Kelsey Birtch Receives Emerging Leader Award

Kelsey Birtch happily accepted the 2015 Emerging Leader Award for her work with the City of Vancouver Animal Services.

She is a full-time Licensing Liaison and her position includes attending community engagement functions to promote the benefits of dog licensing. Birtch also has specialized promotional items used as licensing incentives. The City of Vancouver believes she has been "instrumental in starting to change the public perception."

“I have been loving all the amazing people and animals I’ve been meeting and am looking forward to the many more opportunities out there,” Birtch tells InfoStream.

Recently Ms. Birtch also began assistant teaching a course in Langara College Vancouver’s Professional Dog Walker Program.

The Emerging Leader Scholarships were launched in 2010 to illuminate the up and coming leaders in the pet industry. The goal is to grant these emerging leaders the opportunity to network with current leaders and gain executive insight into their sector. The Emerging Leader program illuminates future leaders for the benefit of organizations who wish to hire emerging talent.

 

The 2015 IRED Scholarship Competition was made possible with grants from:

• PIJAC Canada
• Petsecure/Western Financial Corporation
• Kijiji Canada
• Ontario SPCA
• CDMV Inc
• Petland Superstores
• Canadian Veterinary Medical Association

2015 Summit Awards Revealed by InfoStream

Urban Animal is pleased to advise the completion of the Summit Awards program. Urban Animal has engaged CW Communications to complete this project. During the next two weeks the 2015 Summit Awards will be revealed each day using InfoStream. The 2015 Summit Awards will then be turned over to local representatives of Pets Plus Us, the 2015 Sponsor, for delivery and presentation where possible.

For ten years the Summit Awards have represented the recognition component of the Urban Animal program in North America. Nominees for the Summits include individuals and organizations active in the Urban Animal Industry. Nominations are confirmed by the Urban Animal Action Council, who review the nominations, voting, process and results to ensure the established criteria are met and that no nominating or voting irregularities are present. The decision of the Action Council with respect to these matters is final.

This year's award program signified the most involvement from urban animal subscribers to date, with 35 nominees in 12 categories and an outstanding 16,144 ballots cast in the process. Thank you to everyone who nominated, voted and helped recognize the initiatives and accomplishments of all the nominees.

Continue to read InfoStream as we announce the winners of:

Breeder

Collaborators

Communicator

Community

Distinguished Service Provider

Homing

Individual Achievement

Lifetime Achievement

Pet Owner

Retailer

Sheltering

and Wellness Summit Awards.

Further Than Yesterday - The Inspirational Story of a Canadian Air Force Captain

Canadian Air Force Captain (Ret’d) Medric Cousineau won an Urban Animal Summit Award for Innovator of the Year in 2014 for his efforts with PTSD service dogs and Paws Fur Thought. Cpt. Cousineau works to educate all levels of government, landlords and business owners, pet industry staff and the general public; he has improved the working and living conditions for both dogs and their handlers. Cpt. Cousineau has also won an Inspiring Lives Award from the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia.

Cpt. Cousineau received the Star of Courage after one particularly harrowing search and rescue mission. The Star of Courage recognizes acots of conspicuous courage in circumstances of great peril. Unfortunately this mission precipitated his downward spiral with PTSD. In 2014, InfoStream interviewed Cpt. Cousineau and he told the Urban Animal community about his story. 

Cpt. Cousineau is now ready to share his story with a wider audience. Further Than Yesterday: That's All That Counts is now available on Amazon! The book has been billed as “Intense and Inspirational" and allows readers to, “Follow Capt. Cousineau’s descent into hell, his rescue by a Yellow Lab named Thai, and then The Long Walk to Sanity to fund the service dog program called “Paws Fur Thought”... Read how Thai and other service dogs are changing the landscape of the battlefield of PTSD from the front lines.”

FURTHER THAN YESTERDAY: THAT’S ALL THAT COUNTS

Move the Industry - Summit Awards Month Quickly Approaching

Tensions run high. Anticipation builds. Excitement prevails. Four simple words establish a new standard of excellence. And the winner is…

September is Summit Awards month. A series of polls will be released for the public to vote on. Urban Animal is looking for your help to determine the top two finalists in each Award category.

In a few short weeks, thought leaders of the companion animal industry will come together to reward the hard work and efforts of their peers at the tenth annual Summit for Urban Animal Strategies (SUAS). It’s an industry endorsement to strive for and a place of honor for those who have set the bar one notch higher. The Summit Awards bring peer recognition to individuals, agencies, 

organizations and corporations throughout the companion animal industry.

A significant Urban Animal mission is to recognize those who achieve excellence. Summit Awards deliver recognition each year using an academy style system of nominations followed by an open polling process. The 2014 Summit Awards involved 37 nominees in 12 categories with almost 5,000 ballots cast.

You are invited to nominate those who should be recognized in your community! The award categories may be found here and will be featured on InfoStream during the month of August.

The top two nominees in each category are awarded a Scholarship worth up to $2,700 to attend the Summit for Urban Animal Strategies in Lake Louise, October 14-17. Scholarships include a Full Delegate Package and up to $550 towards travel costs. The 2015 Summit Awards Gala will be held in the Victoria Room of the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise on Friday October 16th, 2015.

Nominate someone today. Get the facts, have your say, move the industry.