2007-2008

News Release

REF NO.: 53

SUBJECT: Memorial alumni gather in Ottawa

DATE: November 7, 2007

Over 450 alumni and friends of Memorial University and the province gathered at the Fairmont Château Laurier in Ottawa on Nov. 5 for the seventh annual Affinity Newfoundland and Labrador dinner.
From the menu to the keynote speaker, this sold-out event had a very Newfoundland and Labrador feel. Alumna Moya Greene, president and CEO of Canada Post, discussed the success of the corporation and the plans to modernize over the next five years, while the province’s minister of business, Paul Oram, brought greetings from the government. 
Emcee Seamus O’Reagan of CTV’s Canada AM introduced Dr. Axel Meisen, president and vice-chancellor of Memorial University, who received a standing ovation for the achievements and transformations that have taken place at the university since his term began just over eight years ago. Dr. Meisen finishes his term at end of this year.
One of the highlights from the evening was a musical performance by Memorial’s 3rd year music student Gordon Stockwell, who played a piece on a 1929 Matthias Heinecke violin. The violin was donated to the School of Music by Helen Martin MacLeod, who also established two scholarships at Memorial.
Affinity Newfoundland and Labrador dinners are held to celebrate the success of Memorial’s alumni and to encourage support for the university and its students. They are organized by alumni and friends of Memorial in conjunction with Memorial’s Office of Alumni Affairs and Development.
Sponsors of this year’s Toronto affinity event include the Department of Business, Transcontinental, CVRD Inco, Medtronic, Chartwells, Memorial@Home, Canada Post, CIBC, Johnson Insurance Inc., and Honeywell.
Similar events are planned for Toronto on Nov. 8 at the Royal Ontario Museum with emcee Jonny Harris and keynote speaker Scott Hand, former CEO of Inco Limited, and in London, U.K., at the House of Commons on Nov. 29 with Lyse Doucet, presenter and correspondent for BBC World television and BBC World Service.

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