Portico Magazine, Fall 2015

FALL 2015

UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH MAGAZINE FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS

Gorilla doctor Mike Cranfield brings veterinary care to the jungle floor to save critically endangered mountain gorillas. p.16

Start him up

At 33, Scott Duke has started 10 businesses: learn his secrets to success. p.22

Cranberry tourism How a one-crop farm attracts 40,000 visitors a year. p.15

Seeing the sign

Laura Berg turns baby sign language into a career. p.28

Build

dreams

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To learn more visit manulife.com/alumnimilestones or call toll-free 1-888-913-6333 This program is recommended by:

Underwritten by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company.

Manulife and the Block Design are trademarks of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company and are used by it, and by its affiliates under license. © 2015 The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company (Manulife). All rights reserved. Manulife, PO Box 4213, Stn A, Toronto, ON M5W 5M3.

Contents

14 22 15 32

FEATURES

14 On the job Kayaking with sea otters is a day at the office for Dave Pinel.

15 Q&A How Wendy Hogarth and Murray Johnston have turned Ontario’s oldest cranberry farm into a thriving tourist destination.

COVER PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK PHOTOS, THIS PAGE: JENNIFER ROBERTS, KERI KNAPP; KYLE RODRIGUEZ

COVER STORY VOICES

SECTIONS

4 Editor’s note 4 Loose cannon 5 President’s message 33 Class notes

6 Around the ring

IN EVERY ISSUE

6 Coursework 11 Ask an expert 26 Alumni spotlights 28 This I know 36 Passages 37 Time capsule

@porticomag

News and views from around campus.

10 Discovery U of G research, innovations and ideas.

31 Alumni matters Events, updates and class connections.

16 How do you save a species?

Mike Cranfield and Gorilla Doctors bring veterinary interventions to the jungle floor.

22 Making waves Scott Duke finds small-town entrepreneurial success.

38 Last look Artist Greg Denton paints his final canvas in a 100-portrait project.

Fall 2015 PORTICO | 3

Editor’s note Fall 2015, Vol. 47, Issue 3 LOOSE CANNON @ItsaVirgoThing Flipping through the pages of @porticomag and saw this article on fellow @uofg alumnus @smcgillivray. #GryphonPride @ryanbrejak Excited to see the new version of @porticomag! @LynnRoblin Great article on the “Plight of the Pollinators” @porticomag – bees are important for our food supply.

@geelsandlattes Just read the fantastic write up on Jen @dragonguelph in the @UofGAlumni Portico. Read it if you get a copy! @deturcotte Didn’t know @smcgillivray was a fellow Gryphon! @porticomag knows everything! @CortEgan All the news that’s fit to print …

Refreshing a wellloved magazine

PUBLISHERS

Daniel Atlin, vice-president (External) Chuck Cunningham, assistant vice-president, Communications and Public Affairs EDITOR

Welcome to the first issue of the new Portico alumni magazine! The magazine has a new look, new structure and we hope, a new energy.

When I took over as editor at the beginning of this year, my first big project was reimagining a wellloved magazine with a history dating back to 1968. While the publication still had lots to offer, eight years had passed without an update to its look and feel, and it was feeling dated and ready for a makeover.

I started by asking a few fundamental questions: What are our goals? Does the magazine reflect the University and its graduates? And what can we do better? I consulted members of the University community across campus, talked to alumni and met with institutional leaders. I also went back through 47 years of issues to understand the spirit of the magazine and how it’s evolved over the years.

Some of the results that came out of this process that you’ll find in these pages include: • A renewed focus on sharing interesting alumni stories.

U of G grads are doing amazing things, so let’s showcase them!

To this end you’ll find even more profiles and stories told in different ways, including the new On the Job, Q & A and

Alumni Spotlight sections.

• Emphasizing U of G’s groundbreaking research and how its innovations are making an impact. To achieve this, a new Discovery section — including an Ask an Expert area — highlights research across campus.

• A new design structure that is easier to read with a larger body font and more white space, and that is eye-catching with vibrant photography and typography.

To achieve this, we put out the call for a new designer and are lucky to have Janice Van Eck on board. She brings a modern consumer magazine aesthetic to our publication that sets it apart from other alumni magazines.

To complement the new Portico, we’ve also launched a new responsive website at porticomagazine.ca, which features stories from the magazine and, moving forward, additional content such as image galleries, videos and more.

But we want to hear from you!

Tell us what you think: email porticomagazine@uoguelph.ca, tweet us @porticomag or send us a good old-fashioned letter.

4 | PORTICO Fall 2015

porticomagazine@uoguelph.ca

ART DIRECTOR

Janice Van Eck CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Susan Bubak, Kevin Gonsalves, Lori Bona Hunt, Wendy Jespersen, Teresa Pitman, Allison Sears, Andrew Vowles CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Keri Knapp, Dean Palmer, Jennifer Roberts, Kyle Rodriguez, Amanda Scott

Portico is published three times a year by Communications and Public Affairs at the University of Guelph.

Opinions expressed in the magazine do not necessarily reflect those of the editor or the University.

FEEDBACK

Send letters and story ideas to porticomagazine@uoguelph.ca or by mail to Communications and Public Affairs, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ont., N1G 2W1. We reserve the right to edit all submissions.

ADVERTISING

Send advertising inquiries to Stacey Morrison at s.morrison@uoguelph.ca or 519-824-4120, Ext. 58706.

MOVED?

Send address changes to: alumnirecords@uoguelph.ca or 519-824-4120, Ext. 56550, or by mail to Records c/o Alumni Affairs & Development, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ont., N1G 2W1.

ISSN 1714-8731

Printed in Canada.

Publication Agreement #40064673.

Stacey Morrison Editor

Connect with Portico @porticomag

Stacey Morrison

porticomagazine.ca

Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Portico Magazine, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ont., N1G 2W1.

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Who are we, and who do we want to be?

T

his fall, U of G will begin a strategic renewal process — it’s been 20 years since we last updated our strategic vision. Where do we see ourselves today? What does this University stand for, and how will we chart tomorrow’s path?

As you know, the University has many respected traditions and long-standing areas of strength. Those aspects are as timeless as the values that have sustained us for the past 50 years as a university and the past 150 years since our college beginnings.

This strategic renewal will help us integrate those traditions and strengths with new and emerging themes.

Since I joined U of G more than a year ago, I’ve had plenty of conversations and new experiences. I sense a deep pride in the University’s heritage coupled with an appetite here for change, as we adapt to a fast-changing environment.

What will this strategic renewal process look like? I see it as an extension of those conversations and experiences.

Think of it as a larger conversation among our community — students, staff, faculty, alumni, our Board of Governors and Senate, and external partners. I plan to lead the discussion with help from the University’s senior leadership team and with guidance from a broadly representative strategic

@porticomag

planning committee to be established in the coming months.

We will begin by gathering your ideas and identifying themes to be explored in greater depth to distill a vision that will shape the University’s future. In addition to creating a document to guide our planning over the next five to 10 years, these conversations also aim to do something else that is just as important, if not more so. They will help us affirm and further strengthen institutional pride while fortifying confidence in our ability to work together to create a vibrant future for this University.

The resulting vision and renewed sense of identity will guide us into our shared future — a future focused on continued excellence in research and teaching; on preparing graduates to see their potential and make connections in new and transformative ways; on new and innovative connections with our other key partners; and on fostering pride in our shared accomplishments.

I invite you to join in this conversation to help chart our path to tomorrow.

This will help us affirm and further strengthen institutional pride while fortifying confidence in our ability to work together to create a vibrant future for this University.

Franco Vaccarino President and Vice-Chancellor Fall 2015 PORTICO | 5

Around the ring CAMPUS NEWS AND VIEWS CAMPUS NEWS

High-tech livestock research centre opens

COURSEWORK

Cheese making short course gets better with age

NEXT YEAR WILL MARK THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE COURSE, THE ONLY ONE OF ITS KIND IN CANADA

From Bonnie Depew’s dairy farm in western Pennsylvania, it’s only about two hours’ drive to the Penn State campus where the university offers a short course in cheese making. So why did she come all the way to the University of Guelph to learn to make artisanal cheese?

Depew figured a more diverse student group at U of G would help her learn more as she prepares to start making cheese on her farm. Guelph’s weeklong short course in cheese making technology also offers more hands-on learning.

Those ideas resonate with food science professor and longtime cheese making instructor Art Hill.

Standing in the pilot plant in the Food Science Building where students in white lab coats and hairnets cluster around stainless steel vats containing the makings

6 | PORTICO Fall 2015

for cheddar, provolone and Colby cheeses, he says the course has “a good blend of theory and hands-on. The idea is to get your hands in the vat, and they love it.”

Next year will mark the 60th anniversary of Guelph’s cheese making technology course, the only one of its kind in Canada.

The five-day session draws 20 to 25 people from Ontario and around the world; students work in various fields, including retail, production, regulatory affairs, quality assurance and academia.

They learn the basics of the craft, including how to make about 20 kinds of cheese. That’s a tiny fraction of the roughly 4,000 kinds of cheese made worldwide, says Hill, who has judged at international cheese competitions for about a decade. Whether it’s crumbly feta or Camembert so creamy it practically runs off the plate, he says, “Cheese makers never stop learning these little tips and tricks that give you different functionality.”

—ANDREW VOWLES

• A maternity wing and nursery with sophisticated lighting and ventilation controls that allow calves to be fed individually or through a robotic feeder.

• High-tech sensors for studying feeding behaviour to help researchers learn about dairy cow behaviour, nutrition and welfare, and improve cattle feeding.

• A custom-designed metabolic research wing for researchers to study and monitor individual animals.

• A robotic milker that uses an identification system to recognize individual animals, and helps ensure product quality by recording information such as milk yields and by rejecting subpar milk.

The facility involves U of G, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario and Dairy Farmers of Ontario.

PHOTO: AMANDA SCOTT

Instructor Art Hill leads cheese making students through the intensive fiveday course.

University of Guelph researchers will study livestock production, health and welfare using leading-edge technology with the opening of the $25-million, state-of-the-art Livestock Research and Innovation Centre (LRIC) — Dairy Facility at Elora.

This multidisciplinary facility will bring together scientists, students and stakeholders from Ontario and beyond to study environmental, social and economic issues for the dairy industry, including genetics, nutrition and quality improvement to animal welfare, food safety, and animal and human health.

Highlights of the LRIC include:

NUMBER CRUNCH

Fascinating facts about cycling on campus, a long-standing lifestyle at Guelph in all seasons:

20 Number of covered bike shelters at U of G

2,500

4 Number of spots for bicycles in campus bike racks

Number of bike repair stations on campus

22.0 PHOTO: COURTESY OF CTV

Number of kilometres of road on campus

TWO

Number of bicycles per year Guelph residents can pick up for free from the city’s ReCycle Bike Reuse Program @porticomag

ATHLETICS

PEOPLE

Football coach competes on The Amazing Race Canada

Theresa Bernardo joined U of G as the inaugural IDEXX Chair in Emerging Technologies and Bond-Centred Animal Healthcare, North America’s first research chair focused on the human-animal bond and the role of technology in animal health care.

At 62 years old, Neil Lumsden was the oldest competitor on the most recent edition of The Amazing Race Canada, which aired over the summer. But when his daughter Kristin, 31, asked him to be her teammate and apply for the show, the U of G assistant football coach and CFL Hall of Famer was up for the challenge.

“You do what you can to help your kids, and I was a fan of the show, so I was up for it,” he says. “You really have to step outside of your comfort zone in experiences such as this if you want to be successful.”

