Bow-Tie Day Hamilton

Bow-Tie Day Hamilton Poster
- design by factor[e]

Being someone who likes to follow certain sartorial whims, I have become a fan of www.TheTieBar.com, a great site that offers a wide-array of fashionable men’s accessories at fantastically affordable prices.  The only problem is that in Canada, you have to pay the FedEx shipping costs to have the items sent to you, meaning that, if you are going to order, best idea is to order big, or in a group.

Luckily, at factor[e], there are a number of people who share similar passions, and when our Art Director, Matt McPeak, and I, in the midst of an order, saw that The Tie Bar was organizing their annual International Bow Tie Day on August 28^th, 2012, we knew factor[e] had to help bring this to Hamilton.

Liaising with Gowlings Law Firm, and the Hamilton Hive, Matt and I, on factor[e]’s behalf coordinated Hamilton’s official participation in International Bow Tie Day.  However, not being content to simply have a swank social event with fashionably dressed folks (which did occur, with BIG thanks to Radius Cafe), we also worked with the Eva Rothwell Community Centre, to ensure the event had a charitable aspect that was specifically raising money for the Centre’s Literacy Express project.

The Blue Bow-tie of Literacy

Combining our own concept of The Blue Bow Tie of Literacy, with a social media campaign featuring local leaders and professionals wearing said bow-tie, as well as involving awesomely designed posters and buttons from factor[e], and the charitable “Bow-Tie cocktail” developed by Radius, the event proved to be a great success.

Look out for August 28^th, 2013, the Bow-Ties will return.   

See here for a great write-up on the event, from CBC Hamilton.

And here for the Bow Tie Day Hamilton Gallery.

Matt and I.

Hive in a Provincial Spotlight

Fall 2012 proved to be a busy time for the Hamilton Hive and I, which received provincial wide recognition through a number of different meetings, conferences, and summits, including: 

On September 13^th, myself and the (at the time) recently hired Hamilton Hive administrator, Mike Kubes, traveled to Kingston, Ontario to present to the Ontario East Municipal Conference on the topic of regional Youth Retention, Attraction, and Engagement strategies. 

The next week myself, and the Chair of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce’s Young Entrepreneurs and Professionals committee, Joe Accardi, attended a meeting of the Economic Developers Council of Ontario, along with representatives from a variety of Ontario Young Professional groups.  The goal of this meeting was to discuss the potential development of a Youth Advisory group for the province of Ontario.

Then, in early November, I was invited, as Chair of the Hamilton Hive, to present as part of a panel on Youth Attraction and Next Generation Talent, to the Ontario Chamber ofCommerce’s –Ontario Economic Summit.  

Of course, among all this, an awful picture of me was taken.

These were all amazing, and illuminating opportunities, each for myself, for the Hamilton Hive, and for the topic of Youth Strategies and Programs.  It was truly heartening to see the Hamilton Hive get recognized on a provincial level for being an innovative and successful model for engaging young people in a community as they seek to start their careers.  It was also incredibly encouraging to see the topic of programs and strategies to professionally empower young people, enabling them to attain their career goals, continue to steadily resonate with regions and organizations across the province.  Many young people have difficulty seeing anything but a hard future ahead, so the more this issue, and recommendations on enhancing prosperity among young people, are put front and centre, the better the future looks. 

The (Half-) Year in Recap!

OK...

Bad side, I have not had a chance to update this blog since August.  Therefore, I have a lot of back-writing to do.

Good side, time in the past four months has been tight in so many great ways!

Updates to follow!

One Ring...

Coinciding with my class' convocation from McMaster University's DeGroote School of Business MBA program, this past June, was the commencement of a new tradition that seeks to further define the identity of the DeGroote MBA, and what they stand for.

This tradition revolves around the gifting of a special, DeGroote MBA legacy ring to each successful graduate of the program.  The idea for this tradition first originated as a conversation between myself and two others (Mark Stewart, Derek Chan), while returning from an MBA Leadership conference in fall 2009.  Though the idea for such a project had been tossed  around in previous years, nothing had ever truly taken shape.  As we discussed the idea in the car, our conversation began to focus more on how to actually get it done, essentially, the steps needed to implement the program, and then the ways in which it could successfully be brought to fruition as a fully fledged tradition.

As such, between that fall 2009, and winter 2012, on the behalf of, and with the support and assistance of, the DeGroote MBA Association (particularly President, Geoff Reiner), I worked ensure that the idea became a reality.  This process included everything from the design of the ring's face, and the sourcing of the rings themselves, to designing a ring fee schedule that would be incorporated into each student's regular tuition, and then holding a student wide referendum to approve this schedule (and the effective launching of a continuous, self-fulfilling tradition).

Therefore, on the evening of June 12th, with the referendum successfully passed, rings ordered, and Graduation the following morning, the first-ever recipients of this DeGroote MBA Legacy Ring gathered at the McMaster University Alumni House, for the inaugural ring conferring ceremony.  This was both a casual affair, but also a significant one, as it marked the initiation of what is sure to be a long and fruitful tradition.

You can read more about this new tradition here.

