July 15th, 2009
Filed under: Kinesiology and Recreation Management
Twenty-two buildings on 32 acres of land.
One hundred and thirty-two apartments, 800 trust and research accounts, and 4,100 parking stalls.
Six thousand staff members, 1,200 volunteers, and more than 15,000 visitors a day.
It’s no wonder Gerald Mirecki – Director of Business and Innovative Services for Health Sciences Centre Winnipeg – feels like he’s supporting a small city.
But luckily, Mirecki – a graduate of the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management – comes prepared for the task at hand, having spent much of his 35-year career under the employ of the real thing.
“With 15,000 people on campus every day, it is like a mini-city – that’s how I view it,” says Mirecki, a Bachelor of Recreation Studies grad who – prior to the HSC position and a few years spent consulting – worked his way up the public sector ladder to become Manager of Community Development and Recreation Services for the City of Winnipeg. “It’s all about, ‘How can I improve the quality of life for people in our mini-city, the HSC?’ It’s trying to shepherd or be a steward of all these programs that will make a difference for our patients, for our visitors and for our staff.”
As mentioned, Mirecki is no stranger to either shepherding or stewardship, having served in the past as everything from a camp counselor to president of the Canadian Parks and Recreation Association (a stint he’s due to wrap up sometime this summer).
In his current position, one offered to him after being recruited to draft a strategic plan for the multitude of non-medical programs, services, and business opportunities at HSC, he leads a team that oversees everything from cafeterias to call centres, gift shops to green spaces, patient information systems to staff wellness programs, and pretty much everything in between.
“I’ve worked so many years on the preventative side – in recreation, in my former role (with the city) – that this is like coming full circle. I can see how the dots are connected, as far as how important it is to have proper care when you really need it,” says Mirecki, who was part of the second graduating class of the newly-minted Recreation Studies program when he graduated in 1984.
“People come here because they have to, so there is always anxiety …There are many aspects to making sure these people have quality health care, that they know where they’re going, they know how to access services, and they’re completely comfortable while they’re here.”
Given that HSC is the primary health care facility for those living between Toronto and Calgary (including the thousands of Northern Canadian residents whose communities lack adequate services), and that its daily budget is close to $1.25 million (and that’s just for the government-funded services), it’s no wonder that hospital higher-ups were looking for someone with leadership experience to oversee their new Business and Innovative Services branch. Clearly Mirecki – who once taught recreation courses at the U of M (and who has since returned as a guest lecturer with regularity over the years) – fit the bill.
“Working in the public sector, but having an entrepreneurial spirit, that’s what allowed for this journey,” says Mirecki, who also serves as Managing Director of HSC’s Volunteer Enterprise.
“My education and my years of experience with the City was a phenomenal training ground to deal with this kind of diversity. We were used to doing a lot of things on the fly with the City. We had strategic plans and staffing and budgets, but there had to be a lot of ingenuity to make something like recreation work.”
“Coming from the public sector, and having worked in large organizations that have a multitude of departments, has provided me with that solid kind of experience,” he continues, noting he’s had the privilege of working with talented teams and great professionals in both his careers.
“You know about direction, you know how to create, you know how to develop a team, how to work with a team, how to work within different levels of an organization. This is quite a challenge, but also a really great way to have a second career and to feel good about making a positive difference.”
Posted in: Kinesiology and Recreation Management
July 15th, 2009
Filed under: Kinesiology and Recreation Management
Cole Skinner (left) and Shane Ray, events/media co-ordinator and executive director, respectively, of the Manitoba Curling Association.
Given curling’s long held status as one of the most popular sports in the province, you’d think there’d be no shortage of experts or enthusiasts willing to head up its governing body.
That’s why it’s somewhat ironic that Shane Ray and Cole Skinner – who hold two of the top jobs at the Manitoba Curling Association – could both be described as casual curlers, at best.
“I get out once or twice a year and have some fun with it, but for the most part, no, I don’t curl,” says Ray, who’s been executive director of the Manitoba Curling Association (MCA) since September 2008.
“That’s the big joke in the curling world – that we have the two most prominent positions in curling in the province, and neither one of us is a heavy-duty, serious curler.”
Which is not to say that Ray and Skinner are complete neophytes when it comes to curling: As mentioned, Ray still manages to get a few games in every year, while Skinner – who serves as MCA’s events and media co-ordinator – used to curl competitively as a kid.
And while they may not be the best skips or sweepers on the ice, both men are more than qualified to handle the business end of MCA’s operations, having graduated from the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management with degrees in Recreation Studies (as the program was called in 1998, when Ray finished) and Recreation Management and Community Development.
