Macdonald Homecoming 2024: Another success
Macdonald Homecoming on October 26th was another success with alumni reconnecting with old friends, learning about some of the interesting research undertaken in the Faculty, meeting engaged students, attending a logger sport demonstration and taking a campus tour. Thank you to all alumni who celebrated with us—you are what make Mac Homecoming so special.
Distinguished Alumni Awards
°Õ³ó±ðÌýMacdonald Distinguished Alumni Award was created by the Macdonald Branch of the Â鶹AV Alumni Association to recognize distinguished graduates for their outstanding professional contributions, scholarly distinction and/or service to the community at large. The first Awards were presented at Homecoming 2006 and are awarded at Homecoming every year.
In 2009, we were pleased to introduce the Macdonald Distinguished Young Alumni Award, which recognizes the achievements and contributions of our younger alumni (those who have graduated in the last ten years).
This year, we celebrated award winners Dr. Allan Armitage (B.Sc.Agr.’67) and Ophelia Sarakinis (FMT’19).Â
2024 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient | Dr. Allan Armitage: A Visionary in Horticulture
Dr. Allan Armitage (B.Sc.Agr.’67) is a celebrated leader in ornamental horticulture, having garnered numerous awards throughout his distinguished career. His journey began at Macdonald College, where he earned a BSc in Botany. He then worked at Aylmer/Del Monte Food Company in quality control and product development. However, his talent for communication led him to return to Macdonald College to earn a teaching certificate, after which he spent seven impactful years as a high school teacher at Beaconsfield High School in Quebec.
Eager to deepen his knowledge and contribute to plant science, Dr. Armitage pursued an MS in Horticultural Science at the University of Guelph and a PhD from Michigan State University. His academic career blossomed at the University of Georgia, where he served for 35 years, receiving numerous accolades for his ground-breaking research, engaging teaching, and significant service to the horticultural industry.
Dr. Armitage has authored 17 books, many used as key texts in horticulture programs, and published over 70 peer-reviewed papers alongside more than 500 industry articles. His expertise has taken him to lecture across Europe, New Zealand, Australia, China, and North America, making him a global figure in horticultural education.
Beyond academia, he founded the National Association of Specialty Cut Flowers and established the renowned Trial Gardens at the University of Georgia, benefiting ornamental plant breeders worldwide. He has also bred numerous popular ornamental plant cultivars and continues to consult with leading nurseries and greenhouses.
In addition, he launched Garden Vistas, a travel company that organized tours of the world’s most beautiful gardens, and developed Armitage’s Great Garden Plants, a widely-used app for plant enthusiasts.
His two daughters reside in Georgia and his son in Oakville, Ontario. Dr. Armitage and his wife Susan live in Athens, Georgia and make regular visits to friends and family in Canada.
2024 Distinguished Young Alumni Award Recipient | Ophelia Sarakinis: GUSH strawberries
Raised in Montreal suburbs, the backyard of Ophelia Sarakinis (FMT’19) was filled with chickens and a blooming vegetable garden, sparking her deep-rooted love for ag. She went from volunteering at her nearest organic farm in high school to eventually studying conventional agriculture at Â鶹AV.
After graduating, Ophelia realized the urgent need to create more sustainable farming methods, so she set up her own little indoor farm in her parents’ attic. Tired of hard, tasteless strawberries and concerned about their consistent rank at the top of the dirty dozen list (due to high levels of synthetic pesticides), she knew exactly where to start. Through trial and error (and little help from neighbouring bumblebees and ladybugs) she discovered that farming vertically in urban spaces is a viable solution towards a sustainable future.
GUSH officially started running their vertical farm in 2020, setting out to grow the best strawberries.Â
Finlayson Enhancement Award
During the Awards and Presentations event, the Finlayson Enhancement Award was presented to the Class of 1974 for having raised the largest combined contribution for the Faculty from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024. The class collectively contributed $26,746 to the Faculty. The Class of 1974 was also raising funds for a Macdonald Class of 1974 Student Experience Enhancement Award.
In 2009, alumnus Peter Finlayson, B.Sc.(Agr.)’63, and his sister, the late Janet Finlayson, B.Sc.(H.Ec.)’59, BLS’63, endowed the Archie and Marjorie Finlayson Annual Alumni Enhancement Fund that is commonly referred to as the Finlayson Enhancement Award.
This innovative fund, the first of its kind at Â鶹AV, encourages annual giving to the Faculty. It is presented annually to the alumni year that raises the most funds for the Faculty in the calendar year on a matching dollar for dollar basis, up to a maximum of $11,000. The class is recognized at Homecoming every year, and their class year is inscribed on a plaque in the Centennial Centre.
Q & A with Homecoming Attendee Phil Marchessault
Our team caught up with Â鶹AV Mac alum Phil Marchessault (B.Sc.[F.Sc.]’92, M.Sc.’96, Cert. in Software Development ’11, Dip. in Internet Business Technology ’14) at Homecoming 2024 to hear about his experience at Mac as a student and now, many years later, as a Homecoming attendee.
What is your current occupation?
I am a semi-retired Clinical SAS programmer. Before that I was a Clinical Data Manager, Data Coordinator, Project Assistant and jack of all trades in a really fast growing company. Before that I worked in biotech producing enzymes for diagnostic use. I moved up the ladder through different levels of research associate to end up as a supervisor. It was there where I was able to use the fermentation skills that I learned during my masters in Biosystems Engineering from Mac.
My most recent work, however, has been my dream job since I started taking continuing education classes in software development at Â鶹AV. I've pooled the knowledge that I've gained in clinical trials and data management and am hopefully bringing a new level of quality to our team!
What is your favourite memory of your time as a student at Macdonald?
What I remember so vividly from my days at Mac, was our spirit of what I suppose one could call collaborative competition. We took study groups to the extreme. We all wanted to succeed but also wanted each other to do so.
I think at least a double majority of our tight-knit Food Science group graduated with distinction or great distinction. During convocation, I think one professor was overheard to have asked: "distinct from whom?"
Did you have a favourite professor? What stood out about them?
No doubt, Dr. Edmund Idziak - Food Microbiology. He was serious and funny. He really got me to think critically.
In the summer of 2023, I called him up out of the blue to thank him for showing our class how to make sauerkraut. Even though the batch we made in class was unsuccessful, I started making it over 30 years later from memory. Now that’s a teacher! When I spoke with him, he asked if I ever went to Homecoming. He told me that he went every year. So, I went to my first, and definitely not last, Homecoming in 2023, just to bring him some.
What did you take away from your experience at Mac Homecoming?
I really enjoyed the entire day. All the events were interesting plus allowed the opportunity to ask questions. The research tour was amazing as were the student led initiatives—I only wish I had more time to speak to everyone hosting a table. I really enjoyed the logger sport demonstration. The student athletes were making funny comments and keeping the audience entertained.
I also truly enjoy hanging out with the great team working at Mac! For the second year in a row, I’ve been treated like family by Anna, Lisa, Anja, and Ron [members of the Macdonald Campus University Advancement team]! It’s quite something to not only be welcomed home, but to be welcomed home by name by everyone after meeting them only once the year prior.
If you can give one piece of advice to a current student, what would that be?
For you to win, someone else doesn't have to lose. We can all elevate each other and everyone benefits. We can all strive and succeed to be distinct together!
And don't feel that promotions are the necessarily the best thing for everyone. The farther you move into management, the less you might do of what you excel at and enjoy.