{"id":43868,"date":"2017-03-03T16:53:39","date_gmt":"2017-03-03T20:53:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=43868"},"modified":"2017-03-03T17:25:28","modified_gmt":"2017-03-03T21:25:28","slug":"sport-management-marks-20-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2017\/03\/sport-management-marks-20-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Sport Management marks 20 years"},"content":{"rendered":"

Erin Mathany has made plenty of friends in her 13 years working in the sports industry, but it\u2019s her former professors at Brock University who became her biggest supporters.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mathany (BSM \u201905), Director of Strategic Partnerships for the Canadian Olympic Committee, was one of six people to be given awards at the Department of Sport Management\u2019s 20th anniversary celebration Thursday night at Amici\u2019s Banquet Centre in Thorold.<\/p>\n

\u201cProfessors can be your greatest advocates and the relationships you develop last a lifetime,\u201d Mathany said when receiving one of two alumni awards presented\u00a0at the event.<\/p>\n

\"Department<\/a>

Faculty and staff from the Department of Sport Management.<\/p><\/div>\n

In her role at the COC, Mathany remains a big supporter of the SPMA program at Brock, helping to mentor undergraduate students.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe if you light the way for others, it will brighten your own path,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Also receiving an alumni award was Kojo Mensah (BSM \u201904), Senior Policy and\u00a0Issues Co-ordinator in the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport. He has held a wide variety of positions in the Canadian sports industry and said the reputation of Brock\u2019s SPMA program is well-respected.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverywhere I go I\u2019m always bumping into other SPMA alumni. We\u2019re everywhere. We\u2019re taking over the Canadian sports industry,\u201d he said with a laugh after receiving his award.<\/p>\n

Winning SPMA department awards Thursday were: Cheri Bradish, who was the first-ever SPMA professor at Brock; Stephanie Brooks, who has worked in the department as an undergraduate co-ordinator and academic advisor since the beginning; and Charlene MacLellan, a long-time administrative assistant.<\/p>\n

The keynote speaker at the event was sports broadcaster Michael Landsberg, who received the first SPMA Industry Award for being someone who has \u201csignificantly and positively impacted the Canadian sport community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Landsberg has become a champion for mental health through his roles in the Bell Let\u2019s Talk and #SickNotWeak campaigns.<\/p>\n

Landsberg said he has come to realize that speaking publicly about mental health issues can change the stigma.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you care about someone (with mental health struggles) you don\u2019t treat it the way you would if they had cancer or diabetes or MS. Until we get to that point, the stigma will still exist,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\t