The Magazines Canada Volunteer of the Year Award, established in 2006, honours one person per year who has made an outstanding volunteer contribution to the Canadian magazine industry.

Candidates must have contributed years of volunteer service to the industry and demonstrated a commitment to Magazines Canada. The recipient of the award is chosen by a committee of long-standing magazine professionals.

Winners of the 2018 Volunteer Awards

On behalf of Canadian magazines from coast to coast, Magazines Canada thanks these outstanding volunteers for their contributions in 2018.

Magazines Canada Volunteer of the Year
Chelene Knight

As the managing editor at Room, Canada’s oldest feminist literary journal, Knight publishes writing and art by women (cisgender and transgender), transgender men, Two-Spirit and nonbinary people. Room also publishes emerging writers alongside established authors. Knight serves as the programming director for the Growing Room Festival, and CEO of #LearnWritingEssentials. She is also a member of Magazines Canada’s Arts and Literary Magazines Committee, where she advises on programming for Canada’s independent and cultural magazines, has spoken at professional development events like the Arts & Literary Magazines Summit, and served as a judge for the 2019 Magazines Canada Fellowship Program. She often speaks about home, belonging and belief, inclusivity, and community building through authentic storytelling.

“Magazines are powerful tools for creating community around shared interests or cultures. It is important that Canadian magazines reflect the full diversity of the communities they serve,” said Melanie Rutledge, Executive Director of Magazines Canada, “Chelene’s invaluable work helps ensure all voices are not just included, but heard. Chelene’s leadership in this area is a shining example of the value of diverse perspectives and empowering equity-seeking communities.”

In addition to her role with Room, Chelene Knight is the author of the poetry collection Braided Skin and the memoir Dear Current Occupant, winner of the 2018 Vancouver Book Award. Her essays have appeared in multiple Canadian and American literary journals, plus the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star. Her work is anthologized in Making Room, Love Me True, Sustenance, The Summer Book, and Black Writers Matter. Knight is currently working on Junie, a novel set in Vancouver’s Hogan’s Alley, forthcoming in 2020.

MagsBC Volunteer of the Year
Jessica Key

Jessica Key has recently completed a Master of Publishing degree from Simon Fraser University, and works for subTerrain Magazine, Anvil Press, and Iceland Writers Retreat. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing from Vancouver Island University, where she was the Managing Editor of the school’s literary magazine, Portal, and an Editorial Assistant for the Ralph Gustafson Distinguished Poet Lecture Series. Jessica has been a very active MagsBC board member and volunteer since 2017, and currently serves as the Secretary of the Board of Directors for MagsBC.

Alberta Magazine Publishers Association Volunteer of the Year
Breanna Mroczek

Breanna Mroczek began volunteering with Glass Buffalo in 2014. As a volunteer editorial assistant, Mroczek has contributed to the success of the magazine through copyediting, proofreading, strategic planning, and initiating key partnerships. Mroczek also assists with coordinating launch events for Glass Buffalo; spearheading a sold-out event in Canmore in partnership with Wild Life Distillery. Outside of her work with Glass Buffalo magazine, Mroczek assists in developing aspiring magazine writers. She spent two years as a member of the Alberta Magazine Publishers Association Conference Committee, shaping professional development opportunities for the province’s magazine makers.

Magazines Ontario Volunteer of the Year
Vesna Moore

Vesna Moore is Director of Circulation and CASL Compliance Officer for Annex Business Media. She manages a readership database with more than 600k active subscribers and enewsletter recipients across 100+ products encompassing numerous industries and hundreds of business sectors all leveraged with the use of proprietary market research, profiling/segmentation as well as leading edge technology. She has worked for large and small magazine publishing companies within both the consumer and trade (B2B) sectors for the past 26 years. In November 2015, working with AAM, Vesna’s organization underwent the first ever 3rd party audit for AAM CASL Certification. She currently serves on Magazines Canada’s Business Media Advisory Committee, supporting program and service development for Canada’s B2B magazines, and is a tireless advocate for magazines with Canada Post.

Association québécoise des éditeurs de magazines Volunteer of the Year
Sylvain Masse

Sylvain Masse has enjoyed a long and successful career at Protégez-Vous. He joined the company in 1989 as a project manager in the Product Testing Department, which he eventually went on to lead (2002 to 2005). He was subsequently promoted to magazine manager (2005 to 2009) and then to print media manager (2009 to 2016), before being appointed as the organization’s CEO (2016 to present). With exceptional business acumen, professionalism and leadership, Masse has proven to be an invaluable asset to Protégez-Vous by skillfully overseeing its operations and maintaining the integrity and credibility of its content.