Lumsden has coached with the Gryphons for five seasons, and won three Grey Cups while playing for the CFL’s Edmonton Eskimos. But “ IT’S VERY he says playing football was UNIQUE AND nothing like the experience of THE ONLY competing on the reality show, THING YOU which saw the team paragliding in CAN EXPECT Santiago, Chile, performing the IS THE UNEXPECTED.” tango in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and diving for lobsters in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

“It’s very unique, and the only thing you can expect is the unexpected,” says Lumsden of the race.

The duo was the sixth team eliminated after taking a two-hour penalty on a mentally challenging flight schedule test that involved matching time zones and flight durations to create a 25-hour itinerary. The senior Lumsden then struggled on a trampoline challenge.

“It was a great experience,” he says. “You take the whole race and roll it up into one memory that you will look back on and be glad that you were a part of.”

Paul Hebert, integrative biology professor and pioneer of DNA barcoding, has been named to the Order of Canada.

Jennifer Jones, a PhD candidate in geography, was one of 16 scholars to win a Trudeau Scholarship valued at $60,000. Jones is studying the human health impacts of mine developments in the Canadian North.

Georgia Mason, animal and poultry science professor, received the Medal for Outstanding Contributions from the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare. The award recognizes her contributions to the advancement of animal welfare.

Judith Thompson, theatre studies professor, has been elected to the Royal Society of Canada, considered Canada’s senior academic honour.

Merritt Turetsky, integrative biology professor, was named to the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists, which recognizes academics who have made exceptional achievements within 15 years of completing their doctoral degrees.

John Walsh has been appointed to a third five-year term as vice-provost of the University of Guelph-Humber.

Jeff Wichtel has been appointed dean of the Ontario Veterinary College for a five-year term. He previously served as associate dean, graduate studies and research, at the Atlantic Veterinary College.

Fall 2015 PORTICO | 7

Around the ring CAMPUS NEWS

Landscape architecture celebrates 50 years at U of G

View the Notable Alumni of LA project at uoguelph.ca/ sedrd/notable-alumni.

8 | PORTICO Fall 2015

CAMPUS NEWS Executive chef Vijay Nair with the Gryph N’ Grille food truck, above. Matt Pinsonneault, left, prepares a delicious burger and fries.

U of G food truck opens for business Something’s cooking on four wheels at U of G. Sporting a flaming exterior and a “GryphN” wielding kitchen utensils, Gryph N’ Grille is the new campus food truck.

Operated by Hospitality Services, the food truck features a menu of locally sourced food prepared fresh on the truck. Since opening in September, Gryph N’ Grille has served about 350 customers per day.

Fuelling the food truck frenzy is its convenience and mobility, which caters to busy students, faculty and staff who want a quick bite to eat. Another driving force is a lack of space on campus to build new food outlets, says Ed Townsley, assistant director, Food and Retail Services. “As far as I know, we’re the only Ontario school that has one,” he adds.

With its focus on local food and sustainability, the food truck recycles its cooking oil for biofuel, and uses energy-efficient appliances and biodegradable food containers.

The menu consists of 10 items, including burgers, fries and

poutine that rotate daily. The burgers are made from local beef and the honey in the sauces comes from the Honey Bee Research Centre on campus.

The only thing that’s not local is the truck itself, which was built by Venture Food Trucks, based in Napanee, Ont. Guelph graphic designer and U of G alumna Cai Sepulis, BA ’02, was commissioned to create the truck’s unique exterior.

Although the City of Guelph recently allowed food trucks on its streets, Gryph N’ Grille will stay on campus, and may also be used to cater special events on campus.

The truck’s location is posted on Twitter at @GryphNGrille using the hashtag #GryphNEats.

—SUSAN BUBAK

PHOTOS: AMANDA SCOTT

The University of Guelph celebrated half a century of landscape architecture education this fall.

In 1964 the University Senate approved the bachelor of landscape architecture program at the newly established University of Guelph. Ten years later, U of G launched the master of landscape architecture program, the second of its kind in Canada and the first in Ontario.

Since 1964, U of G has graduated nearly 1,500 landscape architecture students, who make up a large percentage of practising and academic landscape architects in Canada. Perhaps the most exciting part of their legacy is the mark that five decades of students have left on our local landscape and beyond.

“We wanted to celebrate and recognize the fantastic alumni that have come out of the landscape architecture program,” says Prof.

Sean Kelly, School of Environmental Design and Rural Development. “We started by collecting information on 50 notable alumni, but couldn’t stop there. We have over 70 alumni profiles complete and plan to keep adding to it.”

CAMPUS NEWS

CAMPUS NEWS

NOTEWORTHY

Centre for Cardiovascular Investigations opens

U of G helps create first compostable coffee pods

U of G campus tradition, building named best in Canada Painting Old Jeremiah was named one of nine great Canadian campus traditions compiled by University Affairs magazine.

The University of Guelph has officially launched a Centre for Cardiovascular Investigations to develop innovative ways to fight heart disease.

The new centre involves seven lead cardiovascular scientists and clinicians, as well as dozens of collaborators and graduate and undergraduate students from across U of G and beyond. It’s one of a few centres worldwide looking at cardiovascular disease from single molecules to animal models.

Led by leading heart researcher Prof. Tami Martino, Department of Biomedical Sciences, the centre is dedicated to discovering novel diagnoses of heart disease, advancing treatment therapies and training the next generation of scientists.

About 1.3 million Canadians are diagnosed with cardiovascular

disease annually. About 70,000 heart attacks occur in Canada every year, 16,000 of them fatal.

“By joining forces, our scientists will draw on each other’s strengths, resources and areas of expertise,” says Martino. “Together, they will learn more about what causes this disease and make discoveries that can help improve the lives of Canadians.”

University of Guelph researchers have helped create the world’s first certified 100 per cent compostable single-serve pod for coffee, tea and other hot beverages.

Toronto-based coffee roaster Club Coffee created the pod with support from U of G’s Bioproducts Discovery and Development Centre (BDDC).

A U of G team led by BDDC director Amar Mohanty developed a key PurPod100™ component: the ring that holds the pod in place in a coffee brewer is made with coffee chaff, the skin of the coffee bean that comes off during the roasting process. U of G filed a patent for the ring formula. Made from plant-based resins, the coffee chaff ring and the entire single-serve pod are designed to be fully compostable.

The amount of used single-serve pods sent to landfills last year could have circled the Earth 13 times.

The entire PurPod100™ is expected to be able to go directly from the brewer into a green compost bin, ultimately returning coffee nutrients to the soil instead of adding more waste to landfills.

Following the decades-old tradition, the cannon is painted only at night, and often sports a new look several times each week.

Also receiving recognition was Johnston Hall, which made the Huffington Post’s list of the most eye-catching campus buildings in Canada.

STUDENT LIFE

PHOTO: FREEPIK

Meeting the Dalai Lama was a highlight for Guelph students participating on a month-long experiential learning trip based in Dharamsala, India, earlier this year.

@porticomag

Fall 2015 PORTICO | 9

Discovery RESEARCH, INNOVATION, IDEAS

FINDINGS

Lying to get the job Have you ever lied in a job interview? Based on the findings of a recent study by U of G researchers, chances are you probably have.

Leann Schneider, a U of G PhD student in psychology, and Prof. Deborah Powell, Department of Psychology, along with co-author Prof.

Nicolas Roulin, human resource management at the University of Manitoba, videotaped more than 100 participants in a mock job interview and then asked each one if he or she had been dishonest. Ninety-four per cent admitted to lying.

Although employers are often unable to detect deceit, behavioural cues can help differentiate the liars from the truth-tellers. Key findings show that:

> A straight face could be a lying face

> Talkative candidates are more likely lying

Powell suggests asking the job candidate to perform a skills-based test related to the position for which they are applying. “You can’t really lie when you’re demonstrating your skills.”

Candidates who exhibit unrestrained verbal behaviour, including more speaking errors, fewer silences and speaking quickly, are more likely to be dishonest.

10 | PORTICO Fall 2015

Liars tend to over-control their movements, so those who smile less and show a pattern of restrained facial behaviour are usually more deceitful. > Anxiety may indicate honesty

Although anxiety is often associated with lying, the study shows that candidates exhibiting interview anxiety are actually less likely to lie. “Don’t write someone off if they’re looking anxious during an interview,” says Schneider. “It may not mean they’re a poor person for the job.”

—SUSAN BUBAK

Engineers help develop air-cleaning sound barrier People who live near highways can breathe a little easier, thanks to a new type of sound barrier that can help clean the air.

The School of Engineering at U of G partnered with Guelphbased Envision SQ to develop the SmogStop Barrier, which can remove up to 50 per cent of air pollution. Testing was conducted at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology and Western University.

The walls are made of transparent acrylic, and a photocatalytic coating on the surface reacts with sunlight to convert harmful nitrogen compounds into nitrogen gas, which makes up 80 per cent of the Earth’s atmosphere and is safe to breathe. A channel behind the wall helps divert air downward, where it comes into contact with the coating.

Plants at the bottom of the wall will also help remove particulate matter from the air.

According to Envision SQ, one kilometre of the barrier can remove 16 tonnes of air pollution a year, which is equal to removing 200,000 cars from that stretch of road.

Once the test results have been analyzed, researchers will continue to improve the walls, which could be ready for installation as early as 2016.—SUSAN BUBAK

ILLUSTRATION: JESADAPHORN / SHUTTERSTOCK

NOTEWORTHY

FINDINGS

ASK THE EXPERT

Help for those who self-injure

Where are the lions and other top predators?

Why aren’t there more lions when there’s plenty of prey on the African savanna?

A team of researchers, including integrative biology professors John Fryxell and Kevin McCann, found that relative amounts of predator and prey biomass in diverse ecosystems around the globe are “remarkably well-predicted by a simple mathematical function called a power scaling law,” says McCann.

The resulting “power law” shows there are always fewer top predators than expected in resource-rich ecosystems than in resource-poor ecosystems.

The study, co-authored by Fryxell and McCann, was published in Science.

The researchers looked at biomass and production measurements in grasslands, forests, lakes and oceans. They analyzed results of more than 1,000 previous studies conducted in more than 1,500 locations worldwide.

No matter where they looked,

they found the same predator-prey ratios. “We kept being astonished,” says McCann. “This is just an amazing pattern.”

As you add more individuals of prey species to a resource-rich ecosystem such as the savanna, you might expect the biomass of predators to increase at the same rate, says Fryxell.

Instead, the ratio of predators to prey falls dramatically in that productive grassland.

“What is it about a productive system that accounts for reduced predator success?” he says. “When a system is teeming with prey, why are predators leaving so much food on the table?” Biologists don’t yet have all the answers.

The paper calls for a new look at ecological mechanisms that shape food webs in similar ways around the planet. Fryxell says understanding these processes will likely yield better ways of conserving and managing natural resources.

FINDINGS

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK

Study shows resistance training curbs sexual assault A new study co-authored by two Guelph professors shows that resistance training significantly reduces occurrences of sexual assault among university students.

The study by U of G psychology professors Ian Newby-Clark and Paula Barata, who worked with principal investigator Charlene Senn from the University of Windsor, involved nearly 900 female first-year students from Guelph, Windsor and the University of Calgary.

Female volunteers were randomly assigned to either RESISTANCE a control group whose members received educational TRAINING brochures and other printed materials typically available REDUCED at Canadian universities, or a sexual assault resistance THE RISK OF program, which included information, skills and practice RAPE BY 46 in risk assessment, verbal and physical self-defence, and PER CENT self-evaluation, including health sexuality. The students AND REDUCED completed the training during their first year of university, ATTEMPTED and follow-up surveys were conducted a year later.

