Three University of Guelph graduates who did very good things after graduation will be honoured on Friday, June 10, when the university holds its Alumni Awards of Excellence Gala. The event, being held at Rozanski Hall starting at 6 p.m., is sold out.
Veterinarian Harry Brightwell graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College in 1956. He went on to co-found the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association, and founded the cooperative Veterinary Purchasing Company, the first business of its kind in Canada.
Brightwell served as a member of Parliament, and was a football player and wrestler at U of G.
Former Nestlé Purina PetCare president Karen Kuwahara, a 1976 marketing grad, is also among the three honourees. A volunteering powerhouse, she has held volunteer roles on numerous councils and boards, including the United Way, Big Sisters and the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre. She has sat on several of U of G committees and on the board of governors.
Gavin Armstrong is the founder and CEO of Lucky Iron Fish, a company known around the world for making fish-shaped iron ingots that, when submerged in cooking pots provide an iron supplement boost to foods. Over 3.5 billion people around the world are deficient in iron.
At U of G, Armstrong earned his undergraduate degree in 2011, his master’s in 2012, and his PhD in biomedical science, while continuing to lead the company.
