by Maria Driscoll

Three awards given for Teaching, Leadership and Staff Excellence were presented to members of Holland College Staff during the College?s annual Professional Development Day held recently at the Atlantic Tourism and Hospitality Institute.

Presented in accordance with the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC), of which Holland College is a member, these awards are give for specific purposes and are based on specific criteria including commitment, impact on students and community, team work, performance and contribution, creativity and leadership. College staff, co-workers and students are provided the opportunity to recommend to a Selection Committees, the names of individuals who they feel are most deserving of these special awards.

"Organizations often tend to focus on events that happen within an institution as opposed to focusing on those people who contribute to making successful events and positive things happen," commented Alex MacAulay, President of Holland College. "Awards such as these provide us the time to recognize those people at the College who have given so much of themselves to make the College a better place for our staff and community and particularly, our students."

Honouring a faculty member who has exhibited consistent excellence in teaching and who has made a significant impact on the personal and academic growth of students is this year's recipient of the Holland College Teaching Excellence Award, Erroll Affleck. A 10-year member of the College community, Errol is an instructor and co-ordinator for ATHI's Hotel and Restaurant Management program as well as an instructor for courses for the Culinary Institute of Canada and the Tourism Marketing and Advertising Management program. His work as an educator has received recognition in many areas including his designation of Certified Hospitality Educator from the American Hotel and Motel Association, of which there are less than 20 designations in Canada.

Colleges and institutes have traditionally played a learning leadership role in the communities they serve. Although the entire institution participates, inevitably, one or two people make an outstanding contribution each year. People such as Greg Peters, this year's recipient of the Holland College Leadership Excellence Award. Learning Manager since 1977 in the Business Division's Accounting Technology program, Greg has served in numerous leadership capacities within the College, his profession, church, community and with his students. In 1991 he received the Faculty Association Award for Excellence and Dedication; in 1999 he was honoured with a Fellowship in the Society of Management Accountants, a national award given for outstanding achievement in the area of management accounting within the Society of Management Accountants and the community, one of only 250 recipients of the award in Canada. He has been a key player in establishing the transfer of credits toward the CGA program for some components of the Accounting Technology program and through his initiative, training received in some areas of the Accounting program are accepted toward UPEI?s Bachelor of Business Administration degree.

Terence McGaughey, Manager of the Media Production Unit, was the recipient of the first annual Holland College Staff Excellence Award. This award honours a staff member who has made an exceptional contribution within the institution and in the community and who serves as a model of excellence for all staff. A graduate from Charlottetown Rural High School in 1975, Terence completed the Commercial Design program at Holland College. Towards the end of his second year in the program, he began to work with the Audio Visual Department and has been a member of the College community ever since. Very active in the PEI Regiment, Terence is recognized as "a man who works effectively behind the scenes at the College, doing whatever it takes to get the job done, in the most efficient, professional manner possible".