RAPES BY 63 The team found resistance training reduced the risk PER CENT of rape by 46 per cent and reduced attempted rapes by 63 per cent. This is the first program in North America to show positive outcomes lasting beyond a few months.

The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. @porticomag

Prof. Stephen Lewis, Department of Psychology, was 15 when he first selfinjured by cutting himself. In a TEDx talk delivered earlier this year, Lewis describes how bullying led to a major depression and how over time he became suicidal.

The road to recovery was long and difficult, but “I can let others know that as dark as it may seem, there is still light at the end of the tunnel.”

Today, Lewis is studying the scope and nature of self-injury on social networks, self-injury recovery, and ways to effectively reach and help those who self-injure. He also co-founded Self-Injury Outreach and Support (www.sioutreach.org), which provides information and resources about self-injury to those who need help, those who have recovered and those who want to help.

One in five adolescents and young adults will deliberately injure themselves by cutting or burning, but the behaviour is often misunderstood or stigmatized. We asked Lewis how parents can help if their son or daughter is self-injuring: 1 Do not ignore the problem — it is a sign of distress and may indicate mental health difficulties.

2 Listen without trying to correct, problem solve or suggest. Focus the conversation on your son or daughter’s feelings and behaviour, and build trust.

3 If your child is at immediate risk of potential life-threatening behaviour, take him or her to the hospital. Otherwise, take them to a doctor, psychologist or metal health worker — you can’t treat self-injury yourself.

4 Have patience. There are often setbacks on the road to recovery.

5 Maintain a positive outlook and keep communicating with your son and daughter throughout the treatment process.

For additional resources, visit sioutreach.org.

To watch Lewis’ TEDx talk, visit porticomagazine.ca.

Fall 2015 PORTICO | 11

Discovery

RESEARCH BRIEF

How studying geckos can help the human healing process Geckos can regenerate tissue and heal without scarring, and Prof. Matt Vickaryous, Biomedical Sciences, wants to understand how they do it.

Learning how geckos avoid scars and still heal rapidly without excessive fluid loss and infection could help researchers find ways to improve the healing process in humans.

In the wild, the gecko’s long tail can be released if a predator grabs it, allowing the gecko to escape.

The tail breaks off along a fracture plane in the middle of a vertabra, and the gecko appears to be able to determine where that break will be — whether he wants to give up a little bit of his tail or a lot of it.

Over the next month, a new tail spontaneously grows.

Vickaryous says there are two requirements for regeneration. One is that stem cells are present, and the other is that the site of damaged tissue — the wound environment — is permissive and allows those stem cells to reproduce and grow new tissue.

“In addition to re-growing tails, wounds to the skin of geckos can regenerate perfectly,” says Vickaryous, who received a five-year grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada to continue his research.

“Geckos can heal without forming scar tissue. We think this ability is due in part to the limited number of blood vessels that appear at the wound site following injury.”

Geckos can also regenerate their spinal cords, which extend the full length of the tail. Vickaryous and his team have discovered cell populations in the brain that activate following tail loss. Researchers are exploring the role of these cells with the goal of helping people with spinal cord injuries. —TERESA PITMAN

Can a vitamin help treat cancer patients?

Researchers in the Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences are studying the role of niacin (or vitamin B3) in tumour cells when used with traditional chemotherapy.

“The main toxicity that cancer patients get from their medication is bone marrow suppression,” says Prof. James Kirkland.

Patients often need to stop their treatment when their blood cells get too low, he adds. Once in remission, they face a higher risk of developing secondary cancers such as leukemia.

Kirkland began studying the side effects of cancer drugs on rats that had normal levels of niacin, those that were niacin-deficient and those that were given niacin supplements.

Once their treatment ended and they were fed a normal diet, many of the rats developed secondary leukemia.

“It was all pretty sensitive to niacin status,” he says. “The niacin-deficient rats had more bone marrow suppression during treatment, and they had higher levels of these longer-term leukemias.”

Although further research is needed to determine how niacin affects cancer treatment itself, Kirkland says cancer patients could benefit from significant niacin supplementation to help reduce some of the side effects of their treatment. Since cancer patients are often niacindeficient, they could be more vulnerable to the side effects of chemotherapy.

–SUSAN BUBAK

12 | PORTICO Fall 2015

PHOTO: FEDOR SELIVANOV / SHUTTERSTOCK

RESEARCH BRIEF

U of G researchers are using drones at the Elora Research Station to conduct studies on corn nitrogen requirements.

NOTEWORTHY

LEADING EDGE

High-flying technology improves research on the ground

Canine clinical trial Viral immunologist Byram Bridle, Department of Pathobiology, is testing an innovative vaccine in the first canine osteosarcoma (bone cancer) clinical trial.

Researchers are getting a bird’s-eye view of early warning signs of crop damage thanks to the use of drones.

These remote-controlled aircraft with cameras mounted on them can help detect damage caused by disease, moisture, stress and pests. High-definition aerial photography by drones also allows researchers and farmers to use herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers more efficiently. Drones can also help assess the condition of crops earlier than scouting on foot.

Plants demonstrate early signs of sickness and stress through chlorophyll, a green pigment responsible for light absorption in their leaves. Chlorophyll in healthy plants absorbs red light and reflects infrared (IR) light. Damaged chlorophyll reflects both red and IR light. Photographs taken by the drones pick up these subtle light signals that are invisible to the human eye and offer an objective insight into the plants’ health.

Plant agriculture professors Liz Lee and Bill Deen are using drones at the Elora Research Station to conduct studies on corn nitrogen requirements.

Prof. Mary Ruth McDonald, Department of Plant Agriculture, is also using drones to help integrate a more efficient and objective assessment of crops at the Muck Research Station in the Holland Marsh. She is using aerial crop monitoring to improve integrated pest management, a method of identifying pests and determining risk before applying fungicides and insecticides, and to assess vegetable crops at the station.

“Drones are an exciting new technology, and many researchers are interested in their compatibility with research projects,” says McDonald.

—ALLISON SEARS, SPARK

PHOTOS: CYNTHIA KIDWELL / SHUTTERSTOCK; RONNACHAI PALAS /SHUTTERSTOCK; NASA

IN THE NEWS

Saving monarch butterflies

Minimizing vaccination pain

Mars mission extended

Integrative biology professor Ryan Norris and post-doctoral researcher Tyler Flockhart will work with the David Suzuki Foundation on a three-year project intended to increase monarch butterfly numbers in Ontario. They will facilitate the planting of milkweed — an important food source for monarchs — in linear corridors along roads, railway lines and hydro corridors to study milkweed restoration.

Psychology professor Meghan McMurtry is a lead author on new guidelines for minimizing vaccination pain and distress in children and adults. Published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, the new guidelines consist of “5 Ps” to reduce pain (physical, pharmacological, psychological, procedural and process), including body position, distraction techniques and topical anesthetics.

A research team led by physics professor Ralf Gellert will continue uncovering clues about the early history of Mars with a two-year contract from the Canadian Space Agency worth up to $1.7 million. The funding will support the ongoing operation of the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer, a key geology instrument on Curiosity, NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory rover that landed on Mars in 2012.

@porticomag

Satellite predictions Geography professor Aaron Berg is using information gathered by a NASA satellite to help farmers and meteorologists better predict crop yields, floods, droughts and seasonal weather forecasts.

Domestic violence initiative Sociology professor Myrna Dawson will co-lead the Canadian Domestic Homicide Prevention Initiative for Vulnerable Populations, a $2.2-million national project to curb domestic violence and homicide.

Fall 2015 PORTICO | 13

On the job

WHO

Dave Pinel, M.Sc. ’98

JOB

Managing owner and tour operator at West Coast Expeditions KAYAKING AMONG the sea otters in Kyuquot Sound is just another day at the office for Dave Pinel. As managing owner of West Coast Expeditions in Courtenay, B.C., he leads adventure tours that tread softly on the Earth, leaving the smallest possible environmental footprint.

The Canadian Tourism Commission has named the company’s five-day sea otter kayak tour a “Canadian Signature Experience.”

“I’ve always been attracted to water-based activities and the coast,” says Pinel. His preferred mode of transportation is the kayak, “an ideal tool for exploring places with minimal impact.” Those places include isolated islands and inlets that give visitors a glimpse of wildlife.

While working at West Coast Expeditions, he decided to go back to school to earn a master’s degree at U of G’s School of Environmental Design and Rural Development. His thesis looked at community-based tourism planning, which aims to complement — not compete with — its surroundings.

14 | PORTICO Fall 2015

“It’s how tourism best fits with the local ecology, social and cultural aspects, and the economic development opportunities without sacrificing the values that make it a special place,” says Pinel. He also teaches adventure guiding and aboriginal ecotourism at North Island College in Courtenay.

Respecting social and cultural values is important to Pinel, who partners with the local First Nations community to provide guests with cultural experiences, such as fresh salmon cooked over an open fire by an aboriginal family.

“It’s a timeless piece of Canadiana,” he says. “In many ways, the Kyuquot area struck me as a microcosm of Canada’s coastal places, rural places, remote places and a place where the First Nations story is actively evolving and moving forward as part of what shapes Canada,” he says.

Respecting the environment is paramount, but animals don’t always follow the rules. Pinel advises visitors to stay at least 100 metres away from sea otters, which is easier said

than done when the otters want to get up close and personal. He recalls one otter that appeared near a tour group he was leading. As the visitors tried to retreat, the curious otter continued to follow until it was only a few metres away.

Those memorable experiences are what Pinel appreciates most about his job. “Each day is fresh with a different recipe of human relationships, wildlife interactions, weather and tides,” he says.

Although the tours are planned in advance, every day is an adventure filled with the unexpected. Intertidal walks often reveal new sea creatures he has never seen before, which prompts him to look them up in a reference book or contact an expert marine biologist.

“It’s almost like being in the Galapagos to have wildlife so close.”—SUSAN BUBAK

Q& A How Wendy Hogarth and Murray Johnston have turned Ontario’s oldest cranberry farm into a thriving tourist destination

PHOTO: JENNIFER ROBERTS

Living and working on a cranberry farm for more than 30 years hasn’t quenched Wendy Hogarth’s thirst for cranberry juice — she drinks her farm’s own brand every day. As co-owner of Johnston’s Cranberry Marsh in Bala, Ont., with her husband, Murray Johnston, she’s always looking for new ways to bring visitors to their farm — about 40,000 of them each year. Whether it’s touring the 27 acres of cranberry bogs or sampling the cranberry wines made by their Muskoka Lakes Winery, there’s always something to see, do, eat or drink.

P: What do you enjoy most about working on a cranberry farm?

Wendy Hogarth: I love living in a rural area. I also believe very strongly in sustainable agriculture. What I do is fulfilling because I feel we’re contributing to that. We’re also contributing to the economic health of our area — Bala has developed its branding around cranberries.

P: The Bala Cranberry Festival is kind of a big deal — it’s one of the top events in Ontario. How are you involved?

WH: Ontario has very few cranberry growers (there are three commercial producers), and two of us are near Bala. When the town started the festival 30 years ago, it wanted to celebrate that uniqueness. We’ve been presenting sponsors of the festival since the beginning, and offer visitors a chance to see and experience a working cranberry farm. We offer wagon tours, wine tasting, helicopter rides, a mini farmers’ market and, of course, fresh cranberries. We also started @porticomag

a “stand in the berries” experience, where people can put on a pair of hip waders and get out in the cranberries.

