In February, Loyalist graduates Lloyd Fleming, Chris Grayson, Lana Slezic, and Brian Stafford will be honoured in London, Ontario as Loyalist College nominees for the 2007 Premier’s Awards. “Each of these individuals has demonstrated excellence in their careers and in the contributions they have made to their communities,” said Loyalist College President Maureen Piercy. They are outstanding examples of the success achieved by more than 26,000 Loyalist graduates over the past 40 years.
Lloyd Fleming graduated from the Business Administration program at Loyalist in 1977. His career with BMO Bank of Montreal began as a management trainee and advanced through several senior management roles. Currently he is Vice-President, BMO Bank of Montreal, East Central Ontario District. Lloyd has been an active volunteer in the communities where he has lived and worked, through Rotary and the United Way. He served on the “Foundations for the New Millennium” Capital Campaign for Loyalist College in 1996-1998 and currently chairs the University Hospitals Kingston Foundation Campaign Steering Committee. In 2000, he was the first recipient of the Hugh P. O’Neil Outstanding Alumni Award, as a Loyalist College graduate who has demonstrated outstanding community service.
Chris Grayson graduated in 1979 from the College’s MRC program, now known as the Developmental Services Worker program. He became Director of Vocational Services at Community Living Campbellford/Brighton in 1989 and has been the Executive Director for ten years. He has worked to transform the system to build inclusive communities, relationships and public acceptance. In 2003, Chris was honoured with the first and only Provincial Leadership Award from agencies across the province and Accreditation Ontario, in recognition of his exceptional leadership and positive impact in the lives of those who are vulnerable. In 2003 and 2005, the agency received the William H. Donner Award for Excellence in the Delivery of Social Services, which is presented to an organization that exhibits the highest overall level of excellence among the other category award recipients.
Lana Slezic graduated in 2000 from Photojournalism at Loyalist College, after graduating with an Honours degree in Kinesiology from the University of Western Ontario in 1997. Her impressive talent and passion for photography have led to many awards. Lana’s work has been featured in magazines and newspapers like TIME, Paris Match, Sunday Times, The New York Times and National Geographic. In 2005, she was invited to the World Press Joop Swart Masterclass, and in 2006 received two International Photography Awards (www.photoawards.com). She was also recognized at Rencontres D’Arles for her portfolio on Afghan women. Most recently, she won the Special Prize for the Luis Valtuena International Award for Humanitarian Photography in Spain. In 2007, Lana published her first book, Forsaken, a powerful work which documents the lives of Afghan women and children.
Brian Stafford, a 1974 Civil Engineering Technology graduate, is Senior Vice-President and co-owner of EMS-Tech Inc., a registered Canadian company located in Belleville that designs, engineers, manufactures and manages bulk material handling equipment. Two of the four patents that EMS-Tech holds are Brian’s inventions. The company has expanded globally with offices in Wilmington, North Carolina, Amsterdam and Shanghai. In 2005, EMS-Tech received the Business Excellence Award from the Quinte and Area Business Achievement Awards. The company’s most recent awards were two Ontario Global Traders Awards for the Eastern Region, Gold for Innovation and Silver for Market Expansion – Products. Brian has served a term as the local Chapter Chairman for the Ontario Association of Certified Engineering Technicians and Technologists (OACETT), and has been a member of Loyalist’s Civil Engineering Advisory Committee.
Media Contact: Marilyn Warren, Communications, Loyalist College, (613) 969-1913, ext. 2332; e-mail: mwarren@loyalistc.on.ca or Connie Millar, Manager of Employment and Alumni Services, ext. 2244.