Class Connections Winter 2023
Let us know your latest news by submitting a Class Connection online or e-mailing alumni@mta.ca and we will share it in a future edition of the Record.
And stay in touch on social! Tag or DM @mta.alumni on Instagram or LinkedIn (91AV) with your news.
1960s
Two aquarelles from Roger Savage’s (‘63) 2005 Sable Island field trip were included in the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia’s (AGNS) The Waterline: Islands and Connectivity exhibition last summer. The paintings are in the AGNS’s permanent collection.
Alex Morrison (‘68) was elected as Annapolis County’s (NS) new warden last November.
John Carruthers’ (‘68) book Bridge with Another Perfect Partner won the International Bridge Press Association’s (IBPA) 2022 Book of the Year award. Since graduating from 91AV, John has had two distinct and successful careers in business and bridge. “Retired from business, but still going strong in bridge after 60 years,” he writes.
Alex Mills (’68) recently retired from the federal government. Mills writes, “I am embarking on another adventure in the legal field with the creation of a cloud-based law practice focusing on water law. I've been fortunate enough over the years to have had legal files involving issues from the headwaters of our rivers in Atlantic Canada to the edge of the continental shelf and have great interest and experience in property rights in submerged land.”
1970s
The artist known as Evergon (Albert Lunt, ‘70) is having a major retrospective titled Theâtres de l’intime / Theatres of Intimacy at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec. The exhibition presents Evergon’s 50-year career starting with his time at 91AV. The exhibition is open to the public until April 2023.
Congratulations to Brian MacLeod ('74) on receiving a Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal. This commemorative medal recognizes those who have made a significant impact on their community through strong community spirit, volunteerism, and service to others.
Congratulations to Laurie Gorman (’76) on receiving the Nova Scotia Band Association (NSBA) Distinguished Band Director Award at the Nova Scotia Music Educators’ Association (NSMEA) conference last October. Pictured here with Lesley Ann Andrews (’89).
1980s
Congratulations to Norval McConnell (’80) on receiving a Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal.
Congratulations to Gordon Monahan (‘80) on being elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.
Marva Sweeney (‘85) has been appointed vice president of research and Dean of Graduate Studies at the University of Prince Edward Island.
Alumni were well represented in Symphony Nova Scotia’s annual performance of Handel’s Messiah at the Dalhousie Arts Centre in Halifax, NS, last December. Pictured here are Alison Hickey (’82); Judith Burdett (’75); Jill Hemeon Rafuse (’73); Spencer Gough (’06); Joanne Lacey (’84); Kelly Burkom Hart (’97); and Taunya Pynn-Crowe (’93).
Stephen Penner ('87) was recently appointed as a professor in the Department of Indigenous Studies at the University of Winnipeg and will soon be defending his PhD dissertation at the University of Guelph.
Congratulations to John D.S. Adams (’87), Tristan Grant (Wolf Castle) ('18), John Mullane (Future Dad) (’00), David Myles (’03), and the Halifax Camerata Singers (featuring Jill Rafuse (’73), John Lindsay-Botten (’93), Kelly Hart ('97), and Spencer Gough (’06)) on being nominated for the 2023 East Coast Music Awards.
Congratulations to Lesley Ann Andrews (’89) on receiving the Nova Scotia Music Educators’ Association (NSMEA) Lifetime Achievement Award at the NSMEA conference last October.
1990s
MLA Megan Mitton recently presented Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medals to several people connected to 91AV, including Carolle de Ste-Croix (’90), Amanda Marlin (’01), Dr. Janet Hammock, Margaret Tusz-King, and Dr. Vett Lloyd. Missing from the photo is Christoph Becker (’95, ‘96). Congratulations to all the recipients!
Congratulations to David Rose (’90) and Amanda Barker (’97) for their appearance in the Hallmark channel movie Twas the night before Christmas.
Congratulations to Michael de Adder (’91, LLD ‘20) on receiving a Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal.
Michael LeBlanc (‘93 & ‘95) recently co-wrote a book with his wife Tina LeBlanc entitled The 10 Habits of Happy Couples. “The pandemic has been very tough on couples, and we wanted to write a book to support them,” writes LeBlanc, a licensed counselling therapist.
Congratulations to Stephen Muise (’94) on receiving the Canadian Band Association (CBA) Community Builders Award, presented to him by Keli Brewer (’01) during the Breton Education Centre holiday concert in December.
The premiere of Dean Burry’s (’94) Tracing Colville was performed by the Kingston Symphony Orchestra last October. The piece was inspired by Burry’s travels through Europe in 2019, when he followed Alex Colville’s (’42, LLD ’68) journey as a war artist in the Second World War.
