymore.

Some will be compelled to write, to hold the mirror up to who we are, whether they are paid or not. I know brilliant journalists who not that long ago were living comfortable lives scrambling now to make ends meet through blogging and teaching. More will join their ranks no doubt, some leaving the field for whatever work they can find.

Could this happen to other professions? It’s possible that there is a day not that far off when robots may make much better surgeons and we will have a nation of very over qualified deli counter workers.

But not now. It’s the thinkers that are in trouble.

Our society doesn’t particularly value thought or art except as opportunities for exposure through corporate naming rights and soirees.  We treat them as niceties instead of necessities.

And when we decided a decade ago or so that content — ideas and words — the very fabric that holds us together, should be free, we forgot to factor in the part of the equation that pays the people who can make us think, who can take us outside of ourselves and make us want to be better.

Is that all journalists? Hell no. In my field, you deal with the best and the worst, everything from the brilliant and humble to the bullying narcissist.

But they are where our best hope lies. Journalists are trained to be critical thinkers and are professionally obligated to divulge conflicts of interests. There is a transparency we are still working towards in the blogosphere, where lines can be more easily crossed and not discovered for years if at all.

Mind you, journalism has not done itself any favours, helping to create a celebrity culture filled with disposable people. And now journalists are increasingly the disposable people.

I imagine generations of actors, some of whom have been dissected or, worse, ignored by the media must secretly love this. Critics who had so much sway over their careers, dragging them up and away from their barista days or casting them back down to a life spent living on minimum wage may soon be starving artists themselves. Their ideas are welcome if they’d like to share them on some blog, writing for praise but not money.

Doctors and lawyers are onto something, keeping their professions so clearly grounded in dead languages. They take a long time to learn and there is safety in that. It’s harder for others to assume they can do what you do because you make it look easy.

I do think as media outlets fold, we will tire of what comes to pass as journalism and out of the ashes some model will rise up. I hope so anyway. But along the way, many fine minds, like so many others in other undervalued professions, may be sacrificed, forced to work at jobs they can barely stand to fund the work they are called to do.

Our new reality maybe full of that which is free. But something tells me, it’s going to cost us dearly.

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