Contact ontarois 2014 Gala: La Cité presents the 2014 winners of the Volunteer of the Year and Employee of the Year awards
For the second consecutive year, La Cité, le collège d’arts appliqués et de technologie, is offering a scholarship to the winners of the awards presented to exceptional persons working in Réseau Ontario.
On Saturday evening, La Cité presented two scholarships to recognize the remarkable contribution of a volunteer and of an employee of a member organization of Réseau Ontario, as part of the closing gala of Contact ontarois. The Collège is proud to be once again associated with Réseau Ontario and to contribute to the vitality and influence of our French-language theatre arts and culture community.
Lise Bourgeois, President of the Collège, was delighted to say of the ceremony: “It is thanks to deeply committed volunteers and employees like our award winners that our Francophone culture continues to be vital and dynamic. I offer my most sincere congratulations to Albert Brunet and Patrick Bourbonnais, whose dedication we are honouring today. La Cité is happy to encourage them to pursue this endless lifetime project, learning.”
In the category of “Volunteer of the Year,” the award goes to Albert Brunet, who is currently completing his studies in public administration in Ottawa, but is a native of Barrie, in South Central Ontario. A graduate of the Catholic secondary school Nouvelle-Alliance, Mr. Brunet has been involved for many years in his community, doing volunteer work at the Festival du loup de Lafontaine, at FESFO, Fédération de la jeunesse franco-ontarienne, and at Place de la Francophonie during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Since 2011, he has been the volunteer manager of artists’ welcome and dressing rooms at the Shenkman Art Centre, for Contact ontarois. Reliable and meticulous, he is very attentive to the needs of the artists, who unceasingly praise his efforts. The Contact ontarois team has nicknamed him “Albert the Expert.”!
The Employee of the Year award goes to Patrick Bourbonnais, artistic director of the Mouvement d’implication francophone d’Orléans (MIFO). A native of Sarsfield, Mr. Bourbonnais has been active in the theatre arts field from his teenage years, and has held his position with MIFO for over 10 years. Recognized for his creative mind and artistic flair, he has a passion for communication, and readily shares his knowledge with his team. Thanks to his leadership, MIFO has become the largest organizer of French-language shows in Ontario, presenting the biggest Francophone names in the fields of music, theatre, humour and dance.
The two award winners have each received a training scholarship worth $1500, applicable to any type of training offered by La Cité.
