BeCause & Effect

Today’s episode features one of the greatest entertainers of our generation, actor, author, singer/songwriter and keynote speaker, Fred Penner.

Mr Penner is gearing up for his upcoming cross-Canada tour celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Cat Came Back, released back in 1980.

He joined my via video chat from Beautiful British Columbia, and we talked not only about his legendary career, but also about the current media landscape, mindfulness and meditation, reconciliation, and so much more.

Our entire conversation is on The Winnipeg Foundation’s YouTube Channel, so if you go there you can watch along as well.

For additional information, including tour dates, visit http://www.fredpenner.com/

Welcome to BeCause & Effect, a podcast from the Winnpieg Foundation, where we talk to people about the causes they care about, and the effect that it has on their lives. My name is Nolan Bicknell.

Loren Remillard is the President and CEO of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce. He’s been with the organization since 1997 and has a great perspective on the importance of small business to our communities.

We talk about business profits and social impact, national trends in entrepreneurship, and the intricate relationship between healthy communities and a thriving business sector.

Welcome to BeCause and Effect, a podcast from the Winnipeg Foundation, where we talk to people about the causes they care about, and the effect it has on their lives. My name is Nolan Bicknell.

Today’s guest is one I’ve wanted to talk to since we launched this podcast, and could not be more excited to kick off season three with the amazing Jon Montgomery.

Jon is probably best known for his work as host of Amazing Race Canada since back in 2013, but Jon gained international notoriety for his gold medal win in Skeleton, during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

Jon joined me via video chat from his home in beautiful Victoria BC and we had a great conversation about life, about his meteoric rise to fame, about his infamous beer walk, and even reminisced a little about our shared hometown of Russell, Manitoba.

In a first for BeCause & Effect, our entire conversation is on the Winnipeg Foundation’s YouTube channel as well, if you’d like to see us chatting while you listen.

But without further ado, my conversation with Jon Montgomery.

Every episode of BeCause & Effect ends with a set of questions we call Just BeCause. It’s the same seven questions asked of all of our guests.

Today’s show is both a highlight episode, showcasing some of the best answers to the Just BeCause questions, and an exclusive, unreleased Just BeCause with Mr. Ron MacLean as well.

We were able to talk to Ron MacLean at a fundraising dinner for the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre earlier this year, where Ron co-hosted the event with Jann Arden.

For those who don’t know, Bruce Oake lost his life to a battle with a heroin addiction many years ago and the Oakes founded the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre in his name.

For those who don’t know Ron MacLean, he’s a Canadian Broadcasting icon, known best for his work on CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada and as a part of CBC’s Olympics coverage since 1988.

I sat down with Ron before the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre fundraiser here in Winnipeg, so our discussion revolved around Bruce’s life, the Oake family’s journey, and how addiction has affected so many of us, including Ron himself. But we also talk about Hockey Night in Canada, Roger’s Hometown Hockey, and his monumental career, and so much more.

Later on in the episode we’ll share some of my other favorite Just BeCause segments with previous guests, including Scott Oake himself.

So without further ado, here’s Ron MacLean, Just BeCause.

Kai Madsen is celebrating quite a few milestones this year: 50 years since he started volunteering with the Christmas Cheer Board, 25 years since he became their Executive Director, and 100 years that the organization itself has been in operation.

Kai and the more than 5,000 volunteers annually have been such an incredible force in our city, bringing holiday cheer to under-served families for such a long time, and they’re still going strong.

I sat down to talk with Kai Madsen, Executive Director of the Christmas Cheer Board, to talk about a lifetime spent giving back, the personal value of volunteerism, and how the Cheer Board has affected thousands of Winnipeggers over the last century.

Jeff Newman and Stephanie Scott learned a lot while working on their show First Contact. The reality style TV show brought Canadians from similar backgrounds together to learn about Indigenous culture and attempted to shatter their racist beliefs.

As filmmakers, their goal is to educate not only the participants on the show, but people worldwide by shining a light on prejudice, stereotyping, and racism across our country.

I sat down with both Jeff Newman and Stephanie Scott, Director and Executive Producer on First Contact, to talk about the trials and tribulations in making the show, Canada’s long history of individual and systemic racism, and the importance of listening to one another, to learn and grow.

Oly Backstrom has been with SCE Lifeworks for a quarter of a century. 25 years of providing inclusive supports and services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

As President and CEO of SCE Lifeworks, Oly has found meaning and purpose in helping others and educating communities on the abilities of all.

I sat down with Oly Backstrom, to talk about how businesses thrive when they hire inclusively, social evolution over the last two and a half decades, and his career building up and supporting people with developmental disabilities.

Jim Gauthier went from humble beginnings, to successful businessman, to one of the most giving and philanthropic people in Winnipeg. The Association of Fundraising Professionals even awarded Jim their Outstanding Philanthropist for 2019.

Jim and his late wife Joyce gave back as soon as they were able to, first as founders of The Dream Factory, and as well as supporters of many causes and organizations over the years, including the Humane Society and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

I sat down with Jim Gauthier, AFP’s Outstanding Philanthropist of 2019, to talk about how he got started, the importance of family and supporting community, and his philosophy of giving back to the community that gave him so much.

When one of Paige Procter’s loved ones got a cancer diagnosis, she turned her grief into something positive, and her community of Gross Isle Manitoba has now raised over 130,000 dollars for Cancer Care.

Through the Coffeehouse to End Cancer fundraising concerts, Paige and her team of volunteers have brought their friends, and family, and community together for a day of local artists performing and keynote presentations for nearly a decade now.

Paige was awarded the Association of Fundraising Professionals 2019 Emerging Leader in Philanthropy Award for her work, and she is honored by the recognition.

I sat down with Paige to talk about philanthropy, her motivation as a young woman to start such a successful fundraiser, and how her life has been changed by the stories of the cancer survivors she’s met.

Clare MacKay knows how, and why people gather. The public spaces provided through the Forks in Winnipeg are world-class and bring in people from all over the globe.

Clare’s role as VP, Strategic Initiatives as well as Executive Director of The Forks Foundation has meant she’s front and centre of the Forks’ incredible growth for nearly two decades.

I sat down with Clare Mackay, to talk about The Forks’ evolution from ancient meeting place to its modern model of success, the issues facing our city and what we can do, and the value of partnership and cooperation.