P: You have an MBA and your husband has a B.Sc. in agriculture, both from Guelph. How do your academic backgrounds complement each other?

WH: Murray has a skill set that I don’t have. His expertise in cranberries and his understanding of plant physiology are pretty amazing, and he does a lot of research and development trying to understand his craft. I took sommelier studies when we started the winery, and the MBA was a way to bring more tools to the business to help us grow and survive. What I love about Guelph’s program is it’s agriculturally based, and hospitality and tourism based. It really hit both of the major aspects of our business.

P: Why did you decide to expand your

operations to include agritourism?

CRANBERRY SAUCE Makes 2 ½ cups 1. In a saucepan, mix one cup of sugar and one cup of water.

Boil for five minutes.

2. Add three cups of cranberries and boil until skins pop (about five minutes).

3. Remove from heat and refrigerate.

WH: My undergrad was in

recreation and tourism, so the agritourism side of things interested me and I developed them here: the expansion into farm-gate sales, value-added production and tours.

We have a pretty small farm, so to stay in business and remain competitive, we’ve had to diversify and create extra value for the fruit that we grow.

P: What’s something people don’t know about cranberries?

WH: Cranberries don’t grow underwater. They grow on a trailing vine that forms a low, dense ground cover that hides the berries. At harvest time, we flood the bogs so the cranberries float to the top of the vine biomass to make them easier to pick. Our harvester combs the berries off the vines and collects them in boats.—SUSAN BUBAK Fall 2015 PORTICO | 15

HOW DO YOU GORILLA DOCTORS BRINGS MEDICAL INTERVENTIONS RIGHT TO THE JUNGLE FLOOR Story by Teresa Pitman

A Gorilla Doctors team performs a medical intervention on a silverback mountain gorilla.

16 | PORTICO Fall 2015

SA

AVE

@porticomag

A SPECIES?

Fall 2015 PORTICO | 17

the baby mountain gorilla cradled in his mother’s arms is very sick: he’s lethargic and not nursing, and has a yellow discharge from his eyes and nose. Veterinarian Mike Cranfield, DVM ’77, suspects a respiratory virus complicated with a secondary bacterial pneumonia. Without medical intervention, the baby will die.

Cranfield, along with Congolese veterinarian Eddy Kambale and several park rangers, have walked an hour through community farmlands to the Virunga Massif park boundary in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and then endured another hour of steep climbing through thick rainforest vegetation to reach this troop of mountain gorillas. Now they move cautiously: the troop of eight includes three mature silverback males weighing up to 400 pounds each and one younger blackback male. The gorillas watch warily as the veterinarians approach.

“Gorillas are vegetarians, so silverbacks and blackbacks won’t attack you as food, but they’ll do what they have to do to protect their troop,” says Cranfield, co-director of Gorilla Doctors, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing gorillas back from the brink of extinction through life-saving veterinary medicine.

Kambale anesthetizes the mother with a dart and the countdown begins: the veterinarians have 40 minutes until she wakes up. Moving quickly, Cranfield and Kambale 18 | PORTICO Fall 2015

inject the baby and mother with antibiotics. No reaction from the baby. They then collect samples from the mother to help diagnose the medical problem. Cranfield also wants to swab the baby’s nose to gather secretions for testing. As he gently turns the baby’s head, the tiny animal lets out a squawk, and the male gorillas charge.

View more images from this story at porticomagazine.ca

that baby gorilla’s life represents hope for a critically endangered species. In the mid-1980s, research

by American gorilla expert Dian Fossey indicated fewer than 250 mountain gorillas remaining in the

Virunga Massif, home to one of two mountain gorilla populations. Because of their restricted habitat and slow reproductive rate (about one baby every four years), the work to protect and help increase the gorilla population has been slow, difficult and dangerous.

The mountain gorilla’s habitat is limited to two protected areas in Africa: the 450-square-kilometre Virunga Massif, which spans national parks in Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda; and the 331-squarekilometre Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda. The land

PHOTOS: GORILLA DOCTORS

T

the species by providing veterinary care to individual gorillas in their habitat. Co-director of the organization since 1998, Cranfield oversees a team of 12 African veterinarians, plus other support staff, most from the communities near the gorilla ranges. The organization works in Africa providing preventive and clinical care for mountain gorillas and eastern lowland (Grauer’s) gorillas, even performing surgery on the jungle floor. It also provides health care and treatment for orphaned gorillas in three sanctuaries, and supports health programs for the people and their animals living in the area as part of its “one health” approach. In addition, Cranfield’s team conducts research, and regularly collects gorilla and human medical samples to help predict new pandemics through the United States Agency for International Development’s Emerging Pandemics Program.

Their efforts seem to be working: today, there are 880 mountain gorillas in the world, with nearly 500 living in the Virunga Massif.

An improvement, but the species remains at high risk for extinction.

surrounding the parks is some of the most densely populated in Africa, and the countries the gorillas call home are among the most volatile in the world.

As a result, gorillas face numerous threats, including poaching and habitat loss. But the biggest health threat may come from human-borne infectious diseases. Gorillas share more than 98 per cent of their genes with humans, making them extremely susceptible to human viruses and bacteria — with no immunity, a common cold can be deadly.

Gorilla Doctors is continuing and expanding on Fossey’s appeal to save @porticomag

it’s a long way from the Riverview Park and Zoo in Cranfield’s hometown of Peterborough, Ont., to the mountains of Africa. While attending the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) with plans of a career in the dairy field, Cranfield worked at Riverview as a zookeeper in the summer months. The experience sparked his love of wildlife — he still returns to Riverview each year to work for a week.

After graduating, he worked in a large animal practice before landing the first joint residency with the Toronto Zoo and OVC in zoological medicine and pathology. He later moved on to the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, where he focused on

(from top) Mike Cranfield with Congolese veterinarian Eddy Kambale; a wire snare.

WHERE GORILLAS LIVE Virunga Massif (Rwanda, DRC, Uganda)

480 mountain gorillas

73% habituated

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Uganda)

400 mountain gorillas

50% habituated

research and the preventive health care of its 1,500 animals. Cranfield joined the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project, the precursor to Gorilla Doctors, in 1998.

“Mike’s easy to get along with and a lot of fun, but he has this strong commitment and cares deeply for the gorillas and the people he works with,” says Dale Smith, a pathobiology professor at OVC who has worked with Gorilla Doctors in Africa identifying diseases affecting the gorillas and potential risks to humans. “And he’s right out there working in the field with everyone else.”

Cranfield usually spends about five months a year in Africa (he’s spent almost all of 2015 there), and much of that time is spent in the jungle. Gorilla troops are monitored daily by trackers, and teams of veterinarians perform jungle rounds to each group once a month to perform health checks, recording information such as body condition, activity and respiration for each gorilla group. If a gorilla is suffering from a human-induced or life-threatening injury or illness, plans are made to medically intervene. The vets can Fall 2015 PORTICO | 19

20 | PORTICO Fall 2015

THE VETS ALWAYS WEIGH THE EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING OF THE TROOP AGAINST ANY INTERVENTION BEFORE DECIDING ON A COURSE OF ACTION.

GORILLA FACTS

Þ

Gorillas live in groups called troops or bands ranging in size from just a few individuals up to several dozen.

Þ

A dominant male who has reached sexual maturity – called a silverback – leads each group.

Þ

A male gorilla can eat up to 18 kg of vegetation each day.

Þ

The average lifespan of a gorilla in the wild is 35 to 40 years.

30,000 people travel to Rwanda alone for a chance to visit the gorillas. The money generated helps the park and the gorillas, but exposing the animals to so many people also increases the risk of disease transmission.

Cranfield argues the gorillas’ situation is already abnormal.

“It was imperative to act quickly, which stopped the downhill trend in gorilla numbers, and now it’s the only known population of great apes to be on the increase,” says Cranfield. “And the truth is, the gorilla habitat and behaviours have already been affected by the tourists and communities. It’s not a natural situation at this point.”

Cranfield feels Gorilla Doctors has achieved a good balance by focusing on treating human-induced or life-threatening situations. The veterinarians always weigh the emotional well-being of the troop against any intervention before deciding on a course of action. If a mother is killed and an infant needs treatment, for example, the vets will study the interactions between the baby and its father or

other members of the troop, and balance the need for medical treatment with the fragile social implications of an intervention.

This balanced approach seems to be working. A comprehensive study led by American primatologist Martha Robbins, published in 2011, shows the life-saving veterinary care provided by Gorilla Doctors may account for up to 40 per cent of the increase in the gorilla population. That, Cranfield says, makes the effort worthwhile. back in the Virunga Massif, with four charging male gorillas coming straight for them, Cranfield and his team had only one course of action: “We just got out of there as fast as we could,” he says. “It was very unnerving.” With the team at a safe distance, the silverbacks are calmed and the veterinarians can monitor the mother and baby as they recover.

Cranfield didn’t get the nasal swab, but when the team returned to check in on the troop the next day, he could see an improvement.

The baby, now alert and inquisitive, was nursing and appeared to be on the road to recovery.

For Cranfield, the thrill of having an impact and working hands-on to save a species is just one aspect of his job that he loves.

“Gorillas look at you with intelligence in their eyes,” he says. “While I appreciate the challenge of a complex clinical case, my favourite days are when I can observe the gorillas in a relaxed situation, just doing their normal activities.”

YOU CAN DO  WHAT TO HELP THE GORILLAS

• Conserve at home by reducing water and energy use.

• Invest in “green” companies that aren’t harming the environment.

• Donate at gorilladoctors.org.

PHOTO: GORILLA DOCTORS

follow a troop for up to four hours through dense vegetation to find a clear shot to deliver antibiotics or sedate an animal. If a gorilla spots a tranquilizer gun, it will often vocalize an alarm and the whole troop will race away. Gorillas have bitten trackers and veterinarians while trying to protect their families.

Heavy rains often turn the pathways to mud or force the team to climb steep terrain in layers of wet, slippery vegetation. Other days, extreme heat adds to the difficulty.

Park rangers and porters assist the veterinarians by carrying equipment bags, which weigh about 30 kilograms each.

Gorilla Doctors works closely with governments and the United Nations to monitor safety issues in the region, and their work has been suspended because of political unrest and warfare in DRC. In the last 10 years, 140 government park rangers in DRC have been killed protecting the gorillas. Gorilla Doctors had one close call — a team in DRC was held at gunpoint by rebels, but no one was hurt.

Cranfield says despite the risks and hard work, the interventions they perform are necessary.

“We feel if we make some headway with gorillas, we can help other species, too,” he says. He calls gorillas a “flagship species” — if habitats are preserved for them, many other endangered animals that share their territory are also protected. Cranfield also suggests proactively vaccinating gorillas against disease to ensure their survival.

Some conservationists say the organization is going too far, and their interactions with the gorillas are making the species less wild. Of the 880 gorillas in the world today, up to 500 are human-habituated, meaning they are accustomed to the presence of humans. Ecotourism also plays into this — every year

WE’VE

LAUNCHED

AWEBSITE! NEW

The brand new Portico website features stories from the magazine, along with web-exclusive extras such as videos, photo galleries and more! Subscribe to receive the latest posts or submit your grad update online. Visit www.porticomagazine.ca today.

MAKING WAVES

FROM THE LAKES IN ONTARIO’S COTTAGE COUNTRY TO THE AIRWAVES IN B.C., SCOTT DUKE IS FINDING SMALL-TOWN ENTREPRENEURIAL SUCCESS Story by Andrew Vowles Photography by Keri Knapp

22 | PORTICO Fall 2015

W

hen Scott Duke moved across the country to small-town Revelstoke, B.C., he had a clear plan: snowboard 100 days of the year.

