Today Aviva Canada Inc announced a respected group of judges who will evaluate the 25 finalist ideas for its Aviva Community Fund competition. Now in its fourth week, the Aviva Community Fund is a unique competition that seeks to lead, empower and support positive change in communities from St John’s, Newfoundland, to Victoria, British Columbia.
Already having attracted over 1,300 idea submissions from across the country, the Aviva Community Fund enables Canadians to submit ideas and vote for things that they would like to change at a local or national level. The top 25 most popular semi-finalist ideas will move on to the judging phase, where Aviva’s panel of impartial judges will review all of the finalist ideas, and after assessing their feasibility and costs, inevitably make the tough decision of determining which ideas will get funding.
Each of the judges brings a different perspective to the final evaluation process and will help ensure the best ideas receive the funding they deserve. The judging panel includes:
- Michael “Pinball” Clemons: Football Great – Known for a personality that is as electric as his style of play, Michael redefines the meaning of community involvement and has been recognized by many organizations for his tireless work with charities, schools and other community groups.
- Tina Daenzer: Canada AM – Tina started at Canada AM in 2000 as a story producer and in 2004 was promoted to senior entertainment producer. During her time at Canada AM, she has overseen some of the biggest productions of Canada’s most popular network morning program.
- Mario Dumont: TQS – Mario is the past president of the Quebec Liberal Party’s Commission-Jeunesse and founder of Action démocratique du Québec, the party he headed from 1994 to 2009. Mario joined the TQS broadcast team in March of 2009 and has played an active role in the birth of V.
- Marcel Lauzière: Imagine Canada – Marcel has worked in the charitable and non-profit sector and in government here in Canada and abroad. A passionate volunteer, Marcel joined Imagine Canada as President and CEO in November of 2008 and has served on numerous boards and advisory committees in Canada and internationally.
- Ben Mulroney: eTalk Daily – Ben delivers entertainment news from the studio in Toronto, but also travels the world to interview the biggest stars and reports from the hottest red carpet events. A veteran of entertainment reporting, Ben is an expert in his industry and is regarded by many Hollywood stars (north and south of the border) as a friendly face and a respected journalist.
- Bruce Sellery: BNN – Bruce spent the last decade as a financial journalist with CTV’s Business News Network (BNN), both as an anchor based in Toronto and as BNN’s bureau chief in New York City. Now based in Calgary, Bruce is the founder of Moolala, a personal finance training company focused on inspiring people to get a handle on their money.
- Julie Toskan Casale: Canadian Entrepreneur – Julie is a business success story and committed philanthropist. After being actively involved in the success of MAC Cosmetics, and its charitable arm, MAC AIDS Fund, in 2002, Julie created the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) a program providing high school students with a reality experience through a school-based, community-focused philanthropy program.
- Sally Turney: Aviva Canada – Sally Turney is the vice president of corporate affairs at Aviva Canada and brings 11 years of international corporate responsibility experience and knowledge to the role. At Aviva, she is also responsible for internal and external communications, PR and media relations.
- Michael Kehler: Aviva Canada – Mike is the winner of Aviva Canada’s employee challenge to find the internal representative judge for the Community Fund competition. A regular local community volunteer, Mike has travelled to Central America to improve living conditions for those less fortunate. Michael is extremely excited to be involved in ACF and feels privileged to have a say in the outcome.
Community leaders across Canada are encouraged to visit Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Vimeo for more information as well as www.avivacommunityfund.org to submit their ideas and cast their votes. Idea submissions will be accepted until 29 November 2009, and semi-finalist causes will be announced in mid-December.
