Silent Auction Donations by March 20, Please!

As a dedicated member of the Alberta magazine community, Amber Bowerman was a regular at the Alberta Magazines Conference (AMC), participating as an attendee and one year, as a fantastic speaker. Even when she moved on to her job at SAIT, she continued to partake. She always came out to support AMPA industry events, and it was always such fun to be with her.

So it’s only fitting that the Amber Webb-Bowerman Memorial Foundation once again hosts a silent auction at this year’s AMC, running March 22 & 23, 2012. It’s the perfect opportunity for those who annually connected with Amber at this event to show their support.

We’re now making a call for silent auction donations. Proceeds will go towards an endowed scholarship fund at Mount Royal University so that a journalism scholarship will be given in Amber's name in perpetuity.

Thanks so much to those of you who have kindly donated in the past. It’d be great if you could do so again! In the past, the auction has included books, games, gift baskets, event tickets, hotel and restaurant gift certificates, subscription packages and more.

Come on, I know you’ve got some gift card rotting in your wallet that would make a great donation. Don’t worry if you only have one thing; we can get creative and group it with other donations. No donation is too small and every donation helps!

To date, we’ve successfully provided scholarships at Mount Royal, ACAD, Grant MacEwan, the University of Calgary and University of Regina, and have established an endowment scholarship in Amber’s name at SAIT Polytechnic. We also sponsor the Student Writing Award at the Western Magazine Awards and a writing award for the Canadian University Press. We hope to do much more with your help and continue to make Amber proud.

If you have anything donate, please email us at info@amberbowerman.ca before March 20.

Thank you all for helping us to remember our dear friend and colleague. Come on out to the AMC where we can raise a toast to her!

--- Colleen Seto
AMPA Blogger-in-Residence

Fall Water-Cooler AMPA Update

Fall is officially upon us now so I thought it was time for another update on what's happening with some Alberta mags folks. As I'm not always privy to everybody's news, I invite you to please share with me what's happening in your world. And it doesn't have to be magazine news; let's face it, we're into the personal stuff too!

• As we all know, big changes at AMPA. A fond farewell is in order for Andrew Mah (or Mahster, as I like to call him) as he embarks on new adventures to teach in China. Thank you Andrew for the amazing work you pulled off in this last year. I know all too well that the first year comes with a wicked steep learning curve and you handled it like a pro.

• A big welcome to Suzanne Trudel as the new AMPA ED. As a fellow board member for the Amber Webb-Bowerman Memorial Foundation, I know Suz to be dedicated and hardworking, not to mention a lovely person. I'm sure she will do a great job carrying on AMPA's good works. If you haven't already, please take a moment to say hello and make her feel at home.

• Former AMPA Communications Specialist Anh Chu has just moved across the pond, making London, England, her new home, just to shake things up! Watch for news about Anh's next career as...an actress? A gourmet chef? A Spice Girl?

• Congrats to Melanie Jones, Alberta mags contributor and former Where Calgary editor, on her success with her show ENDURE, which she created, produced and performs. She recently came home to Calgary and completed a sold-out run and now she's back in New York performing this immersive, theatre-meets-athletics show twice a day every weekend this month. You go, girl!

 

• Margaret Chandler, former AMPA conference coordinator, is now at Bow Valley College as Special Advisor to the President. She's actually been at the job for a year now, but I forgot to blog about it when she started. (I blame baby brain.) She continues her green initiatives chairing the ECOBVC, the college's sustainability committee. 

• In June, Alberta Venture welcomed two new columnists, Preston Manning and Brett Wilson. Talk about bringing on the big guns!

• AvenueCalgary.com got a facelift this summer with a new design as well as a version for mobile apps.

• And finally, some cheesy personal gushing. It's my baby's first birthday today! Happy birthday Annabel!                                                      

                                                                                                   ---Colleen Seto

AMPA Blogger-in-Residence

Support Journalism Students with Third Annual Sugar Bowl Fundraiser

Sugar Bowl Tournament and Fundraiser
Registration is now open for the 3rd Annual Sugar Bowl Lawn Bowling Tournament and Fundraiser in support of the Amber Webb-Bowerman Memorial Foundation.

When: August 27th, 5pm
Where: The Calgary Lawn Bowling Club, 1238 - 16 Avenue SW
What: The Best Time of Your Life on a Bowling Green (and for a good cause!)

Tickets for Bowling, Cheering, Food and Drink
Tickets cost $70 per person or $280 for a team of four. If you register a full team, you'll get two “fan” tickets ($30 value) as well as team name buttons for your whole group. Fan tickets can also be purchased for $15 each and allow you to come out and cheer the teams on and have food and drink with all of the Sugar Bowlers (you just don’t get to play). All participants will receive a barbecue dinner and two drink tickets.


Raise That Publishing Community Spirit
This is also the prime opportunity for members of the publishing community to face off. Will the Alberta Views team steal the championship this year? Or will it be RedPoint? What about JuneWarren? Or will it be the Swerve team? Or maybe Avenue's Jenn Hamilton will be the dark horse on the winning team once again (pictured above with the Sugar Bowl trophy). Only way to find out is to register and come!

Both team and individual registrations can be found at amberbowerman.ca and you can pay online through Paypal or by mailing a cheque.

Support Journalism Students with Auction Donations
Money raised at the Sugar Bowl will go toward creating an endowment for an ongoing journalism scholarship at Mount Royal University in Amber’s name.

The Amber Webb-Bowerman Memorial Foundation is looking for donations for our Sugar Bowl silent auction. If you have anything you’d like to donate, please contact info@amberbowerman.ca.

Deadline to purchase tickets is Thursday, August 25. See y'all there!