To put that plan into action, he needed a job. For Duke, who first ventured into the world of entrepreneurship as a teenager, this didn’t mean working at the local coffee shop or ski hill; it meant starting a business. He quickly established his sixth startup company, Duke’s Dogs, a hot dog cart in the downtown area.

“It was a way to earn enough money to comfortably support myself while working minimum hours that didn’t conflict with snowboarding during the day,” says Duke, B.Comp. ’05. “It also had low overhead, high margins and didn’t require staff. I still think of it as one of my more successful ventures — it achieved everything it set out to do.” @porticomag

That was seven years ago. Today, Duke, 33, is still based in Revelstoke, but he’s moved on from the hot dog cart. He’s now the owner of Stoke FM, a radio station he started in the basement of his house, and a property management company. He’s also a city councillor.

“I’m into whatever I can learn,” Duke says of his business strategy. Since graduating he’s also run a jet-ski rental business, a boat-cleaning company and a wakeboarding camp. Not everything worked out: a snowmobile rental company was a flop but still a learning experience.

Many entrepreneurs create a business based on their passion or interest. For Duke, the product or service he offers is secondary.

“What I’m passionate about is finding voids in the marketplace and figuring out ways to fill them.”

duke’s knack for spotting an opportunity goes back to his teenage years in Mississauga, Ont. Seeking a better alternative to his local high school, he settled on an arts school. He wasn’t particularly artistic, but he did see an opening in the music program, where few students played the saxophone. After a year of intensive classes to learn the tenor sax, he applied and got in.

His first business was Fleece It, a project he started with other students in his entrepreneurship class. They made fleece gloves, hats and scarves, and Duke did the majority of sewing and production on his mother’s sewing machine.

In high school he also discovered software programming, which he enjoyed. Most diehard computer science students he knew headed for the University of Waterloo, but he liked Guelph’s Fall 2015 PORTICO | 23

location, size and culture. “It has a smalltown feel but it’s not a small-town school.”

With a tech boom going on, companies were plucking students out of computing programs almost before they could complete them. Within the first year of Duke’s degree, that boom went bust.

But he gained other benefits besides learning how to program. Duke says Guelph taught him how to continually learn and the importance of social interaction. And he found something else while on campus: a way to combine his longtime love for the outdoors with a budding passion for entrepreneurship.

Duke was five years old when he started waterskiing on Georgian Bay—he switched to wakeboarding at 12. Into his teens, he realized that keeping up watersports would take equipment, which required money, and “profits are better than wages.”

During his U of G studies, he started a painting outfit in Muskoka, Ont., which grew to include 25 employees. “The work was never for work — it was to learn and support a fun habit. The only way to make money and have free time to wakeboard was to run something of my own,” says Duke, who also learned about the stress of entrepreneurship when he landed in

24 | PORTICO Fall 2015

SCOTT DUKE’S 10 STARTUPS 1. Lakeside Quality Painters: house/cottage painting 2. Basecamp: wakeboarding camp 3. Muskoka Custom Clinics: wakeboarding lessons 4. Muskoka Waverunner Rentals: jet-ski rentals 5. Duke’s Detailing: boat cleaning 6. Duke’s Dogs: hot dog cart 7. Sledshare: snowmobile rentals 8. Stoke FM: radio station 9. Revelstoke Property Services: property management 10. Welstand: business brokerage

continue running the business.”

During those years, he began spending winters skiing in the British Columbia interior. In 2008, he moved to Revelstoke, a former railway town that has become a winter sports destination and is home to about 8,000 people. “I came out here for the lifestyle — same as any decision I ever made in my life.”

as an outsider, Duke spotted an opportunity. Revelstoke had a commercial radio station, but he saw room for a community-based alternative. Not that he had any experience in radio: as a student, he wasn’t even involved with Guelph’s campus station. the hospital with an ulcer.

“Think of someone running a radio After graduating, he opened Basecamp, a wakeboarding camp on Muskoka’s Lake station and you think of someone passionRosseau, and ran it for five years. By the ate about music,” says Duke, whose station time he sold the business, it was the lar- bio gleefully highlights his lack of radio gest wakeboard facility in North America. and music credentials. Despite his musical “I’m of the thought that you’ve never taste being “generic,” he saw a gap in the ‘made it,’” says Duke. “I’ve just lived my marketplace, and after some research, life always doing what I wanted knew he could fill it. to do. There was a time I wanted Duke, with Stoke FM began in his basement — he funded its startup to own a successful wakeboard partner Eve costs by holding concerts, and facility. After I accomplished Northmore, moved to raised the necessary $10,000 afthat goal and learned all I could Revelstoke for ter three events. To get it up and from it, there was no reason to the lifestyle. running, he had to learn about equipment and operation, which included bolting a 17-metre antenna to his house. He also had to navigate the strict regulations of the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission, and Industry Canada. After just four months on the air, the business broke even. Stoke FM stayed in Duke’s basement for two years, where he picked the music and hosted a morning show, until earlier this year when the station moved to a downtown office space. It now has five employees and owns 85 per cent of the market share. But Duke doesn’t count it as a success quite yet.

“The first cheque I put in the bank from a radio advertiser gave me a great feeling of accomplishment,” says Duke. “But those feelings are always temporary because running a business has daily ups and downs. For instance, today I have three ad sales calls and I have to sell all of

them to ensure we have enough cash flow this month to make payroll in eight days.

The day I hand off a fully operational station to a new owner, I’ll consider the business a success.”

Duke also operates a property management company with his partner, Eve Northmore. It started as a vacation rental business, but he saw a development boom coming to town. Revelstoke Property Services now manages 160 units, both residential and commercial, and also includes a cleaning company.

Being an entrepreneur in a small town can have its challenges: staffing shortages, limited resources and a small customer base. But Duke says less competition is a big benefit. Where some see obstacles, Duke sees opportunity.

“What’s nice about a small town is they’re like petri dishes: you can do something here, test it out and then scale it up.”

Last fall, Duke won election to city council. From its blue-collar roots in rail and logging, Revelstoke has become a tourism magnet with more resort properties. “I really like it here,” says Duke, who has created a hobby farm in the backyard @porticomag

“WHAT’S NICE ABOUT A SMALL TOWN IS THEY’RE LIKE PETRI DISHES: YOU CAN DO SOMETHING HERE, TEST IT OUT AND THEN SCALE IT UP.” he shares with Northmore, complete with chickens and daily fresh eggs. “It’s not that I can save the town (from development), but I can be a part of making it better.”

Earlier this year, Duke launched yet another new company to buy and sell other businesses, and he’s taking continuing education courses through York University and the International Business Brokers Association. He says his biggest challenge is concentrating on a single career path, but thinks the business brokerage could ultimately be his main focus.

“I think biting off more than you can chew is really the only way to grow,” he says of his growing portfolio. “Constant learning and the application of new knowledge is truly the key to success. I think most people understand this, but they’re too nervous to practically apply what they’ve learned or they’re too lazy

to learn in the first place.”

As for Duke’s pursuit of the ideal lifestyle, he may not be snowboarding 100 days of the year, but his priorities are the same: work hard at what he loves, play hard as much as he can and choose the path that’s right for him, even if it’s a more difficult one.

“I ride my bike to work and I can go skiing on Canada’s highest vertical mountain during my lunch break,” he says.

“Yesterday I did a business deal in the gondola going up to the top of the mountain to have coffee. Although I have to piece together many smaller ventures to total an income that’s equivalent to one decentpaying managerial job in the city, it’s worth the trade-off many times over.”

To listen to Stoke FM online, visit stokefm.com.

Fall 2015 PORTICO | 25

Spotlight

Engineering an 80-calorie cooler

“ WE SAW THE TRENDS IN THE MARKETPLACE. PEOPLE ARE WATCHING THEIR CALORIES; PEOPLE ARE EATING LESS SUGAR.”

26 | PORTICO Fall 2015

Two Guelph engineering grads are putting their skills to use in a refreshing way. Instead of designing buildings or bridges, Dan Beach and Kevin Folk, both B.Sc. (Eng.) ’01, engineered a “healthier” vodka cooler made with natural flavours — their SoCIAL Lite Vodka contains no sugar, gluten or artificial colours, and it has only 80 calories per can.

Beach and Folk met as undergrads at U of G and worked in their respective fields for several years after graduation. What started as a mutual fondness for vodka coolers turned into a business venture — after some market research, they discovered a niche for low-calorie vodka-based beverages, the top-selling mixed drink at bars across Canada.

“We saw the trends in the marketplace,” says Beach. “People are watching their calories; people are eating less sugar.”

After experimenting with different flavours, they approached the Business Development Bank of Canada and received funding for their idea. Their next stop was the Guelph Food Technology Centre, which helped them develop their beverage’s flavours. It took eight months to create the brand’s two flavours: lime ginger and lemon cucumber mint. Achieving the right flavour balance involved some trial and error — one recipe was too mint-heavy and tasted like toothpaste, says Folk.

“The flavours we use are all natural,” he says.

“You can pronounce every ingredient: it’s basically carbonated water, vodka, natural flavours and either lemon or lime juice concentrate.” Pasteurization

eliminates the need for preservatives, he adds. “That definitely sets us apart from the competition.”

They partnered with Still Waters Distillery in Concord, Ont., to make their vodka, which contains four per cent alcohol. Beach says most vodka coolers contain neutral grain spirit, a low-grade alcohol made from corn. “In order to cover up the flavour and create a pleasant flavour profile, they add a lot of sugar.” That can add up to 300 calories per bottle.

SoCIAL Lite Vodka was launched in Alberta in September 2014, and the duo hopes to expand sales into British Columbia this year and the rest of Canada in 2016.

The entrepreneurs advise other startups to be passionate about their ideas, but don’t expect instant results. No matter how many taste-testings Beach and Folk did, they admit that starting their own business was challenging and time-consuming. Beach quit his full-time engineering job to focus on SoCIAL Lite Vodka. Their personal lives also took a hit, says Folk, referring to “annoyed [yet supportive] wives.”

Their efforts are starting to pay off with sales around $150,000, and positive feedback from consumers and retailers. They have also appeared on Dragon’s Den and are currently working with “dragon” investor Arlene Dickinson.

“Dan and I can say that all of our hard work is paying off,” says Folk. “We created a viable brand from scratch, and we will continue to apply the same energy and dedication to build a Canadian success story.”—SUSAN BUBAK

The unexpected adventures of a vet in Newfoundland

u Also try REVEL CIDER, a dry cider crafted with 100 per cent Ontario apples, hops and Canadian oak. Its Hop X cider, created with a new Ontario hop varietal, has flavours of orange, strawberry and lychee, and its Liquid Gold cider is fermented with a wild Ontario yeast infusing it with flavours of guava and citrus. Created by plant science graduate TARIQ AHMED, B.Sc. ‘15, Revel Cider is available at various locations in southern Ontario.

@porticomag

When veterinarian Andrew Peacock moved from Ontario to Newfoundland, it was to take a job caring for livestock.

But when a whale needed his help, it became a highlight of his veterinary career, and one of the hilarious and heartwarming stories in his book, Creatures of the Rock (Doubleday Canada, 2014).

The memoir, which won the Newfoundland and Labrador Book Award for Non-Fiction and was longlisted for the 2015 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour, recounts Peacock’s experiences as the only veterinarian on a 200-km stretch of the island’s Avalon Peninsula. Divided into engaging short stories, the book also touches on his family life, including the challenges of fitting into a new community and starting a family.