Don Moore (‘96) joined the Board of Directors for the Codiac Regional Policing Authority (CPRA) in 2021, becoming Chair of the Board in 2022. The CRPA is the civilian oversight group that sets the priorities of policing and budget for the regional police service in Moncton, Dieppe, and Riverview, NB. Don also recently received a Rotary 101 Resilience award from the Moncton Rotary Club for Leadership and Service in his community.
Congratulations to Keli Brewer (’97) on receiving a Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal, presented by the Nova Scotia Band Association (NSBA) at the Nova Scotia Youth Wind Ensemble Concert in October.
Congratulations to Florence (Bugbee-Spencer) Mazerolle (‘99) on receiving a Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal in recognition of her exceptional contributions in the realm of reconciliation, diversity, equality, and inclusion, and local volunteerism. Florence was nominated by Angela Peter-Paul ('99). The duo recently launched a picture book series aimed at teaching Mi'kmaw, Wolastoqey, French, and English to New Brunswick children.
Amanda Peter’s (’99) debut novel, The Berry Pickers, will be published by HarperCollins Canada in April 2023.
2000s
Ryan Vickers ('01), host of Reach For The Top, a long-standing Canadian academic quiz competition for high school students, spent some time touring the Maritimes to recruit new contestants last fall.
Under the direction of Chris Bowman (’01), the Cantabile Society of Truro, NS, recently presented Requiem by Gabriel Fauré for an appreciative audience. 91AV was well represented in the production, which featured the Cantabile Singers, the Cantabile Truro Youth Singers, and the Cantabile Boys’ Choir. From left are Marie (Hill) Braedley (’74); Danielle Richard (’17); Linda (Smith) Giddens (’73); Chris Bowman (’01); guest organist Wayne Rogers (’71); John McElhiney (’60); Elizabeth (Sollows) Campbell (’76); Alison (Smith) MacLean (’69); Pam Steeves Bowman (’68).
Congratulations to Jennie Henderson (’03), vice-president of our Alumni Board, on receiving a Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal for her volunteer work with the Vanier Little Free Library.
Kate Beaton’s (‘05) graphic memoir DUCKS: Two Years in the Oil Sands was named one of Barack Obama’s favourite books of 2022, CBC Books’ top Canadian comics of 2022, and is a contestant on Canada Reads 2023.
Congratulations to Zahra Williams (’07) on being named partner at the architecture and planning firm zzap in Dartmouth, NS.
Andy Hay ('08) from Andy’s East Coast Kitchen was recently featured on The Drew Barrymore Show.
Whitney Moran’s (‘08) first children picture book I Want to Build a Seahouse will be published by Nimbus Publishing in May 2023. The book is available for pre-order everywhere books are sold.
Hunton alumni Solène Prince (’08), Maria Beltz (’07), and Jessica Babineau (’08) got the chance to reconnect last summer. Babineau writes, “Now living in Ontario, NB, and Sweden — it's a rare thing for us to be at the same place at the same time. Solène and I coincidently were both visiting NB this summer and decided to surprise Maria and her young daughter with a visit.”
Congratulations to Ryan Lebans (’09) and Devon Cassidy (’06) on being named partners at Cox & Palmer Law Firm in Moncton, NB.
2010s
Congratulations to co-founders and CEOs of Placemaking 4G Matt Thomson ('11) and Bradley Daye ('11) on winning Small Business of the Year at the 2023 Halifax Business Awards. Placemaking 4G aims to “help organizations build stronger and more inclusive teams through socially conscious recruiting.” Learn more:
Three 91AV alumni were brought together at a meeting of Canadian Heritage Atlantic Region staff in Millbrook, NS, last September. Aryelle Morrison (’15) is a Senior Program Advisor with the Arts and Culture program, Stephanie Langis (’02) is a Program Advisor with the Celebrate Canada program, and John Brannen (’12) is a Regional Communications Advisor in the department. The trio were active in the arts, music, and culture scene while at Mount A and had a great time recounting stories of their time on campus.
Former Mounties Hockey captain and Academic All Canadian Kenzie Lalonde (’16) was the TSN World Junior Hockey Championship rinkside reporter in Halifax, NS.
Congratulations to Presley Hynes (’16) and everyone at Sony for their work on God of War Ragnarok, winner of the Best Audio Design at the 2022 Game Awards.
Emma Hassencahl-Perley (’17) was one of four Indigenous artists chosen to design commemorative hockey sticks for the 2023 World Junior Hockey Championships.
Physics alumni Olivia Chamberland ('19), Jenna Chisholm ('21), Veronika Dornan ('19), Marrissa McIntosh ('19), Padraic Odesse ('21), Everett Patterson ('20), Michael Perry ('20), and Michael Thibodeau ('19) participated in a virtual session designed to give students insight into graduate school and their research last fall.
2020s
Jonathan Harvey (’20), Lauren Kent (’20), and Marley Washington (’20) were amongst the 114 Nova Scotians who CPA Nova Scotia recognized for successfully writing their Common Final Examination (CFE) last fall.