Richard Gordon of Access Records and Media is the new chairman of the Better Business Bureau of Vancouver Island. He succeeds Gary Eisenstein of Falcon Software in the top post for 2016. Other members of the executive include vice-chairman Walter Donald, The Executive Network; treasurer Vern Fischer, Fischer Financial Services; secretary Mike Regimbal, Money Mart; president and CEO Rosalind Scott and legal counsel Sharon Cartmill-Lane, Sheen Arnold McNeil. The directors are Chris Gillen, Dial-A-Geek Consulting Inc.; Rick Anthony, Oak Bay Police; Robin Richardson, Independent Funeral Planners; Kim Garnett, Brainy Girl Virtual Assistant; Rose Arsenault, Talentcor; Robyn Walle, Collins Barrow Victoria; Gregg Meiklejohn, Enrollment Resources Inc.; and Dave Rogers, BCHAZMAT Management Ltd. Honorary director is Paul Chow.
Dementia study families wanted
CanAssist at the University of Victoria hopes to ease some of the pressure on families with loved ones suffering from the effects of dementia.
CanAssist began testing two new technologies aimed at helping people with dementia remain in their own homes while at the same time reducing stress and worry for their caregivers.
The technologies, funded by the B.C. Ministry of Health, are already having a positive impact on several families. CanAssist, an organization that develops innovative technologies for people with a wide range of disabilities, is looking for families affected by early-stage dementia to test one of two new technologies: the Wandering Redirect System that uses computer tablets to reinforce the time of day for the individual with dementia; and the Phone-in Monitoring System, which uses a standard phone and small wireless sensors to provide information to a family member about an individual’s activity when home alone.
The technology would be installed by CanAssist’s team at no cost to eligible families. Families are asked to provide feedback on the technology and can keep the device at no charge. Contact Megan Yon at 250-853-3874 or by email [email protected]
Aboriginal award winner
Victoria resident Scott Ward has been named to the 2015 class of the Native American 40 Under 40 by the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development.
Ward, a member of the Sandy Bay Ojibway Nation in southern Manitoba, is an entrepreneur, educator and entertainer. As a certified hypnotherapist, he works as a comedy hypnotist with native youth across Canada and the U.S. at schools and conferences.
Ward has performed in more than 300 tribal communities. He has facilitated workshops on youth empowerment, cyberbullying, suicide prevention and drugs and alcohol.
He is also the chief executive of Going M.I.L.E.S. Youth Empowerment Program in Victoria, an outreach movement fostering positive environments for aboriginal youth to express themselves through the arts.
