"Start Something - Lead the Change - Empower Youth Success" Speaker Series Lunch

Together through mentorship we will empower youth success.
 

A few words about Bruce MacDonald...

Who would have thought that operating carnival games and rides would lead to a career in the voluntary sector?  Certainly, not Bruce.  After an upbringing in Hamilton, Ontario, that consisted of bumper cars, the round up and the bomber game, Bruce decided to embark on a career in sport management.
 
Bruce headed to Northern Ontario’s Laurentian University to earn a Bachelor of Commerce in Sports Administration.  He even took time off for five weeks to work at the 1980 Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid.  After leaving the friendly confines of Sudbury, he took his first full-time job, working at the Hamilton-Burlington YMCA. 
 
With primary responsibilities of developing recreational opportunities for disabled persons (the first calling from the voluntary sector) at the newly renovated downtown Y, Bruce soon left to become the Branch Director of the Stoney Creek YMCA.
 
From the Y it was off to become the Provincial Coordinator of the Ontario Senior Games, a multi-sport program for adults 55 plus.  Reporting to a board of older adult volunteers (still calling..) Bruce got his first real taste of corporate sponsorship work.  When the office relocated from Kitchener to Toronto, Bruce soon tired of the commute and decided to seek employment elsewhere.
 
Kinsmen and Kinette Clubs of Canada was his next stop, becoming the association’s first-ever Marketing Manager in 1989.  For the next five years he worked with a dedicated team of volunteers (there it is again) and staff to try and modernize one of Canada’s oldest service clubs.
 
The journey to the voluntary sector was complete when, in 1995, Bruce joined the staff of Big Brothers and Sisters of Canada as Director of Marketing and Special Events.  Three job titles and two organization names later, Bruce eventually moved into the senior staff position, becoming President and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada in March 2004. 
 
Of course, education and work are only part of the story.  The real story is written with wife Heather and their three girls, Maggie and the twins, Erin and Kathleen. 
 
In between job and family Bruce earned a second degree, a Masters in Management in the Voluntary Sector from McGill University and participated in the Governor General’s Canadian Study Conference.

A few words about MLA Shirley Bond...

Shirley Bond was elected in 2001 and 2005 as the MLA for Prince George-Mount Robson, and re-elected for a third term in 2009 as the MLA for Prince George-Valemount.

Shirley was appointed Minister of Justice and Attorney General on February 8, 2012. Prior to her new role, she was appointed Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General on March 14, 2011 and Acting Attorney General on August 18, 2011. She is the first woman in British Columbia to hold these positions.

As Minister of Justice and Attorney General, she is responsible for police and correctional services, the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles, crime prevention and victims’ assistance, and emergency management. As Attorney General, she is also responsible for criminal justice and family law, court administration, legal aid and public legal education, family maintenance and legal services to government.

With over ten years of Cabinet experience, Shirley has served as Deputy Premier, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, Minister of Education, Minister Responsible for Early Learning and Literacy, Minister of Advanced Education, and Minister of Health Services.

Shirley currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Treasury Board, member of the Legislative Review Committee, and as a member of the Cabinet Committee on Jobs and Economic Growth.