Articles by author: Brock University

• Global consultant Gary Comerford to Chair Brock’s Board of Trustees

  Friday, June 23, 2017 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 23 June 2017 – R00121

  International management and financial specialist Gary Comerford was confirmed as the Chair of Brock University’s Board of Trustees during the board’s annual meeting on June 22.

  Comerford begins a two-year term in succession of John Suk, who had been Chair since 2014, seeing the University through a chapter characterized by campus growth and presidential change. Suk will now serve a one-year term as Immediate Past Chair before stepping down from the Board.

  Comerford is a Niagara native who has worked around the world and now divides his time between Oakville and Niagara-on-the-Lake. In the 1970s he was a lecturer at Brock, and was elected to the Board in 2014. This past year he chaired the Advisory Committee on the President, which oversaw the recruitment and hiring of Gervan Fearon, who will take office as Brock’s next president on Aug. 1.

  “As a Niagara native, I am honoured to be given this role,” said Comerford. “John and my other predecessors worked hard with the Brock community, getting the University to where it is today. There’s opportunity in front of us, and good people to work with. It’s an exciting time to be at Brock.”

  Comerford has an honours BA in History and an MBA from the University of Western Ontario, as well as Institute of Corporate Directors certification from the Rotman School of Management at University of Toronto.

  Currently the CEO of Comerford Management Consultants, his career has included appointments as Vice-President of Marketing for Canada Permanent Trust, and Senior Vice-President (International) for Sun Life of Canada. He served as Sun Life’s general manager for India, and is past president of the Canada India Business Council. He is also a past chair of the Shaw Festival Board.

  The Board’s Governance/Nominating Committee also approved other nominations:

  Trustee Kristine Freudenthaler was elected to a one-year term as Vice-Chair of the Board
  Community members Mario De Divitiis, Beverley Morden and Robin Williams were re-elected for a three-year term
  Faculty member and Chair of Senate David Whitehead was appointed as an ex-officio member for one year
  Chris Phillips, President of the Brock University Alumni Association, was appointed as a new ex officio community member of the Board
  Staff member Giulia Forsythe was appointed to a three-year term
  Student member Faisal Hejazi was appointed as an ex-officio member as President of the Brock University Students’ Union
  Shannon Kitchings was appointed as an ex-officio member as President of the Brock University Graduate Students’ Association
  Trustees William Rickers and Elisabeth Zimmermann were elected to one-year terms as Board representatives to Senate
  All new appointments take effect July 1.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  • Maryanne Firth, Writer/Editor, Brock University maryanne.firth@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x4420 or 289-241-8288

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  Categories: Media releases

• Ontario’s top winemaker award goes to a Brock alum named Shiraz

  Thursday, June 22, 2017 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 22 June 2017 – R00120

  One of Brock’s first graduates of the Oenology and Viticulture program was recognized for his winemaking prowess at this year’s Ontario Wine Awards.

  Shiraz Mottiar (BSc ’00) won the coveted 2017 Winemaker of the Year award at a ceremony held in May. The Ontario Wine Awards, considered by many as the Oscars of the winemaking industry, were founded 23 years ago by international wine consultant, judge and writer Tony Aspler, as a means to celebrate Ontario’s best VQA vintages.

  In winning this year’s award, Mottiar — who is the lead winemaker at Malivoire in Beamsville — is in good company. He is the third graduate of the OEVI program in Brock’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) to take home the award.

  Rob Power (BSc ’00), a fellow member of Mottiar’s graduating class, was named as the 2008 Winemaker of the Year, while Thirty Bench Wine Makers’ Emma Garner (BSc ’04) secured the honour in 2015.

  “We’re thrilled to see Shiraz receive this well-deserved recognition,” said CCOVI director Debbie Inglis. “CCOVI is committed to training highly qualified personnel for the grape and wine industry, and seeing Shiraz and two other alumni recognized for excellence is evidence that we’re not only meeting but excelling in that mandate.”

  Mottiar has worked in the winemaking industry for nearly 20 years, starting as a cellar hand at Malivoire after graduating from Brock. Within a year, he was promoted to assistant winemaker. After spending a year overseas, he returned to Malivoire and took on the lead winemaking duties in 2005.

  In his spare time, Mottiar also works in his personal vineyard on the Beamsville Bench. He attributes a large part of his success to the mix of theoretical classroom knowledge and experiential learning he had in local vineyards and cellars during his time at CCOVI.

  “As I got a grasp of the routine and understanding of winemaking, I could apply some of the theory and experimental design learned at CCOVI within our own vineyards and lab to continue learning and always improving our methods and quality of wine,” he explained.

  Mottiar has also continued to be a strong supporter of the institute since graduating. He recently served as the host and member of the judging panel for the 2017 Experts Tasting and will be working alongside CCOVI to develop this year’s School of Cool education program at the upcoming International Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration.

  The industry-focused workshops and seminars offered by CCOVI have also been of benefit, he said. Being a member of the Fizz Club (lead by CCOVI Oenologist Belinda Kemp), for example, has helped guide his sparkling winemaking.

  “It couldn’t have come at a better time for us because Fizz Club started just after we pressed our first grapes for sparkling,” he said. “Our growth in this field has been accelerated by having the Fizz Club around, to learn from Belinda Kemp and the international colleagues she invites, along with tasting and bouncing ideas off our peers in the club.”

  While he loves the thrill of the “crush” (when the year’s harvest of grapes begins its transition into wine) it’s spending that time between the vines and tasting the fruits of his labour that he’s most passionate about.

  “Some of the happiest moments are alone in the vineyard on the tractor — just getting the job done — or in the cellar, tasting from a tank or barrel,” he mused. “That gives you that awesome feeling of accomplishment.”

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  • Maryanne Firth, Writer/Editor, Brock University maryanne.firth@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x4420 or 289-241-8288

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  Categories: Media releases