TREB Committee and Task Force Members, political leaders, senior public officials and charitable organization representatives gathered at TREB’s annual civic luncheons held recently in Toronto, York Region and Durham Region to celebrate their achievements in fostering quality of life throughout the Greater Toronto Area.
The Toronto luncheon featured speakers Mark Saunders, Chief of the Toronto Police Service and Ene Underwood, Chief Executive Officer of Habitat for Humanity GTA while York Region attendees heard from Steve Pellegrini, Mayor of the Township of King and Richard Solomon, Regional Vice President of Habitat for Humanity GTA York Region. Roger Anderson, Regional Chair and CEO for the Region of Durham and Mary Bone, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity Durham Region addressed guests at the east event.
Additionally, John Wright, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Ipsos Public Affairs gave a presentation at each event on the pulse of the public on a range of local issues.
Charitable organizations were individually recognized at the events, and it was announced that TREB will continue its participation in the Ontario REALTORS Care® Foundation’s Every REALTOR® Campaign. In May, TREB Members voted for the eighth consecutive year to contribute $1 per Member, per month for a year to the Foundation. Last year, participation in the campaign allowed TREB to offer grants to 60 different shelter-related charities throughout the GTA, totalling $485,410.
Winners of TREB’s five annual scholarship awards were also recognized at the events.
TREB’s ninth annual Past President’s Scholarship Awards provide two $5,000 scholarships and two $2,500 scholarships to graduating high school students in the Greater Toronto Area who are planning to continue their education. The judging decision for the scholarships is based on community involvement and a 1,000-word essay.
For this year’s first essay topic, students were asked, “How may the Pan Am Games impact the surrounding communities prior to, during, and once the games have concluded?”
Andrew Kwong, who graduated this year from University of Toronto Schools, was chosen as this topic’s first award recipient. He plans to attend the University of Toronto this fall, where he will pursue Life Sciences.
Fairoza Manjra, a graduating student from David and Mary Thompson Collegiate Institute in Scarborough, was selected as the topic’s second recipient. She will be attending the University of Toronto, Scarborough, this fall for a Co-op Management program with an Economics specialization.
For the second essay topic, TREB posed the following question: “As our changing population produces new communities, there are many considerations to be addressed in making these communities successful. Identify a key consideration that you feel needs to be addressed to ensure success.”
Jacob Broz, who graduated this year from Port Credit Secondary School, was selected to receive the first award on this topic. He plans to attend Wilfred Laurier University this fall, to earn a BBA and a BA in Financial Math, as his goal is to forge a career in the financial sector.
Amy Qiu, a graduating student from Glenforest Secondary School in Mississauga, was selected as the topic’s second recipient. She will be attending the University of Waterloo in the fall for a Co-op honours program in Biomedical Engineering.
TREB’s sixth annual Commercial Committee Scholarship Award, granted to a university student enrolled in the MBA Program at Ryerson University, was presented to Lucine Edwards, who outlined her interest in researching the impact of LEED development charges and infrastructure. She began her four-month work term at TREB in May, during which time she will work on developing new financial models for Commercial Condominium and Apartments in the GTA; conducting research on Commercial Density nodes within the GTA; and undertaking work on her own Major Research Project for her MBA.
TREB’s Committee and Task Force volunteers were also recognized at the events for their important contributions to the Association’s initiatives throughout the 2014/2015 term.
Click here for photos of the events.