by Barbara Black

Four hundred and twenty-seven people walked their dogs, ran, skated, rode in strollers and made their way in their mode of choice for the 11th annual Concordia Shuffle on September 29.

As always, it was as much a celebration of friendship as a fundraising endeavour, and by far the majority of those friends were staff — 371 of the total — although 61 faculty members, 30 students, and 26 friends, retirees and alumni also turned out.

They raised $43,413 and change for student scholarships. That brings it to more than $500,000 raised by Shufflers over the decade — that’s a lot of walking.

Darcy Sowden (Bookstores) must be a very persuasive guy. This year, he was the employee who raised the most in pledges, $700, and was awarded two nights at the Maritime Hotel, with breakfast. Lillian Vineberg, Chair of the Board of Governors, brought in a whopping $7,200 in pledges.

Local media celebrities Jamie Orchard, Paul Graif (Global TV) and John Moore (Mix 96) stirred things up before and after the 6.5-kilometre walk from the Sir George Williams to the Loyola campus.
At the post-Shuffle party, there were prizes to be won. The top five prizewinners were: Chunyan Wang, Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, who won a Raleigh mountain bike; Matina Skalkogiannis, a secretary in the Geography Department, who won a Palm Pilot 3XE, compliments of Dataworld; Susanne Dragffy, a buyer for the Bookstores, who won a 27-inch colour TV, compliments of Cental Microsystems; Dan Otchere, Associate Professor and undergraduate advisor in Economics, who won a Mac computer valued at $1,500, compliments of the Concordia Computer Store; and Virginia Bahula, Secretary to the Dean of Arts and Science, who bagged the grand prize of two airline tickets anywhere in North America, compliments of Foreman-Ideal Travel and Northwest Airlines, on top of a cordless phone.

Now, get over being envious of these lucky people, and get those pledges in!

Rector’s Reception

Friday, November 3
5 to 7 p.m.
7th floor cafeteria,
Hall Building