After graduating from the Ontario Veterinary College in 1982, Peacock and his wife moved to Newfoundland with the intention of spending two years there — almost 30 years later, they still call the province home.

“It was something that went through my mind, really from the first day of practice when I saw the unusual practice I was in, that I wanted to write a book about it,” says Peacock, who is now retired from clinical practice.

His entertaining tales include helping to capture a polar bear in a bingo hall, performing a cesarean section on a cow in a blizzard, dealing with a hallucinating lynx and performing an EKG on a whale in the Atlantic Ocean.

“I wasn’t familiar with treating whales,” says Peacock of that particular adventure. “I had read a book about marine mammal diseases and spent time with whale researchers and fishermen.”

A common theme is the connection between people and animals, and a story about euthanizing a cat is among Peacock’s favourites, despite his wife’s request to exclude it because she thought it was too sad.

“It is quite a sad story but it seems to really touch people,” he says. “It’s a story about kids facing reality better than adults. I think a lot of people relate to that.”

Working with people is also central to being a veterinarian and a component of the book. “It requires an enormous amount of tact,” says Peacock of the job. “It requires an understanding of people more than an understanding of animals.”

Peacock is currently working on his second book and is enjoying his new literary career. —SUSAN BUBAK

u Also read Lucky Dog: How Being a Veterinarian Saved My Life (Anansi Press, 2014) by Sarah Boston, D.V.Sc. ’03.

When veterinary surgical oncologist Sarah Boston suspects a growth in her neck is thyroid cancer — and then uses a portable ultrasound machine on herself to investigate — she begins a journey through the human health-care system and shares her perspective as an animal doctor along the way. Recalling poignant stories from her veterinary career, this funny and moving memoir teaches us how the human medical world can learn from the way we treat our beloved dogs.

Have an idea for an alumni spotlight?

Send us a note at porticomagazine@ uoguelph.ca.

Fall 2015 PORTICO | 27

This I know

How to teach your baby sign language Babies usually begin saying their first words between the ages of one and two, but they can start communicating even earlier if they learn sign language, says Laura Berg, founder of My Smart Hands Inc., a company that teaches parents how to sign with their babies.

After graduating from U of G with a sociology degree in 1999, Berg went to teacher’s college where she learned sign language. “I fell in love with it,” she says.

“We did a literacy program at our school, and when I was researching different techniques to use in literacy programs, I kept coming across the idea of signing BERG'S TOP THREE TIPS FOR TEACHING YOUR BABY HOW TO SIGN 1 Be consistent. Start with a simple, commonly used word such as “milk.” Sign the word every time you say it, much like you would teach your baby how to say and wave “bye-bye.”

2 Begin with a few words, then add new ones as your baby learns them.

3 Don’t get discouraged or compare your baby’s progress with others.

You and your baby are learning a new language, so make it fun!

with babies, which made total sense.”

Babies develop gross motor skills earlier than fine motor skills, allowing them to make hand gestures before they can speak, she explains.

When her daughter, Fireese, was born, Berg decided to stay home with her but wanted to continue earning an income.

Combining her teaching and sign language background, she began offering baby sign language lessons in her living room.

To help promote her business, she made a YouTube video showing her signing with her then one-year-old daughter. Viewers often asked Berg if they could take lessons with her or

become an instructor, so she developed a curriculum for her program. She now has more than 200 instructors across North America, some of whom are also stay-at-home moms, and her YouTube channel has more than 30 million views.

Sign language takes the guesswork out of trying to figure out what your baby wants. “The number one benefit is that it really helps to reduce frustration for both the baby and the parent,” says Berg. “With them being able to tell you what they want, it makes your life a lot easier.” She says babies who know how to sign have fewer temper tantrums because they can express themselves in a way their parents can understand.

As an example, Berg tells the story of her daughter, who was already signing at 10 months. When Berg gave her some Cheerios to eat, her daughter threw them on the floor and signed “more.” Puzzled, Berg asked her what else she wanted, and her daughter replied “more cheese” in sign language.

“At 10 months, she put together a two-word sentence, which I never would have imagined a 10-month-old baby could do.”

Berg says that some parents are concerned that teaching their baby to sign will delay their son or daughter’s spoken language skills. “Language and speech are not the same thing,” she says.

“Babies will talk when they’re ready to talk, but it gives them a useful language to use until they develop the ability to talk.” —SUSAN BUBAK

eat 28 | PORTICO Fall 2015

milk

Mommy

more

PHOTO AND ILLUSTRATIONS: COURTESY LAURA BERG

Some easy-to-teach signs for babies

www.leadership.uoguelph.ca

Business + Making a difference

“

The on-line MA Leadership program went far beyond my expectations. As a leader in senior care, specifically Long Term Care I was able to bring my experience together with academia.

The course work immediately applicable to my work in senior care set the stage for new career opportunities to unfold.

Elaine Shantz

”

Chief Operating Officer, peopleCare Inc.

Alumni: recruit from Guelph!

Hire a co-op student or new grad • Post co-op, full-time, part-time and summer jobs year round.

• Co-op: No waiting for a match!

Just post, interview and hire.

Post your jobs now @porticomag

www.recruitguelph.ca

(519) 824-4120 x52323

Fall 2015 PORTICO | 29

Create your legacy at the University of Guelph For information on bequests and planned giving, please contact Ross Butler at 519-824-4120, ext. 56196, rbutler@uoguelph.ca, or visit www.alumni.uoguelph.ca

Spread Your Wings University of Guelph Alumni Travel Program Educational Travel for Alumni and Friends

Learn more at alumni.uoguelph.ca/travel or call 519-824-4120, x 56934 or 1-888-266-3108

30 | PORTICO Fall 2015

Alumni matters COMING EVENTS

ALUMNI NEWS

The power of alumni pride

PHOTO: JONATHAN GOAD AS HAMLET BY DON DIXON

Y

ou could feel the alumni pride at Homecoming in September, with grads of all ages back on campus reconnecting and celebrating their love for U of G. It was a proud moment for the University of Guelph Alumni Association (UGAA) to present a cheque for $400,000 in support of the Building Potential campaign during halftime at the football game. The gift will be recognized in the naming of the student lounge and climbing wall inside the new Gryphons Athletic Centre. Scheduled to open in September 2016, the centre’s world-class athletics facilities will be another source of pride for the entire U of G community.

Gryphon pride is also felt so keenly during our biggest alumni event of the year, Alumni Weekend. We encourage you to mark the dates on your calendar —June 10-12, 2016 — and plan to celebrate your connection to the University of Guelph. Reunions, campus tours, craft beer tasting, a family picnic, alumni pub night … take your pick! If you’re interested in organizing a class or group reunion event on campus, our staff are ready

to help you plan it — just send a note to alumni@uoguelph.ca.

Like proud parents, the University of Guelph community applauds alumni who go on to make a difference in their professions and communities. We celebrated just a few alumni who bring great honour to their alma mater at our first Awards of Excellence Gala in June during Alumni Weekend. It was an inspirational evening, and our winners are exceptional: Ken Murray, BSA ’50, and Marilyn Murray, B.H.Sc. ’55 (Alumni Volunteer Award); Sarah Rothwell, B.Sc. (Eng.) ’07 (Alumni Medal of Achievement); and Karl Stensson, BLA ’73 (Alumnus of Honour).

Each one has a story that makes you proud to be a U of G grad. If you missed the gala, you can watch the winners’ videos online at www.alumni.uoguelph.ca/awardsofexcellence.

Honouring excellence and acknowledging Guelph grads for their outstanding achievements helps us tell the U of G alumni story.

Please consider nominating an alumnus/ alumna in the UGAA Awards of Excellence Program — the deadline is Jan. 31. Visit www.alumni.uoguelph.ca for details.

Brandon Gorman, B.Comm. ’06 President UGAA

Jason Moreton, BA ’00 Assistant Vice-President Alumni Advancement

Jan. 17, 2016 OVC Reception at NAVC Alumni attending the North American Veterinary Community Conference in Orlando, Florida, are invited to the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) reception at 7 p.m. Catch up with friends and meet Jeff Wichtel, new OVC dean.

Jan. 19, 2016 Florida Sugarland Tour Join U of G alumni in Florida on a bus trip for a sugarcane harvesting and processing tour.

Overnight accommodations are available.

Jan. 27, 2016 OVCAA Networking Night Fourth-year students and alumni are invited to the annual Ontario Veterinary College Alumni Association networking night at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto at 7 p.m.

Feb. 10, 2016 Florida Edison-Ford Estates and River Tour Join U of G alumni in Florida for a biological and historical narration of Fort Myers harbour and lower Caloosahatchee River.

March 2, 2016 Florida Alumni Picnic Reunion Join fellow alumni at Maple Leaf Estates in Port Charlotte, Florida, with special guest, U of G president Franco Vaccarino.

For details and a full list of events, visit www.alumni. uoguelph.ca/events.

GRAD PERKS

Alumni library card

Alumni have access to more than 4,000 e-journals and resources at the McLaughlin Library — all you need is an alumni card and an Internet connection. www.alumni.uoguelph.ca/benefits @porticomag

Continuing education

Open Learning and Educational Support at the University of Guelph extends educational resources to learners worldwide. Alumni receive a 20 per cent discount on OpenEd programs. Call Alumni House at 519-8244120, Ext. 56934.

Stratford Festival

Alumni save 25 per cent off select productions throughout the festival season. www. alumni.uoguelph.ca/ promotions Fall 2015 PORTICO | 31

Alumni matters

(above, l-r) Members of the 1965 Redmen Football team: Bill Rapley, DVM ’71, Ed Barrie, B.Sc. ’68, and Doug Goudy, B.Sc. ’68, celebrate the team’s 50th anniversary with the pre-game coin toss with U of G president Franco Vaccarino (right). (below, l-r) Emma Clements, Sarah Davies, B.Sc. ’15, Maija Irvine, B.Sc. ’15, and Audrey De Jong B.Sc. ’15, sport their alumni T-shirts at the UGAA pre-game party at the Brass Taps.

FEATURED EVENT

Wet weather didn’t dampen spirits at U of G’s Homecoming celebrations on Sept. 19. More than 150 alumni gathered at the Brass Taps for the University of Guelph Alumni Association’s pre-game party, and the College of Business and Economics (CBE) reunion.

There were greetings from Malcolm Campbell, vice-president (research), Daniel Atlin, vice-president (external) and Julia Christensen 32 | PORTICO Fall 2015

Hughes, CBE dean, before alumni headed off to Alumni Stadium to cheer on the Gryphons as they battled McMaster. Almost 8,500 fans watched as the Gryphons defeated the Marauders 33-23.

New this year, the GryFAN ZONE in Alumni Stadium featured a licensed area for spectators on top of the hill.

An annual Homecoming tradition brings varsity football

alumni together for a celebration of U of G’s rich football history.

This year, the Redmen Reunion celebrated late coach Dick Brown, who coached at U of G from 1966 to the early 1990s. More than 100 alumni attended, and many of them played under Brown.

Members of the 1990 and 1965 teams also marked their 25th and 50th anniversary milestones.

PHOTO: KYLE RODRIGUEZ

Homecoming

The Gryphons defeated the McMaster Marauders in a rainy match at Alumni Field.

CLASS NOTES

1950s

Joan Tailyour, DVM ’50, celebrated her 100th birthday June 4, 2015. She lives in Kelowna, B.C.

