Septmeber 2008 IssuE
Newsmakers
Members Appointed to Order of Canada
COMPILED BY FRANCINE MAXWELL
The PEGG
Two prominent APEGGA members and energy industry giants — both of them Calgarians — will soon receive important pins from Gov.-Gen. Michaëlle Jean. Allan Markin, OC, P.Eng., and Clayton Riddell, OC, P.Geol., have been named officers of the Order of Canada.
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ALLAN MARKIN, OC, P.ENG. |
CLAYTON RIDDELL, OC, P.GEOL. |
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Mr. Markin received the honour for his contribution to Canada’s natural resources sector and for his philanthropy in health care and post-secondary education. The chairman of Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. donated $18 million to the University of Calgary for the launch of the Institute for Public Health, several years ago.
A big donation had the other new officer in the news recently, too. Mr. Riddell, the chairman and CEO of Paramount Resources Ltd., gave $10 million to his alma mater, the University of Man-itoba. He’s also the 2008 winner of APEGGA’s Centennial Leadership Summit Award.
Mr. Riddell was recognized with the officer title for his leadership in the Canadian petroleum industry as a renowned exploration geologist, as well as for his wide-ranging philanthropy.
Officers have demonstrated “a lifetime of achievement and merit of a high degree, especially in service to Canada or to humanity at large,” says the Order of Canada website.
Cultural Builder
Named to Hall of Fame
Vinod Bhardwaj, P.Eng., is now a Hall of Famer — but don’t expect to see his team jersey hanging from the rafters anytime soon. That’s because his induction in the builder category has to do with cultural contributions to the community, and its the City of Edmonton Arts and Culture Hall of Fame he’s joining.
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VINOD BHARDWAJ, P.ENG. |
Mr. Bhardwaj is a past member the Mayor’s Task Force on Investment in the Arts and a champion of the establishment of the city’s arts council. Over the years he has also contributed time and talent to organizations such as the Mahatma Gandhi Foundation for World Peace, the Indo-Canadian Women’s Association and the Canadian Centre for Ethnomusicology.
Mr. Bhardwaj, who recently moved to Victoria, was president of the Edmonton Folk Arts Council for five years and the Wild Rose Society for Preservation of the Traditional Arts, an organization he founded, for 10 years.
A musician, composer and poet, Mr. Bhardwaj plays the bamboo flute, the sitar, the tabla and the harmonium. He contributed Indian music for the Alberta-made film Bye Bye Blues, and he has also published two books of poetry, as well as CDs of his own songs and music.
Said Mr. Bhardwaj: “I have strived to bring out the universality of music and poetic thought to the Edmonton audience. I just enjoy myself and feel blessed that people listen to my performances. That is reward enough.”
D.A. Watt Consulting Celebrates Milestone
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STILL GOING STRONG |
Way back in August 1983, a pair of Entek Engineering Ltd. employees saw an opportunity to break away from their winding-down parent company, Nu-West. With Nu-West’s blessing, D.A. Watt Consulting Group Ltd. of Calgary was born, and now it’s celebrating 25 years of business.
D.A. Watt Consulting today employs more than 70 people. Although it began as an engineering and surveying consulting company, over the years founders David Watt, P.Eng., and Tom Medlicott, ALS, have seen it diversify from its land development roots into road safety consulting, highway engineering and project management.
The duo foresees the company continuing to grow and evolve with a new generation of professionals on its payroll.
Mr. Watt is president and chairman of the company, and Mr. Medlicott is vice-president of geomatics and a director. Other principals are Nick Finn, P.Eng., vice-president of transportation, and a director; Grant McDonald, vice-president of project management, and a director; Colette Hyde, CGA, controller and a director; Eppo van Weelderen, P.Eng., manager of engineering, and a director; Bruce Nelligan, P.Eng., manager of transportation; and Michael Szarmes, P.Eng., manager of geomatics.
CEA Elects New Directors
The Consulting Engineers of Alberta has held its 30th annual general meeting and elected six new directors to the board. They are Jeff DiBattista, P.Eng., Glen Furtado, P.Eng., Geoff Harcombe, E.I.T., Gord Johnston, P.Eng., John Murray, P.Eng., and Steve Melton, P.Eng.
These directors join Paul Beaubien, Blair Birch, Blair Peacock and David Yue. The new APEGGA liaison is APEGGA Vice-President Jim Smith, P.Eng., and the two ACEC liaisons are Terry Gowing, P.Eng. and Herb Kuehne, P.Eng.
President of CEA for 2008-09 is Naseem Bashir, P.Eng. Art Washuta, P.Eng., is vice-president, Paul Evans, P.Eng., is treasurer, and Brain Pearse, P.Eng., is past-president.
Newly Listed
Alberta is home to some influential people, and many of them have landed on a Venture magazine list for 2008. Prominent APEGGA members are among them.
Interestingly, in a province known for it’s oil industry, a property developer has made his way to the top of this year’s list. That would be Guy Turcotte, P.Eng. Mr. Turcotte is the CEO of Calgary-based Stone Creek Resorts, which just unveiled plans for a $1.5-billion resort village in Canmore.
Also listed in the magazine’s top 50 list of most influential people were
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Life Member Said Arrata, P.Eng., CEO of Centurion Energy International Inc.
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Stefan Bachu, P.Eng., and Bill Gunter, P.Geol., Nobel Peace Prize winners and members of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
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Randy Eresman, P.Eng., CEO of Encana
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Timo Ewalds, a student member of APEGGA and creator of Nexopia, a social networking website popular with teenagers.
Who’s Moved Where
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Ted (Edwin) Hanbury, P.Eng., of Calgary has been appointed as director of Bengal Energy Ltd., formerly Avery Resources Inc. Mr. Hanbury is the executive vice-president of Daylight Resources Trust and brings with him many years of international experience.
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Ernest Sorochan, P.Eng., of Calgary has been appointed to the board of directors of Mainland Resources. Mr. Sorochan is currently an area engineer with Compton Petroleum Corporation.
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Randall Pryor, P.Eng., of Calgary is the new operations manager with Groundstar Resources Ltd. Mr. Pyror brings more than 34 years of experience in drilling, completion and production operations in Canada and internationally.
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Brenda Kenny, P.Eng., of Calgary has been appointed the new president of the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association. Ms. Kenny has some 20 years of experience in the industry regulatory and policy development.
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Joe Aiello, P.Eng., of Calgary, has been appointed the new managing director of Norwest Corporation. Mr. Aiello brings with him over 35 years of diverse experience in engineering, operations and management from the energy sector.
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Craig Acott, P.Eng., of Calgary, has been appointed the new president of Norwest Corporation. Mr. Acott has over 25 years of experience in operation, geotechnical engineering, construction and management from the energy and mineral sectors.