Our
Featured Celebration
Faithful readers will recall that our July issue celebrated the humble French Fry. This month we segue effortlessly into yet another derivative of nature’s miracle food, the potato. We’re talking, of course, about August 10, International Biodiesel Day.
To be strictly accurate, biodiesel (biodegradable, non-toxic, and 60% lower in net carbon dioxide emissions than petroleum-based diesel) can be produced from a lot of plants – in fact, the very first Diesel engine was powered by peanut oil.
You’re probably asking yourself “How will those fun folks at Consilium, AARLUK and ARDOS be celebrating International Biodiesel Day?” Well, we’ll be donning celebratory “DIESEL SHOW ‘EM!" lab coats, and whipping up our own festive batch of home biodiesel. Fun for the whole family! You can join us by linking to this recipe for biodiesel from Mike Pelly, carpenter and backyard chemist, who has been making his own for the past 10 years.
WHAT'S HAPPENING AT CONSILIUM, AARLUK and ARDOS... In this corner of our site we'll be posting notes on new people, new projects, and new online materials you may find interesting. Enjoy, and come back often.
NEW PROJECTS
Aarluk is proud to announce that it will be supporting the Municipal Training Organization and Arctic College for the fourth consecutive year, as MTO begins its second cycle of deliveries for its hugely successful workshop series for employees of Nunavut communities.
Most scientific observers agree that climate change is real, that it’s happening now, and that its impacts are rapidly becoming more significant – especially in the vulnerable Canadian Arctic. Fred Weihs of Consilium and Chris Grosset of Aarluk will be joining Gartner Lee and the Zeta Group to prepare a study of climate and other changes taking place in the Arctic, and to explore the present adaptive capacity of those living in the Arctic and the limits of capacity to cope with the expected magnitude of change and increased risk exposure. The study will look at the changes in risk exposure through the lens of disaster management.
Ian Kenney, Chris Cloutier and Ryan Lotan, led by Jennifer David are interviewing national Sector Councils to establish what work is being on Essential Skills, and to identify best practices/success stories from the organizations in human resources development and research.
ONGOING PROJECTS
All fourteen case studies in the Formative Evaluation of the Aboriginal Human Resources Development Agreements (AHRDAs), covering organizations from Labrador to BC to Nunavut, have been drafted and are under review by Human Resources and Social Development Canada. Greg Smith has been coordinating a large team of ARDOS researchers for over a year of interviews, site visits, data collection and analysis. The project report will be submitted this month, following which, we predict, Greg may well treat himself and team members to a glass of wine.
HAPPY ENDINGS
More than forty senior officials and resource people gathered in Iqaluit last week for an intensive, three day planning session by the Nunavut Department of Health and Social Services. Led by Deputy Minister Alex Campbell, facilitated by Chuck Gilhuly and James Arreak, and designed by Terry Rudden, the meeting focused on departmental priorities for the next three years.
A series of eight cross country training workshops for Environment Canada staff on the theme of Aboriginal Analysis and Consultations has been completed. The workshops were designed by Terry Rudden, Patti Black, Greg Smith and Tomasz Wlodarczyk of Gartner Lee, with deliveries by Valerie Assinewe, Jennifer David, Ron Ryan, and Ian Kenney. The project managed by Greg Smith for ARDOS. The final report has been completed and submitted to Environment Canada.
BIRTHDAYS
Like everyone else, you’ve probably been waiting with breathless anticipation for August 9th, which, as the whole world knows, is the 21st birthday of the Headington Shark (left). Well, your excitement is understandable. But don’t forget that August 9th is also the birthday of The Godfather, our own Fred Weihs.
October 19th is also the birthday of Ogden Nash, celebrated for his terse verse. If Ogden were alive today, he’d probably commemorate our second Consilium birthday by announcing:
On Aug 19 was born a wee ‘un
To the Kenneys, yclept “Ian”.
GOSSIP
 Pictured to the right at the Habitat for Humanity Iqaluit tournament‘s 16th Tee are the almost invincible members of Team Aarluk. Left to right – Chuck “watch my NEXT shot” Gilhuly, Captain Ron “we should be playing this at Mont Tremblant” Ryan, Terry “Killer Chip” Forth, and Chris “I Can’t Believe I Hit That!” Grosset. Who would have thought that a final score of an insignificant 5 over par wouldn’t have put the team in the money”? Oh well - it was all in good fun, and, we understand, a huge financial success for Habitat for Humanity Iqaluit, who officially start their first build August 4th. (By the way, if you’re wondering about the trees in the background of the Iqaluit Golf and Country Club…see our lead story on global warming and the arctic.)
This year Boult Manor hosted the annual summer gathering of the Consilium Consulting Groups. As always, the repartee flowed like wine, and the wine flowed like repartee, and a grand time was had by all. The organizing committee added piquance to the occasion with a light-hearted, in-house poll. Some of the highlights:
o Most air miles put on in a year: RON RYAN
o Top Moviegoer: JENNIFER BRADSHAW
o Most organized Consiliumite: LESLIE SUTHERLAND
o Most desperately in need of a long vacation: DEBBIE CHABOT
o Best Dancer: RYAN LOTAN
o BEST DRESSED: CHRIS GROSSET
o Sexiest consultant: the Silver Fox, DAVE BOULT
(Pictured above: Cinephile Jen Bradshaw leaves Terry Rudden in the dirt as she executes an Olympic-quality high speed 180 in the egg races.)
THIRTY YEARS AGO LAST MONTH....
And speaking of our championship egg-racer: several folks correctly identified this winsome person from the era of Trudeau and Led Zeppelin as Jennifer Bradshaw.
THIRTY YEARS AGO THIS MONTH…
Here’s a tricky one for you. This is a caricature printed thirty years ago, portraying a prominent and unrepentant Consiliumite first playing the role that he’s continued to play for the last three decades…bridging the gap between communities and resources. Any guesses?
CHECK
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