1960s

Awards of Excellence recipients (l-r) Sarah Rothwell, B.Sc. (Eng.) ’07, Karl Stensson, BLA ’73, and Ken and Marilyn Murray, BSA ’50 and B.H.Sc. ’55, received their awards at a gala event during Alumni Weekend. p The Rotary Club of Gagetown named Gerald Misener, B.Sc. (Eng.) ’68, a Paul Harris Fellow for his “service above self.” A retired research scientist, he is an active Rotarian and lives in New Brunswick with his wife, Adeline Misener, B.H.Sc. ’68.

1970s

Thomas Reaume, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’71, authored 620 Wild Plants of North America (University of Regina Press) and donated 10,000 of his pencil and ink drawings to the Canadian Museum of Nature. His new ebook, tom4art.ca, can be printed for free.

(l-r) Rob Naraj, Franco Vaccarino, Tom Kendall and Elizabeth Thomson.

ALUMNI GIVE BACK

The University of Guelph Alumni Association’s (UGAA) Elizabeth Thomson, vice-president external, and Rob Naraj, vice-president internal, presented a $400,000 cheque to the Building Potential campaign at the U of G Homecoming game at Alumni Stadium in September. Tom Kendall, director of athletics, and Franco Vaccarino, University of Guelph president, received the donation.

The Building Potential campaign is working hard to raise money for renovations to the W.F. Mitchell @porticomag

Centre. The UGAA is committed to supporting University-wide initiatives, and believes that by giving to the athletics facilities its gift will have impact on students, athletes and the greater community for years to come.

Learn more at www.buildingpotential.ca.

Lorie Jocius, B.A.Sc. ’72, aims to raise $125,000 for brain cancer research — matched by Brain Canada for a $250,000 total — through the Ginty Jocius Brain Cancer Research Fund. The fund was established in memory of her late husband, Ginty Jocius, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’70, who was an active alumnus and former chair of the OAC Foundation.

To donate, visit www.GintyFund.org.

Peter Charlton, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’76, was a dairy farmer for 25 years, and then worked at Farm Credit Canada for 15 years where he was an accredited senior agricultural appraiser. He is now enjoying retirement.

Nikki (Rand) Kelvin, BA ’76, completed a PhD in archeology at u Fall 2015 PORTICO | 33

Alumni matters the University of Sassari in Italy. For her dissertation, she was part of a team that excavated a medieval crypt in the Cathedral of Saint’Antonio Abate in Castelsardo that contained the remains of more than 100 individuals, several of whom were naturally mummified. After graduating from Guelph, she completed a master’s degree in Old and Middle English at the University of Waterloo and then worked as an editor and writing instructor at Western University and Fanshawe College. She has been married to David since 1978, and they have five children and six grandchildren with another due this fall. u Jane McNamee, BA ’76, received a Guelph Access Recognition Award for her work promoting accessibility and inclusion.

Kenneth Anderson, BA ’77, is semi-retired but still works for clients in Canada and abroad ranging from the Government of Canada and Universities Canada to the Ontario Real Estate Association.

Neil Dolson, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’77, MBA ’99, retired from his job as president and CEO of Nachurs-Alpine Solutions, an international starter fertilizer company. He spent his entire career working in agriculture, concentrating on fertilizers in the past few years, and has travelled around the world sharing his expertise. He now looks forward to travelling and pursuing other interests.

Rick Elliott, B.Sc. ’78, is “living the life” in Kelowna, B.C., working as a manager at Andrew Peller Wines in the Okanagan Valley.

He says he’s “still pinching myself to make sure I’m not dreaming!” Friends can contact him at rick.elliott@andrewpeller.com.

Leslie Newman, B.Sc. ’79, is studying penis fencing in flatworms and is working on a second volume of his book The World of Polyclads. He is also an adjunct professor at Southern Cross University in Lismore, Australia. He says, “I thought I was retired but I am busier than ever!”

Robert Wheelhouse, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’79, retired from Pfizer headquarters in New York City after a 33-year career.

1980s

Michael Pitcher, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’81, owns a bakery operation serving central and northern Vancouver Island. For the past 15 34 | PORTICO Fall 2015

years, he’s also been involved with timber reclamation and environmental cleanup in the Comox Valley, and has volunteered for the Canadian Association for Disabled Skiing and Habitat for Humanity.

Vikram Shrivastava, B.Sc. (Eng.) ’96, has been promoted to associate in professional services firm Dewberry’s Fairfax, Virginia, office. He has more than 15 years of experience in water resources engineering.

Tom Hedican, BA ’82, received an honorary doctorate of education from Nipissing University. A professional goaltending consultant, he founded Coach4Food, which has raised more than one million pounds of donated food.

Craig Shreve, B.Sc. ’97, published his debut novel, One Night in Mississippi (Dundurn Press), which The Globe and Mail listed as one of three small-press books to read.

Cameron Smillie, B.A.Sc. ’82, director of touring for Canada’s Ballet Jörgen, won the B.C. Touring Council 2015 Award for Agent/ Manager of the Year. He is also co-founder of Live at the Hippo Pool Events, Inc. and is an active volunteer for the arts.

Peter Tgahrt, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’82, travelled to Mexico earlier this year to celebrate his eldest son’s wedding.

Scott Fotheringham, B.Sc. ’85, earned his PhD at Cornell University Medical College and worked in molecular genetics, organic agriculture and other areas. He has always been passionate about writing, and his first novel, The Rest Is Silence (Goose Lane Editions 2012), was shortlisted for the Amazon.ca First Novel Award, the Dartmouth Book Award and an Ottawa Book Award. Currently, he is senior account manager at Philpott Communications, where he writes marketing and public relations material for a wide range of companies.

Susan Langille, B.A.Sc. ’85, lives in Lake St. Louis, Missouri, with her husband.

She is proud of her four children, two of whom graduated from U of G. She travels between the United States and Canada working as a local elementary substitute teacher in Missouri and a supply teacher for the Kawartha Pine Ridge School Board in Ontario.

Gary Teare, DVM ’86, PhD ’87, was appointed CEO of SK Health Quality Control in April.

1990s

Carol Poland, DVM ’90, has “shifted gears” from a professional veterinary career to coown the bike-friendly Grandview Chalet Bed & Breakfast in Canmore, Alta. She is a proud supporter of bike-friendly businesses that promote cycling.

Barbara Allen, B.Comm. ’91, is developing works of art, called Fibre Fantasies by the Sea, using materials from the Salish Sea such as threads for quilts, felts and more.

Sarah Dekker, Dipl. ’98, returned to school for transport truck driving, and has worked in various positions, driving equipment and performing office roles at trucking companies. In January 2014 she and husband Ed welcomed twins Brahm and Annika.

Sandra Stewart-Fearnside, B.Comm. ’98, moved from operations to sales with Choice Hotels Canada, Inc., where she is now managing the inside sales support team.

Her team assists with client inquiries, group and tour reservations and relations with the United States team of specialists.

2000s

Daranne Harris, B.Comm. ’00, was appointed vice-president and chief mission officer for the Bethany Care Society, one of Alberta’s leading providers of continuing care and housing. She lives in Calgary with her husband, Greg, and their son, Spencer.

Raquel Aurini, BA ’01, was married Aug. 8, 2015.

Alisha Janzen, DVM ’04, and husband Michael Janzen, B.Sc. ’03, welcomed daughter Sophia Marie on Oct. 17, 2014.

Andrew Kaszowski, B.A.A ’06, started a new job as interactive media design and communication specialist at the London Public Library where he oversees its website and social media strategy. He says, “I’m very excited and loving it so far. It’s so great to be working with an organization that’s so important to the community.”

Laurie Sievenpiper, MA ’06, recently published two erotic romance novels, Journey to Destiny and Thomas’ Journey, under the pseudonym Lauree Ann. She is working on her fifth novel.

Dr. Alex Folkl, B.Sc. ’06, M.Sc. ’08, completed residency requirements in emergency medicine at McMaster University and works at Guelph General Hospital. His wife, Kathryn Kuntz Folkl, M.Sc. ’04, is national manager, North American Wetlands Conservation Act, at the Nature Conservancy of Canada. They have one son, John, and live in Guelph.

several U of G alumni in attendance. The couple met on the student-run First Response Team at U of G. Piggott graduated from McMaster University’s medicine program in 2014 and is now completing a public health residency at McMaster. Jewell is studying medicine at the University of Toronto.

p It may not be the typical romantic setting for wedding photos, but for Matt Downey, B.Comm. ’07, and Vanessa Tran, B.Sc. ’07, the University of Guelph’s McLaughlin Library holds “a lot of fun memories” studying together as undergrads. The couple, who met at U of G, were married Aug. 23 at War Memorial Hall. Downey now works at an accounting firm in Hamilton and Tran is completing a postdoc in a Toronto research lab studying malaria.

Sasha Romasco, B.Comm. ’07, is pursuing an MBA at Mannheim Business School in Mannheim, Germany.

Lauren Langille, B.Comm. ’13, recently graduated from the University of Missouri with a master’s degree in journalism.

She was a recipient of the White House Correspondents’ Association scholarship presented by President Barack Obama in April 2015. She has interned with Bloomberg News and CNBC, and lives in Washington, D.C. Jennifer Turner, B.A.Sc. ’12, earned a master’s degree in public policy and administration at Ryerson University in 2014. She has worked at the Social Planning Council of Toronto and the United Way in policy analysis and research.

Benson Langille, B.Sc. (HK) ’13, works as a materials flow coordinator for General Motors’ Corvette assembly plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky. In August 2015, he married his high school sweetheart,

Brittany Johnston, BA ’13. She received her bachelor of education from Queen’s University in 2014.

Shannon Coffey, B.Sc. ’15, was one of 10 people selected for a summer internship at Baycrest Health Sciences. Her placement focused on clinical issues in gerontology and evaluation techniques, among other areas.

Tulsidai Ramdass, B.Sc. ’15, works in research at Mt. Sinai Hospital.

Stay connected #ForeverAGryphon @uofgalumni

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Read www.porticomagazine.ca Update your contact information, learn about events and get involved: www.alumni.uoguelph.ca

Kathryn Marsilio, B.Sc. ’08, MPH ’10, received her doctor of medicine degree from the University of Toronto in 2014, and is now completing a residency program in public health and preventive medicine. Upon completion, she will be certified as both a family physician and a public health physician.

Among her public health interests are mental health promotion and youth wellness. She says one of the best things about attending U of G is the “expectation that students will be part of the community,” which inspired her passion for volunteering and her interest in mental health.

Karen Sibrian Tobar, B.A.Sc. ’08, graduated from the Military Police Academy in Borden, Ont., and has started her first deployment.

Rishi Sethi, B.Comm. ’09, is managing partner of SutureOut, a startup company that makes suture removal devices in Toronto.

PHOTO: CX PHOTOGRAPHY

Zoë Martos, B.Sc. ’10, MPH ’13, represented Canada and placed second in the Arctic Council’s Youth Art Competition.

Angela Cavanagh, M.Sc. ’11, graduated from medical school at Western University in May 2015.

