University of Windsor to honour four at 2016 Clark Awards

The University of Windsor will honour four outstanding supporters during the 21st annual, 2016 Clark Awards ceremony taking place Tuesday, May 10, at 6 p.m. in Ambassador Auditorium.

The Clark Award was established in 1994 in honour of the late Charles J. Clark Sr., O.C., Q.C., LL.D, former Chancellor of the University of Windsor, to recognize recipients’ outstanding service to the University of Windsor and the community.

This year’s recipients are…

Tony Doucette, 2016 Clark AwardsTony Doucette, born in Truro, Nova Scotia, and raised at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown, New Brunswick. As a child in a small Maritime town with two television signals, Doucette spent his evenings listening to AM radio signals skipping up the East Coast from the United States. As an adolescent, he acquired a love for CBC Radio.

His broadcasting career began in Halifax in 1976, and after working in several Maritime cities, he joined the CBC in 1984 in Saint John, New Brunswick. He accepted a position with CBC Radio in Windsor in 1989.  Over the next 17 years Doucette served Windsor-Essex audiences first as a radio sportscaster, later making the transition to television as a sports reporter and host.

In 2006 Doucette returned to his favourite medium as the host of CBC Radio’s morning news and current affairs program, Windsor Morning.

As a sports broadcaster, Doucette helped elevate Lancer athletics to a priority position in CBC media coverage, and widened the scope of story-telling around issues affecting the UWindsor community after assuming the role of host of CBC Radio’s morning news and current affairs program. He has been involved in hosting the Lancer’s Evening of Excellence, the annual Three Minute Thesis competition, and most recently an evening honouring legendary Lancer track and field coach Dennis Fairall. He has also shared his expertise and experience with students in the University’s Digital Journalism program.

 

Thomas Robert Porter,2016 Clark AwardsThomas Robert Porter (B.A. ’74; LL.B. ’78) is a Windsor lawyer and partner at the Law Firm of Mousseau, DeLuca, McPherson, Prince.

Porter was an active member of the University of Windsor Alumni Association.  He was elected to the Board of Directors in 2003, where he served on a number of standing committees, including chair of the Public Affairs Committee, before serving as its president from 2008 to 2010.

He has been the voice of alumni membership, attending countless speaking engagements, awards ceremonies, and special events across Canada and continues his outreach today as a devoted advocate of the University of Windsor.

Porter was elected four times and served 12 years as a Windsor City Councillor, with other community service including with the Windsor Essex Development Commission; the Essex Region Conservation Authority; the Riverfront Lands Advisory Committee; the Community Care Access Committee; the Windsor Hospitals Study Committee; the Windsor Port Authority; the Windsor Cancer Research Advisory Committee; and the Windsor Endowment for the Arts Advisory Committee.

Carol A. Reader, 2016 Clark AwardsCarol A. Reader emigrated from England to Calgary, Alberta, in 1988 with her partner Graham Reader and moved to Windsor in June 2000. Following a long career in homemaking, Reader registered for courses in the University of Windsor’s Women’s Studies department and says she found it to be an empowering and motivating experience resulting in both intellectual and community engagement.

In February 2004 she became a member of The Friends of Women’s Studies, a university-community group which organizes the annual Distinguished Visitor in Women’s Studies Program. Reader spear-headed the group’s 2006 button campaign which produced protest and activist buttons for students, faculty, staff, campus and community groups.

She has also volunteered with the Feminist Research Group and the Windsor International Film Festival.

Reader graduated with a BA in Women’s Studies in 2011 and with a BA in History in 2013 – both earning her the Board of Governors Gold Medal.  She is now in her first year as a Graduate Student in History. 

 

Elder Mona Stonefish, 2016 Clark AwardsElder Mona Stonefish has dedicated her life to advocating for human rights, restorative justice and education.  She hails from the Mohawk Nation-Iroquois Confederacy and the Potawatomi Nation-Three Fires Confederacy. She is Bear Clan, Doctor of Traditional Medicine, Keeper of Wisdom, Grandmother Water-Walker, Traditional Dancer and anti-violence against women leader.

Mona has been active for many years as an advocate at the University of Windsor for the increased awareness, understanding and appreciation of Indigenous people. On campus she has provided a strong voice in Law and Women’s Studies to highlight the issues facing Indigenous women and girls in their communities and also focused on the role of human rights, restorative justice and education.

Stonefish has represented First Nations at the International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People and is a contributor for World Peace at the Parliament of World Religions. She is a co-founder of the Indian Child Welfare Act and a strong advocate for those with special needs. She is a past Senator and language preservationist of Anishinaabemowin Teg and a Spiritual Services volunteer at Windsor Regional Hospital.

Stonefish was awarded the 2013 Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for her significant contributions and achievements. She is a philanthropist honoring many causes and inspires all people to embody cultural integrity and peace.