Twelve receive prestigious Order of Manitoba

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/07/2019 (2479 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Four Manitobans with connections to Westman are among 12 individuals who received the Order of Manitoba on Thursday.

Grammy Award-winner James Ehnes is a celebrated concert violinist and one of the most dynamic performers in classical music today, according to a news release from the Order of Manitoba Advisory Council. Born and educated in Brandon, Ehnes has performed in more than 30 countries, appearing with many of the world’s most famous orchestras and conductors.

He began studying violin at the age of four and was a protégé by age nine. Ehnes studied at New York’s Meadowmount School of Music and is an award-winning graduate of the Julliard School.

He is also a member of the Order of Canada.

Joy Smith, a former MLA and member of Parliament, was born in Deloraine and is one of Canada’s leading anti-human trafficking activists. During her 11-year tenure in Parliament, Smith made Canadian history as the first sitting MP to amend the Criminal Code twice, enacting laws that protect victims and punish their abusers, including minimum sentencing guidelines for the trafficking of minors and laws making the purchase of sex illegal in Canada. She also wrote the prototype for the Canadian National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking.

Clarence Nepinak, a member of the Pine Creek Ojibway First Nation, is dedicated to promoting cultural awareness across Canada. He received the Knowledge Keepers Award for his work in preserving and advancing Indigenous culture. Nepinak has served on many boards and councils, including the Indigenous Peoples’ Education Circle at Brandon University, Vancouver-based Healthy Aboriginal Network, the Elders Advisory Council at the University of Winnipeg, and the Indigenous Advisory Council for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

Barbara Nepinak, who is married to Clarence Nepinak, is also a member of the Pine Creek Ojibway First Nation and is a prominent cultural awareness co-ordinator and a member of the Standing Indigenous Advisory Committee of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. She has also served as a Knowledge-Keeper at BU and has been part of numerous projects there over the years. Fluent in her ancestral languages, she contributes to the process of language reclamation and retention through her work with the Manitoba Association of Native Languages.

Others who received the Order of Manitoba Thursday from Lt.-Gov. Janice Filmon, chancellor of the order, at the Manitoba legislature include:

• Dr. Vivian Bruce, a professor of food science and nutrition at the University of Manitoba who was instrumental in conducting the first research exploring the health benefits of canola oil and establishing its unique nutritional properties — an important development in the study of the effects of dietary fat on human health.

• Marcel Desautels, a prominent philanthropist and champion of post-secondary education in Canada. As president and general manager of Creditel of Canada Limited, he led the company to becoming Canada’s largest business credit information and debt recovery organization. After selling Creditel in 1996, Desautels used the proceeds to establish the Canadian Credit Management Foundation, to fund new, innovative programs at Canadian universities. His gifts to various schools have since totalled more than $100 million.

• Kathy Hildebrand, a dedicated community volunteer in Winkler for more than 35 years, is the co-founder and president of Hearth Families Incorporated, an organization established to help new immigrants settle in the community. A past winner of the Premier’s Volunteer Service Award, Hildebrand has also volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, the Stanley Agricultural Society, community round tables and her church.

• Arvid Loewen retired from his 31-year business career to focus on competitive, long-distance cycling as a means of increasing public awareness of the needs of orphaned African children.

Since 1995, Loewen has cycled more than 400,000 kilometres. Inspiring the support of others, he has already raised more than $4 million for the Mully Children’s Family Orphanage in Kenya.

• Steven Schipper is the longest-serving artistic director of the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre (RMTC), having led the organization for 30 years. During his tenure, RMTC became the first Canadian theatre to receive a royal designation in more than a century. He was appointed to the Order of Canada for his contributions to Canadian theatre and received the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal.

• As executive director of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Trudy Schroeder succeeded in making the once-struggling WSO profitable for 11 consecutive years. She is the past chair of Orchestras Canada and the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra, and a member of the Premier’s Economic Advisory Council Task Force on Arts and Culture. Schroeder initiated, and now manages, the development of the Pantages Project, soon to be a major community centre for the arts.

• Harvey Secter earned a bachelor of commerce from the University of Manitoba prior to a 20-year career leading Ricki’s Canada Limited. He later earned his bachelor of law degree from the U of M, and a master of law degree from Harvard University. From 2010 to 2019, Secter was U of M chancellor and honorary chair of the university’s $500-million Front and Centre campaign, reputed to be the largest philanthropic investment in Manitoba history.

• An internationally renowned physician and researcher, Dr. Michael West is responsible for establishing a world-class neurosurgery program at Manitoba’s Health Sciences Centre. He was the first to introduce gamma knife surgery in Canada, a procedure used to treat conditions, such as brain tumours, that once required more invasive procedures.

The Order of Manitoba is the province’s highest honour. It was established in 1999 to recognize Manitobans who have demonstrated excellence and achievement, thereby enriching the social, cultural or economic well-being of the province and its residents.

Appointments to the order are made by the chancellor on the recommendations of an advisory council. Once invested, members are entitled to use the initials O.M. after their names for life and will have their names placed on permanent display in the Legislative Building.

» brobertson@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @BudRobertson4