The training helped prepare them to take the reins of an organization that oversees every facet of curling in Manitoba, from organizing and staging qualifying and championship events, to providing programs and services to athletes, coaches and officials. That’s no small feat, especially when you factor in curling’s massive popularity among Manitobans, or the fact that our province accounts for 30% of all clubs and all competitive curlers in Canada.
“I’ve worked with sport people across the board, and without a doubt, curling people are some of the most passionate,” says Ray, who served as marketing co-ordinator for Bison Sports and Recreation Services from 2002 to 2008, as well as prior positions with Sport Manitoba and the Coaches Association of Manitoba.
“It’s a hugely social game, and that’s one of the things that makes it so popular – the fairplay aspect, the gentlemen’s rules, the fact that you don’t really need an official. Sure, some of the rinks still have a phone where you can call up to the bar and get a beer, but that’s one of the things that makes it unique and enjoyable.”
That social aspect is still a likely draw for many of the MCA’s 50,000-plus members, but as Ray and Skinner both point out, there’s also a physical component to curling that’s grown by leaps and bounds in recent years.
Here in Manitoba, athletes rely on off-season training, sport psychology and nutrition, and even video analysis to stay on top of their game, lending increased credibility to a sport that was once unfairly dismissed as a mere hobby by skeptics.
“It’s become an Olympic sport, and as such it’s become way more intensive,” says Ray. “To be at the pinnacle of the sport, you have to devote way more time and attention. You can’t just go out and play your Monday night league game and expect to win at the Briar tomorrow.”
Luckily, Ray and Skinner are used to working with athletes of all skill levels: Both served as intramural supervisors while at the U of M, and both won Supervisor of the Year awards for their efforts. (Shane’s wife, Kyla Ray, is co-ordinator of Intramurals and Clubs for Bison Recreation Services, meaning Skinner, who graduated in 2008, has had the pleasure of having both Rays as his boss.)
But as Skinner points out, even casual curlers (like him and Ray) stand a marginal chance of one day sharing a rink with the pros.
“That’s the cool thing about curling,” says Skinner, who credits the intensity and scope of his FKRM training with helping him nab such a prestigious job straight out of school.
“There’s always that little 0.5% of a chance that one day you could be playing with these guys. There’s no such thing as an open tryout for an NHL team, but in curling, anyone can at least enter to qualify.”
“We’re just as competitive and just as structured as anyone else, but we still have time for the grassroots, the club curler who – every once in a while – will get to share the ice with a world champion,” Skinner continues.
“I think that’s why so many people curl, and why we continue to have such great numbers. Because no matter what your age is, you can still compete.”
For more information on the Manitoba Curling Association, see www.curlmanitoba.org
Posted in: Kinesiology and Recreation Management
July 7th, 2009
Filed under: School of Art
After winning the Art Gallery of Ontario and Aeroplan’s inaugural 2008 Grange Prize for contemporary photography, Sarah Anne Johnson is attending the AGO opening of her solo exhibition, House on Fire. Within the sculptures and photo-based works in this exhibition, Johnson delves into the story of her grandmother’s involuntary participation in mind-control experiments conducted in Montreal by the CIA in the mid-50s. The experiments deprived her grandmother of the ability to function normally, removing her capacity to raise her children and relate to her family and friends.
“Johnson’s ability to combine media, working fluidly between sculpture and photography, is part of what has drawn so much attention to her work,” says Michelle Jacques, the AGO’s associate curator of contemporary art. “In her previous work, her focus was on public and environmental issues. Now, with House on Fire, she’s gotten personal and her unique approach yields disarmingly affecting results.”
House on Fire opened at the AGO on July 4 and will run until August 23. It will also be on view at Julie Saul Gallery in New York September 17 to November 14, 2009.
A number of pieces included in House on Fire appeared in Gallery One One One’s fall 2008 exhibition Revolver Uptown One. This body of work was in development while Johnson was 2007-09 artist-in-residence in the School of Art’s sculpture area. (See Sarah Anne Johnson’s work from Revolver Uptown One at:
http://www.umanitoba.ca/schools/art/content/galleryoneoneone/sarahjohnson.html
Sarah Anne Johnson graduated in 2002 from the University of Manitoba with a BFA Honours and received her MFA from Yale University in 2004. Her work is included in numerous collections including those of the National Gallery of Canada and the Guggenheim Museum of Art in New York.
Posted in: School of Art
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