Distinguished Recognition

Each year, Lakeland College celebrates alumni who’ve made outstanding contributions or who’ve achieved major accomplishments after graduation. One alumnus per campus is selected annually and inducted as a distinguished alumnus.

The 2020 distinguished alumni were to be celebrated at the Donor

Celebration events in the spring. Garrett Hawgood, Class of 2011, was honoured at the Vermilion campus event in the spring. Leanne Hawes,

Class of 2007, was unable to share her speech at the

Lloydminster campus, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Learn more about Lakeland’s distinguished alumni at

lakelandcollege.ca/alumni.

We’re honoured to share Hawes’ speech in the Excel:

“I am honoured and humbled to accept the Distinguished Alumni award for 2020. Lakeland College provided me with a solid foundation of knowledge and leadership on which I continue to build my success. I am thankful to the local Board of Directors, who chose me to be the first female CEO of Lloydminster and District Co-op. I am grateful to the Co-op team who rally behind our mission to serve our membership every day. I am proud to work for an organization whose purpose is to build communities through local employment, community giving, and sustainable and ethical business practices. With a young family by my side, worklife balance is not always easy, and there is no magic formula; trust me, I’ve tried to find it. The lesson I’ve learned with my position is simple: everyone has a story, and comparing your circumstance or situation (or balance) to anyone else’s is irrelevant. The world is a more beautiful place when empathy and kindness are received and given, to others and ourselves.

‘Ever to Excel’ is a phrase I have never forgotten. Striving for excellence is an essential value in leadership in today’s ever-changing world. I believe we all have the ability to be leaders regardless of our title or position. Leadership to me means being a model of integrity, inspiring positive change and celebrating diversity. Success is not an endpoint on a map. It’s a journey built on collaboration, compassion and continuous improvement. There is a lot of uncertainty floating in our midst these days, but one thing I know for certain: the world needs optimistic leadership. Not the kind of optimism that is superficial, but the type that simply picks a place to start and moves forward one step at a time. Today’s leaders will need to be problem solvers guided by a sense of curiosity and optimism. Doreen Der and the late Phil Allen, two among many professors who stood out to me as great leaders during my time at Lakeland College. They demonstrated this by taking an extra moment to encourage students after class, asking about real-life experiences to enrich the learning experience and showing compassion in moments when balance seemed unachievable.

I am so proud of the education I earned at Lakeland College. Many of my professional colleagues at Co-op are also Lakeland alumni. I can say without a shadow of a doubt the success we see as one of the largest and most profitable retail co-operatives in western Canada is supported by exceptional people who make up the framework and fabric of this post-secondary institution. Thank you for this honour.”