Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Joyce Byrne Named 2011 Magazines Canada Volunteer of the Year

Woot! Woot! Shout-out to Alberta Venture's Joyce Byrne on being named Magazines Canada’s Volunteer of the Year for 2011.

Joyce Byrne, Magazines Canada Volunteer of the Year

Anyone who knows Joyce knows what an ardent supporter of Canada's cultural magazines she is, as well as a huge advocate for Alberta's publishing industry. She currently sits on AMPA's board of directors and has served as a director on the Magazines Canada Board for 10 years. She is part of Mags Canada's Government Relations committee and MagNet curriculum taskforce, and has chaired the Professional Development committee since 2007.

She's always keen to share her wisdom (and her humour!), often participating on AMPA's expert panels at post-secondary institutions.

Prior to joining Venture Publishing, Joyce was publisher of Toronto-based This Magazine. She was also part of the Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC) taskforce that established the corporation's successful magazine funding program. She has been a steering committee member of Digital Eve Toronto (and WebGirls), a jurist for the OMDC and the Canada Council for the Arts, and is a director of the National Magazine Awards Foundation.

Joyce chaired the Advertising Club of Edmonton Awards in 2008, and currently chairs the committee for Edmonton's annual Cannes Reel fundraiser in support of the National Advertising Benevolent Society. She is also the proofreader of the biannual literary magazine Taddle Creek and a consulting publisher to the new Edmonton-based literary magazine Eighteen Bridges.

She'll be officially honoured at MagNet in Toronto on June 7.

Congrats again Joyce! You deserve it!

--Colleen Seto