And see below  for the statement of purpose, explaining the symbolism and motivations behind this initiative:

As the DeGroote School of Business’ MBA program enters a new era, with its new home at Burlington’s Ron Joyce Centre, the school is afforded a reinvigorated opportunity to continue to build upon its already renowned reputation, and the reputation of the degree that it confers.
To this end, the DeGroote MBAA has introduced a new tradition that will accompany each student’s completion of the DeGroote School of Business’ MBA program.  

This tradition is a symbolic token; a gift awarded to each student for their successful completion of the program.  Moreover, it is intended to be a reminder of their commitment to principles of ethics and integrity in all their future endeavours. 

This token is the DeGroote MBA signet ring.  In times past, when pressed in wax, a signet’s seal would serve as an individual’s mark of identity, representing the individual and their reputation on all official documents and correspondences that bore their name.  As such, the symbolism behind this project is that, as we as students move on in both our professional and personal lives, we carry with us the experience and education successfully attained at the DeGroote School of Business and ensure that in all our future actions we have “stamped and sealed” our commitment to integrity.  In other words we impress the lessons that the DeGroote School of Business has bestowed on us into the rest of our lives.

Gifted to each DeGroote MBA graduate, this tradition will be a proud and public showing of support for the DeGroote program, its significance, and the excellent reputation that it continues to build on our behalf.  This ring, with the corresponding DeGroote seal, though seemingly a mere token, will poetically represent the program, and the devotion that all DeGroote MBA graduates maintain upon their successful completion, towards the principles of ethics and integrity, both professionally and personally.  

At the Ceremony... Just a little proud of myself. (See ring on right index finger)

Hamilton Economic Summit 2012 - Hamilton HIVE Update

Each year the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce hosts a regional Economic Summit that seeks to encourage dialogue on regional development, and inspire new initiatives that both boost the profile of the Greater Hamilton Area, as well as the lifestyle of its citizens.

Being that the Hamilton HIVE was a project derived from the 2010 Hamilton Economic Summit, each year an update is presented on its work and progress to date.  This year, the update was presented as a video, filmed, and produced by Mindy Tweedle of Tweedle Productions, and featuring myself, speaking on the behalf of the Hamilton HIVE.

Hamilton Employment Crawl

In early April I had the pleasure of participating in the production of a video introduction for the Hamilton Employment Crawl, coordinated by McMaster University's Student Success Centre.  This was done both in my capacity as Chair of the Hamilton HIVE, and as a young McMaster alumni who has chosen to remain, and to live, work, and play in the Hamilton community.  

This was a fantastic initiative.  A long overdue attempt to bridge the education that students receive at McMaster with the experiences, opportunities, careers, and life that they can then pursue in Hamilton, Ontario, following their studies.  Special thanks go to Gisela Oliveira and Kathy Woo.  

You can find more information about the video and employment crawl below, in the excerpt copied from the McMaster Youtube page.

On April 25th and 26th, a hundred and fifty students participated in the Hamilton Employment Crawl (HEC). Students and team leaders traveled to organizations around the city to uncover why Hamilton is their city to live, work and play. 

As a project of HEC, a video interview was conducted among employers and young professional in Hamilton. The video asks interviewees about their living and working experiences in the city, as well as their relationship with the community slogan, "You Can Do Anything in Hamilton".  

Thank you to the Student Life Enhancement Fund, Sponsors (The City of Hamilton, McMaster Innovation Park, CoBALT Connects and the Hamilton Police Services) and Strategic Focus Group members (Brent Kinnaird, Cyndi Ingle, Dave Mossman, Gina Robinson, Gisela Oliveira, Kathy Woo, Michael Marini, Ruth Liebersbach, Steph Seagram, Jeremy Freiburger, and Paul Berton) for making HEC possible.  

The video was directed, produced and edited by Kathy Woo     

Photo courtesy of Melissa Height, Bee Bodies courtesy of... We're still trying to figure that out

Tuesday, April 3 saw the publication of the second issue of the Hamilton Spectator's new monthly business magazine.  The headlining feature for April's issue was all about the swelling activity of Young Professionals, Leaders and Entrepreneurs in the city of Hamilton, with a specific focus on the groups that they maintain, connect, network, and seek to further various community agendas through.

Given this focus, a large portion of the feature discussed the Hamilton HIVE, and specifically profiled Melissa Height (Vice-Chair), Matt Terry (Secretary), and myself (Chair).

This feature was a very welcome sign of both recognition of, and encouragement to, continue to push forward with all thing incredible things that Young Leaders are making, building, developing, and doing in Hamilton, Ontario.

Congratulations to all my fellow Young Professional, Entrepreneurs, and Leaders, keep up the fantastic work!

The article can be read here. 

"Ryan Moran is chair of Hamilton Hive, the umbrella organization for the growing number of YP groups in the city and was one of a team of two who just won Canada's Next Top Ad Execs. He said these YP networks are encouraging young professionals to stay here and build careers. They have also encouraged others to move here from Toronto and other urban centres. 

'It's been about bolstering each other and encouraging each other at the same time, showing other YPs outside the city what's going on here.' "