Past Volunteer Award Winners

Magazines Canada celebrates magazine volunteers from across the country!

2017

Magazines Canada Volunteer of the Year 2017
Lisa Whittington-Hill, Publisher, This Magazine

Cross-Country Volunteer Award Winners
Joanne Rajotte, MABC
Allan Lacey, AMPA
Craig Sweetman, Magazines Ontario
Michel Nivischiuk, AQEM

2016

Magazines Canada Volunteer of the Year 2016
Robert Goyette, Vice President and Editor-in-Chief, Reader’s Digest Canada

Cross-Country Volunteer Award Winners
Natasha Sanders-Kay, MABC
Joyce Byrne, AMPA
Todd Latham, Magazines Ontario
Robert Goyette, AQEM

2015

Magazines Canada Volunteer of the Year 2015
Chris Purcell, Vice President of Marketing and Circulation, and General Manager, Toronto, TVA Publications

Cross-Country Volunteer Award Winners
Jane Hope, MABC
Brnesh Berhe, AMPA
Patricia Clarke, Magazines Ontario
Jean-François Morin, AQEM

The Manitoba Magazine Publishers’ Association (MMPA) and the Atlantic Magazines Association (AMA) did not announce a Volunteer of the Year for 2015.

2013

Magazines Canada Volunteer of the Year 2013
Immee Chee Wah, Vice President, Business Planning, Rogers Publishing

Cross-Country Volunteer Award Winners
Darren Bernaerdt, MABC
Emily Ursuliak, AMPA
Deborah Morrison, MMPA
Melony Ward, Magazines Ontario
Thom Knowles, AMA

Magazines du Québec (AQEM) did not announce a Volunteer of the Year for 2013.

2012

Magazines Canada Volunteer of the Year 2012
Darlene Storey, Vice President, Consumer Marketing and Production, St. Joseph Media

Cross-Country Volunteer Award Winners
Diane Wong, MABC
Brenda Johnstone, MMPA
Alistair Cheng, Magazines Ontario
Alexa Thompson, AMA

The Alberta Magazine Publishers Association (AMPA) and Magazines du Québec (AQEM) did not announce a Volunteer of the Year for 2012.

2011

Magazines Canada Volunteer of the Year 2011
Joyce Byrne, Vice President and Associate Publisher, Venture Publishing

Cross-Country Volunteer Award Winners
Jenn Farrell, MABC
Bobbi Beatty, AMPA (co-winner)
Kayla Nash, AMPA (co-winner)
Christopher Purcell, Magazines Ontario
Sylvain Bédard, AQEM
Christine Beevis Trickett, AMA

2010

Magazines Canada Volunteer of the Year 2010
Jessica Ross, Vice President and Treasurer, the Canadian Society of Magazine Editors

Cross-Country Volunteer Award Winners
Clélie Rich, MABC
Claire Lacey, AMPA
Deborah Morrison, MMPA
Eithne McCredie, Magazines Ontario
Catherine Resch, AQEM
Sharon Resky, AMA

2009

Magazines Canada Volunteer of the Year 2009
John Milne, Business and Professional Publishing, Rogers Publishing Limited

Cross-Country Volunteer Award Winners
Tracy Stefanucci, BCAMP
Rob Tanner, AMPA
Betty Ann Watts, MMPA
Jeff Shearer, Magazines Ontario
Robert Goyette, AQEM
Dawn Chafe, AMA

2008

Magazines Canada Volunteer of the Year 2008
Patrick Walsh, Outdoor Canada

Cross-Country Volunteer Award Winners
Anicka Quin, BCAMP
Erinne Sevigny, AMPA
Penni Mitchell, MMPA
Hervé Juste, AQEM
Patty Baxter & Sheila Blair-Reid, AMA

2007

Magazines Canada Volunteer of the Year 2007
Jim and Linda Gourlay, Saltscapes

Cross-Country Volunteer Award Winners
Brian Kaufman, BCAMP
Lynn Fraser, AMPA
Linda Hazelwood, MMPA
Féliz Maltais, AQEM
Shawn Dalton, AMA

2006

Magazines Canada Volunteer of the Year 2006
Terry Sellwood, Cottage Life, explore and Magazines Canada

Cross-Country Volunteer Award Winners
Lisa Manfield, BCAMP
Derek Beaulieu, AMPA
Andris Taskans, MMPA
Suzanne Lamouche, AQEM

2005

Magazines Canada Volunteer of the Year 2005
Michael Fox, Rogers and Magazines Canada

Outstanding Volunteers
Melissa Edwards, BCAMP
Tony Fouhse, Burnt Toast
Colin Martin, dANDelion