This year for the very first time, the Telfer School of Management awarded two new donor recognition awards at the 3rd Annual Donor Appreciation Event for the faculty’s donors.
Every day we strive to improve our relationships with donors, demonstrate our appreciation and create meaningful relationships with those in our community who choose us amongst a sea of giving opportunities. Both of our recipients are wonderful examples of the kind of donor the Telfer School of Management holds every year. Through their generosity and ongoing commitment to the School they have chosen to step out of their daily routine to make a difference in someone else’s life.
Our first new award is the Young Donor of the Year Award. We have worked hard to stay in touch with our younger graduates and to follow and celebrate their success, while encouraging their ongoing engagement with their alma mater. Giving can be an important part of demonstrating support.
This award recognizes a donor 30 years or younger who has demonstrated a commitment to the Telfer School through a long-time and ongoing gift. Most young graduates are thinking about their careers and simply being in their 20’s. Our recipient this evening is an exception, she starting giving just 3 years after graduating in 2005, and has been giving monthly ever since. She was an involved student, a scholarship recipient in her time, and she’s recently become an entrepreneur. This year, Melinda Cesario Assaf (BCom 2005).
The Telfer Donor of the Year Award is intended to recognize and honour a donor who has gone above and beyond helping others through a history of giving, an ongoing commitment to the School, and who has had significant impact on both the Telfer School and its students. This year’s honouree Jeffrey Smith completed a BAdm in 1978 and Bachelor’s of Management Science in 1979. Jeffrey is a valued donor with a history of giving to the Telfer School dating back 25 years. In 2007 he and his wife Elaine Wilson decided to create the Albert and Margery Smith Scholarship at the Telfer School to honour his hardworking and supportive parents. To date Jeffrey and his wife have donated over $50,000 supporting scholarships for students coming from non-urban centers to get their business degree at the Telfer School of Management. Jeffrey and Elaine epitomize generosity and humility and we are pleased to recognize their generosity with this award.
Top photo: Jeffrey Smith and Dean François Julien