--- Colleen Seto
AMPA Blogger in Residence

Lasting Legacy for Amber Bowerman

Three years after we lost Amber, I'm happy to report that good is still happening in her name.

Today, on the eve of the third year anniversary of her passing, the Amber Webb-Bowerman Memorial Foundation (AWBMF) announced the creation of a lasting legacy for its namesake during a press conference at SAIT Polytechnic in Calgary.

Photo by Greg Fulmes

Through the generous and kind efforts of donors, the AWBMF has met its endowment fundraising objective for the SAIT Polytechnic journalism scholarship in Amber’s name. The final cheque for the SAIT endowment was presented today by the Foundation’s President, Käthe Lemon, to Debby Deniset, the Annual Giving Manager of SAIT Alumni and Development. The amount of the cheque was $10,497.93 reaching a total of more than $28,500 in the endowment, which will ensure that a journalism scholarship of $1,000 a year will be given in perpetuity.

“This isn’t the most significant donation ever in terms of the absolute amount, but it is truly a huge donation in terms of the number of people who came together to make it happen and who put their thoughts into making something positive from tragedy,” says Käthe.

I'm so proud to be a founding and current board member of the AWBMF and of all those who have helped us reach this goal, whether by donating money, time, goods or participating at our fundraising events. We weren't sure what could be done when we began, we just knew we wanted, no needed, to do something to honour Amber and continue the work she started.

This SAIT endowment fund is the just the first of what we hope to be many scholarships in Amber's name. It is through such efforts that we can find some solace in losing such a great person. Here's to you, Amber. We miss you!

See the full press release here.

--- Colleen Seto

AMPA Blogger-in-Residence

MagaScene: Awards Finalists Announced! (issue 81/March 2011)

FEATURE

Alberta Magazine Awards Finalists!
The Shortlisted Entries for Showcase and Achievement Awards… 

NEWS
AMPA’s New Blogger-in-Residence Seto Shares Her Insight
Professional Development Grants for Canadian Culture
Shortliffe Leaves Magazines File Changes at Canadian Heritage 

EVENTS

Get Publishing 2011 At the Edge of Print 

AWARDS/CALLS FOR SUBMISSIONS
Donations for Webb-Bowerman Foundation Silent Auction
2011 Editors' Choice Awards
Routes Magazine Short Story Contest
Alberta Arts Days Funding 

JOBS

Editorial Intern, Avenue Edmonton Magazine

Graphic Designer, Source Media Group

Do-gooders unite! Silent Auction Donations Please!

 

You’ve likely already seen a call for silent auction items for the Amber Webb-Bowerman Memorial Foundation (ie., see post below!). But I’m asking again, not just because I’m the VP of the foundation, but because it’s for a really good cause. Monies raised by the foundation go to support aspiring arts and journalism students who may very well go on to contribute to your magazine.

PLUS, if your donation has a market value of $100 or more, we can issue you a tax receipt.

We’re coming up on the third anniversary of when we so tragically lost Amber, and there are days when I still can’t believe that she’s gone. I will never fathom what happened; I guess no one will ever know. But being involved with the foundation gives me some solace that good can come even from the baddest bad.

So, I appeal to all of you to put together a little something for the auction. I know budgets are tight (when aren’t they?), but surely you have something kicking around your home or office that would make an ideal auction item. Think of it as re-gifting for a cause!

If you have a donation, please email me at setocolleen(at)gmail.com. And of course, come to the annual Alberta Magazines Conference (March 24 to 26) to bid on the items, chat with old and new friends, and of course, learn something too! 

---Colleen Seto
AMPA Blogger-in-Residence

Foundation for Amber Bowerman Seeks Silent Auction Donations

The Amber Webb-Bowerman Memorial Foundation will once again be hosting a silent auction fundraiser at the Alberta Magazines Conference. Funds raised through the auction will go toward establishing an endowed scholarship fund so that scholarships will be given in Amber's name in perpetuity.

The Foundation is a registered charity that raises money for scholarships and awards for journalism and arts students in Western Canada and was created in memory of magazine writer and editor Amber Bowerman (nee Webb). To date, the Foundation has provided scholarships at SAIT Polytechnic, ACAD, Grant MacEwan, the U of C and U of R as well as establishing and sponsoring the Student Writing Award with the Western Magazine Awards Foundation.

The Foundation is asking for donations of items for the auction. In the past, the auction has included included books, games, gift baskets, event tickets, hotel and restaurant gift certificates, subscription packages and more. Every donation helps meet the goals of helping journalism students get a start in their careers. 

Anyone who is interested in donating an item can contact the Foundation at info@amberbowerman.ca before March 21.

WMA Student Writing Award

Nominations for the Student Writing category of the Western Magazine Awards, sponsored by the Amber Webb-Bowerman Memorial Foundation, are now open. Entry rules and regulations can be found at www.westernmagazineawards.ca. Nominations close March 4, 2011.

Nominations for the student writing category must have appeared in a magazine published in Western Canada in 2010. Student Writing refers to the non-fiction or journalistic work (published in 2010 in a Canadian consumer or university/college magazine) of a full-time student. Students must be Canadian citizens or landed immigrants attending post-secondary school full-time during 2010.

The winner of the student writing award will receive $750, all finalists will receive recognition at the awards gala attended by western Canadian magazine editors and publishers as well as being mentioned with the finalists of all awards on the Western Magazine Awards Foundation website.

This award is sponsored by the Amber Webb-Bowerman Memorial Foundation, established in the summer of 2008 to honour and preserve the memory of journalist Amber Michelle Bowerman (nee Webb), and to help fulfill her dreams by supporting emerging artists and journalists.

For further information on the WMA Student Writing Award or the Amber Webb-Bowerman Memorial Foundation, please contact info@amberbowerman.ca