Holland College Foundation honours five distinguished alumni

Sunday, January 25, 2009

(L-R) Distinguished alumni John Avery, Brent Blackmore, Alanna Jankov and Kevin O'Brien are congratulated by Nelson Snow, Vice-chair of the Holland College Foundation. A fifth recipient, Steven Collicutt was unable to attend the award ceremony on Saturday evening.

Charlottetown, PE – Five remarkable Holland College graduates were honoured at the Holland College Foundation’s first annual Distinguished Alumni Awards ceremony Saturday night with a reception, dinner and awards at the college’s Tourism and Culinary Centre on Sydney Street.

This is the first year for the distinguished alumni awards, which recognize graduates of Holland College who have demonstrated professional excellence and leadership in the arts, public service, business, the environment, community service, professional achievement, or service to the college.

“This year’s distinguished alumni represent the broad spectrum of career paths that have been offered at the college since its inception 40 years ago,” said college president Dr. Brian McMillan. “The recipients have brought great distinction to Holland College. They are excellent role models for our current students and ambassadors for the college.”

This year’s recipients include John Avery, a graduate of the Electronics Engineering Technology program, 1977 and Director of Production in Theatre Arts, The Banff Centre; Inspector Brent Blackmore, a graduate of the Police Science (Cadet) program, 1985 and an inspector with the Fredericton Police Force; Steven Collicutt, a graduate of the Motor Vehicle Repair program, 1979 and former president of Collicut Energy Services; Alanna Jankov, a graduate of the Photography program, 1988 and president of  Alanna’s Photography and Image Factory; and Kevin O’Brien, a graduate of the Business Information Technology program, 1992 and former president of Island Services Network.

Each recipient received a unique sculpture commissioned from sandstone sculptor Peter Llewellyn. This award is a blue heron carved from island sandstone. An island sandstone rock with plaques naming each recipient will be installed on the grounds of the college’s Charlottetown Centre in the spring.

For information about how to nominate a Holland College alumnus for a distinguished alumni award, call (902) 566-9330 or e-mail jjlawton@hollandcollege.com.

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HOLLAND COLLEGE DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD RECIPIENTS

John Avery, Electronics Engineering Technology program, 1977
Director of Production in Theatre Arts, The Banff Centre
In addition to his duties at The Banff Centre, John is in demand as a technical consultant and workshop leader for production training and management. John serves on the Cultural Human Resources Council (CHRC) Theatre Technicians Steering Committee, Canmore’s Lamphouse Theatre Design Build Committee, the Opera America Production Technical Committee, the Opera America Education Committee, and Red Deer College Theatre Program Advisory Committee, as well as the Canadian Standards Association’s Luminare Standards Committee.

Inspector Brent Blackmore, Police Science (Cadet) program, 1985
Inspector, Fredericton Police Force
Brent has worked in virtually all operational units in the force, and has had the responsibility for the command of all of the divisions, eventually assuming the responsibilities Incident Commander. Brent has completed his Certificate in Crime Prevention Through Social Development at the University of Cape Breton, Certificate in Police Leadership Law and Justice from Dalhousie University, and is scheduled to graduate from Cape Breton University with a Bachelor of Arts Community Service degree soon. Throughout his career, Brent has distinguished himself as a leader and mentor. His commitment to the force and to the community he serves have made him a role model for future generations of leaders in policing.


Steven Collicutt, Motor Vehicle Repair program, 1979
Former President, Collicut Energy Services
Steven was born and raised in PEI, coming from a large family of 13 brothers and sisters.  He graduated from Holland College in PEI in 1979 and shortly thereafter moved to Calgary, Alberta.  Steven began his career in Calgary and relocated to Red Deer, Alberta in 1986 where he started his own company, Collicutt Energy Services Ltd.  He remained Collicutt’s President and CEO until January 2008 when the company was sold to Finning International (CAT dealer).

Steven has retained his operations in California and Nevada, which specialize in the power generation market, and operate out of three locations in the U.S. In Canada, Steven operates two locations in Alberta that specialize in used natural gas compression equipment. He sits on the board of directors of two publicly traded companies, Cervus Corp., and Proventure Income Fund, and has received numerous awards, such as Entrepreneur of the Year for the service industry in Canada, Canada’s Top 100 Fastest Growing Companies (for three consecutive years), and a Canada wide award for “Leading by Example”.

Steven and his wife Lorna are actively involved and give back to their community, donating personally to the Collicutt Centre and numerous other charitable organizations.

Alanna Jankov, Photography program, 1988
President, Alanna’s Photography and Image Factory
Alanna established her own business in 1992 and has since developed a wide and loyal clientele. In  2004, Alanna extended the photography business with the opening of Image Factory, which provides fully integrated digital photography and design services. Alanna has had five exhibits which had been displayed in several galleries through the region including the Confederation Centre of the Arts, Kier Gallery, Eptek Art and Culture Centre, and the Hector Centre. Her most recent exhibit, Come From Away - Island Origins, opened at the Confederation Centre for the Arts and gained national attention through Maclean's magazine Recommended List. Alanna has donated her exhibits as collections to the City of Charlottetown, University of Prince Edward Island, Holland College Foundation, Government of Canada and Confederation Centre of the Arts. 
 
Kevin O’Brien, Business Information Technology program, 1992
Former President, Island Services Network
In 1994, in spite of limited resources and with only a few staff, Kevin established Island Services Network, and for 15 years served as president. Over the years, ISN contributed in excess of 10 per cent of its gross revenues through cash and in-kind services to assist approximately 60 local organizations, including groups that helped the young and the disenfranchised, such as CHANCES, AIDS PEI, and Bedford MacDonald House. In 2002, Atlantic Business Magazine featured Kevin as one of Atlantic Canada’s 50 Top CEOs. Kevin also received a Status of Women equality award for promoting gender equality and fairness in the work place. When ISN was recently purchased by Eastlink, Kevin decided to establish a new business venture, Oredco Organics, an organic landscaping business with a light construction wing known as Oredco Equipment. Kevin’s passion for helping others clearly demonstrates the depth of his commitment to improving the Island community for all citizens, especially those who may otherwise have no voice.

For more information about this release, please contact Sara Underwood, Manager, Marketing and Communications at (902) 566-9695.