Thomas Piggott, B.Sc. ’11, and Laura Jewell, B.Sc. ’10, were married Aug. 1 with @porticomag

Fall 2015 PORTICO | 35

Alumni matters Passages ALUMNI David Alexander, BAA ’10, July 4, 2015 Peter Allan, BA ’74, April 13, 2014 Frank Archibald, B.Sc. ’39, March 23, 2015 David Ayling, B.Sc. ’75, March 2014 Clifford Barnard, BSA ’49, Jan. 17, 2015 Iris Beaton, DHE ’50, April 24, 2015 Jean Boyce, DHE ’41, July 8, 2014 Billie Bridgman, DHE ’39, Sept. 5, 2015 Barbara Brown, B.H.Sc. ’53, Jan. 14, 2015 Charles Brown, Dipl. ’69, April 8, 2015 Philip Bryant, DVM ’56, Nov. 4, 2014 Robert Buck, Dipl. ’59, Jan. 18, 2015 Richard Bull, BSA ’54, Dec. 17, 2014 Margaret Burdsall, DHE ’41, Dec. 13, 2014 John Busch, BSA ’42, May 24, 2015 William Campbell, BSA ’55, Dec. 26, 2014 Marianne Cannon, B.Sc. ’09, Jan. 8, 2015 Lewis Cass, Dipl. ’47, Jan. 30, 2015 Donald Chambers, Dipl. ’49, Dec. 22, 2015 Cameron Clark, BSA ’53, Jan. 17, 2015 Keith Clarke, BSA ’53, Aug. 26, 2015 Kenneth Clinton, BSA ’55, Oct. 10, 2014 Ronald Cojocar, DVM ’66, Nov. 19, 2014 Paul Couse, BSA ’46, Dec. 22, 2014 Earl Coxon, DVM ’41, Dec. 18, 2014 David Croskery, Dipl. ’48, March 19, 2015 Lorne Crosson, PhD ’72, Dec. 19, 2014 Bruce Cudmore, BLA ’72, Dec. 6, 2014 Everett Daboll, Dipl. ’51, May 14, 2015 Henry Delanghe, Dipl. ’57, July 16, 2015 Robert Dillon, BSA ’48, Dec. 4, 2014 Susan Dreier, B.Sc. ’77, Dec. 13, 2014 Melanie Drinnan, BA ’93, Nov. 21, 2014 Alexander Drysdale, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’83, M.Sc. ’89, June 25, 2015 Robert Dunlop, DVM ’56, Dec. 18, 2014 John Eccles, BSA ’40, Feb. 17, 2015 Marguerite Elliot, DHE ’39, Feb. 21, 2014 Jack Elliott, BSA ’50, May 6, 2014 Barbara Ferrari, B.H.Sc. ’56, March 5, 2014 David Flatt, DVM ’55, Nov. 4, 2014 Rachel Francone, BA ’11, April 30, 2015 James Giles, BSA ’51, April 25, 2015 Maureen Goldsmith, BA ’88, Dec. 22, 2013 John Gordon, DVM ’69, Jan. 6, 2015 George Gould, DVM ’50, July 2, 2015 Anthony Hall, BSA ’59, May 8, 2014 James Hamilton, Dipl. ’66, May 10, 2014 Christine Harrison, BA ’76, June 29, 2015 Clare Hartley, Dipl. ’51, April 11, 2015 Allan Harvey, BSA ’45, Dec. 2, 2014 Norman Hawkins, DVM ’57, July 15, 2015 Jennifer Heard, BA ’10, June 12, 2015 Margaret Hedley, B.H.Sc. ’64, Feb. 23, 2015 Frances Hoffman, BA ’82, Jan. 26, 2014 Andrew Holt, B.Sc. ’82, Jan. 17, 2015 Ronald Holt, Dipl. ’47, Feb. 18, 2014 Albert Ings, DVM ’52, March 20, 2015 Susan Irvine, BA ’77, May 3, 2015 John Jackman, BSA ’46, Jan. 29, 2015 Harry Jacobi, BSA ’57, May 13, 2015 Roy Jeffrey, BSA ’53, Aug. 20, 2014 36 | PORTICO Fall 2015

Emerson Jennings, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’50, Aug. 6, 2015 Keith Kelly, BSA ’54, Feb. 1, 2015 Oswald Kelton, DVM ’57, Nov. 27, 2014 Brian Kidd, B.Sc. ’70, Aug. 15, 2014 Robert Kidd, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’70, April 3, 2014 Diane Kingsley, BA ’78, April 27, 2015 Gerald Kinsella, Dipl. ’69, Feb. 14, 2014 Richard Kohler, Dipl. ’86, Jan. 17, 2015 Alex Landon, BSA ’49, July 22, 2014 Warren Lee, BSA ’63, Feb. 17, 2015 Beatrix Lehmann, DHE ’40, Oct. 10, 2014 Christine Littlefield, BA ’70, April 15, 2014 Salvadore Lococo, DVM ’61, Feb. 16, 2015 Adam Loney, B.Sc. (Eng.) ’96, Feb. 27, 2015 Gage MacKay, BA ’99, Sept. 15, 2014 Ralph MacNally, Dipl. ’49. Sept. 3. 2014 Dorothy Malkin, DHE ’34, March 30, 2015 Wolfgang Marold, DVM ’59, April 15, 2015 John Mayhew, Dipl. ’57, July 13, 2014 Ian McAllister, BSA ’55, Feb. 20, 2015 David McGowan, BA ’04, May 7, 2015 Peter McKercher, DVM ’50, Nov. 28, 2013 Andrew McLaughlin, BSA ’50, June 26, 2015 Garnet Mills, BSA ’50, Nov. 22, 2014 Helen Miller, DHE ’41, Nov. 16, 2013 Diane Milne, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’72, May 6, 2015 Marian Morgan, Dipl. ’51, Jan. 12, 2015 Elizabeth Moyer, DHE ’36, March 20, 2015 Nick Muller, Dipl. ’57, Dec. 11, 2014 John Mustard, DVM ’49, May 29, 2015 Hilda Neable, DHE ’39, April 7, 2014 Stephen Nessner, BSA ’50, Aug. 19, 2015 Marion Newton, DHE ’55, Jan. 30, 2015 Thomas Nicol, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’89, July 11, 2015 Jean Osborne, DHE ’38, May 25, 2015 Peter Ozols, B.Sc. (Eng.) ’86, June 17, 2015 Leonard Pabs-Garnon, PhD ’70, April 3, 2015 Jacobus Pantekoek, DVM ’66, May 17, 2014 Jeffrey Parker, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’83, PhD ’94, March 6, 2015 Kathleen Pegg, B.Sc. ’75, March 26, 2014 Carin Perez, B.Comm. ’81, Dec. 3, 2014 Donald Powell, BSA ’49, June 10, 2015 Charles Read, BSA ’50, April 3, 2015 Len Richardson, B.Sc. ’05, Jan. 27, 2014 David Robinson, BA ’07, Nov. 3, 2014 James Robinson, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’72, March 1, 2014 Norman Robinson, Dipl. ’61, March 29, 2015 Alexander Ross, BA ’69, March 6, 2015 Murray Ross, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’65, Jan. 3, 2014 Paul Rotsaert, B.Sc. ’82, Sept. 22, 2014 Allan Royce, Dipl. ’64, April 24, 2015 Anthony Scott, Hon. D.Law. ’80, Feb. 17, 2015 Jessie Shirley, DHE ’41, Sept. 1, 2014

William Sleeth, BLA ’80, April 1, 2015 Curtis Spearin, DVM ’48, Aug. 23, 2015 Donald Speir, BSA ’49, Jan. 28, 2015 George Swan, BSA ’45, Dec. 18, 2014 John Underwood, BSA ’48, May 18, 2015 Lynn Watson, BSA ’50, Sept. 5, 2015 Richard Weber, Dipl. ’55, Sept. 7, 2014 Marguerite Whiting, B.H.Sc.’67, May 22, 2015 Robert Wilcox, BSA ’50, Aug. 24, 2014 John Wilson, BSA ’49, March 8, 2015 Walter Wolfe, DVM ’57, March 12, 2015 Robert Wolvin, Dipl. ’60, Jan. 31, 2015 Donald Wood, BSA ’48, Dec. 9, 2014 Timothy Woods, B.Sc. ’86, Sept. 21, 2014 John Wright, Dipl. (Hort.) ’60, Aug. 24, 2015 FACULTY, STAFF & STUDENTS Haider Almayahi, student, Dec. 24, 2014 Jeff Capel, student, Dec. 9, 2014 Merrick Frank, support staff, July 28, 2015 Bill Garner, support staff, Feb. 14, 2015 Jay Majithia, professor emeritus, April 25, 2015 Frank (Mic) Merrick, staff, July 28, 2015 Mahyar Moridi, student, Nov. 10, 2013 Craig Morneau, student, April 5, 2015 Norm Rogers, support staff, Sept. 3, 2015 David Rutherford, student, Dec. 25, 2014 Velinda Sexsmith, student, Jan. 14, 2015 Glenn Slinger, support staff, Nov. 5, 2014 Susan Travers, support staff, Jan. 1, 2015 Nick Westwood, professor emeritus, July 28, 2015 Brian Wetstein, faculty, June 5, 2015

To honour alumni who have passed away, the University of Guelph Alumni Association makes an annual donation to the Alumni Legacy Scholarship.

Time capsule

THE YEAR

2014

Beginning in 1904 as a “meeting for conversation,” Conversat was a key social event for faculty, staff, students and friends of the University’s founding colleges. The tradition was carried into the 1980s, and was revived in 2014 in celebration of the University of Guelph’s 50th anniversary. A large tent on Johnston Green hosted a reception and dinner for 800 guests, with other entertainment venues held at locations in and around the University Centre. Partygoers returned to the green for a champagne buffet and midnight fireworks (pictured above).

ON CAMPUS

OFF CAMPUS

+ The Gryphon statue is unveiled at the entrance to campus.

+ The Sochi Winter Olympic Games is the first held in Russia since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.

+ U of G hosts 10 cheesemaking experts from across Canada for the inaugural Canadian Cheese Awards. + Senate approves a study break day for the Tuesday following Thanksgiving Monday. + The Centre for Business and Student Enterprise (CBaSE) opens the Hub, a program for Guelph student and graduate entrepreneurs.

+ Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 goes missing, resulting in the largest and most expensive search in aviation history. + Canada and other countries mark the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the First World War. + Jay Leno ends his stint on The Tonight Show.

Do you have a memory to share from your time at U of G? Email a high-resolution photo to porticomagazine@uoguelph.ca and it could appear in Time Capsule.

@porticomag

Fall 2015 PORTICO | 37

Last look

Sept. 9, 2015 GUELPH CITY HALL GALLERIA

“Like trying to set up a banquet tent in a hurricane at night.” That’s how Guelph artist Greg Denton, MFA ’96, describes his summer, painting at least two, and sometimes up to four, oil portraits in a day, all within about an hour.

As the city’s 2015 artist-in-residence, Denton was commissioned to complete a public art project marking the centennial of the writing of In Flanders Fields by Guelph poet John McCrae.

For “100 Portraits/100 Poppies: Sitting in Remembrance,” Denton, an instructor in U of G’s School of Fine

38 | PORTICO Fall 2015

Art and Music, painted portraits of local military personnel, veterans and cadets, as well as people affected by war or inspired by the century-old poem. Each subject is in uniform where applicable, and wearing a poppy.

Lining up 100 portrait sittings over two months this past summer was the easy part, although a few appointments had to be rescheduled, including a sitting for one war veteran who had heart surgery.

Besides the exhausting daily regimen, painting in various public locations across the city also saw the artist contending with fickle outdoor

light, over-inquisitive passersby and other distractions. Despite the challenges, Denton found the experience deeply rewarding.

“I thrived on the stress and frenzy, and the immediacy of public feedback, participation and engagement made it an overwhelmingly positive experience,” he says.

By early September, Denton completed the array of works for a pop-up storefront display at Guelph’s Market Commons with portrait No. 100: Second World War veteran and former U of G president William “Bill” Winegard, pictured above.–ANDREW VOWLES

PHOTO: DEAN PALMER

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