The Results of our What's in a Name? Contest!

By Aly Winks

The first issue of the enewsletter went out just under a month ago, and I was thrilled with the engagement we saw. It seems we may be finding a way to fill a need. I also announced the naming contest, and in this issue, I have shared the results, but before we get to that, I need to take a moment to give a nod to all the hard work that goes into creating something like this. 

Thank you to everyone who has made this employee enewsletter possible. A small community of people work on projects like this to get them off the ground, and do most of their work without any public recognition for their efforts, so without further ado HUGE ‘thank yous’ to: Michael Boquist for providing continuous website support; Matthew Jamont for designing the enewsletter’s look and feel, and ensuring it meets VIU brand standards; Jenn McGarrigle for contributing many articles to the first edition; Rae-Anne Guenther for all video and much of the photography; Kelli Yamaski for providing the list of new employees; Dana Swarts and Jennifer Caffrey for contributing content; Warren Weir for providing the update on Cowichan; and Janina Stajic, Dan VanderSluis and Shelley Legin for supporting the project so it could come to fruition.

Now…. drumroll please!

The name of VIU’s new enewsletter for employees is: VIU Voices.

This name was chosen as it reflects the sentiment behind this project – to create a place to share the many different perspectives and diverse voices that make our community so interesting and rich.

A heartfelt thank you to all who made submissions to the contest.

The winner is Stefan Iwasawa – congratulations! Enjoy your lunch at the Discovery Room.

Calling all contributors!

Have something you want to share with the rest of the VIU community? Working on a project you are passionate about? Know someone else who is? Please share your ideas with us. I would love to hear from you and will work with you to create a story to share with the VIU Voices audience. Please send your ideas to Alyson.Winks@viu.ca.

I would also like to hear what you would like to see more of in VIU Voices. I hope you have a fantastic semester break and get some much-deserved rest. See you in January!  

Contributors in this issue are:

Dan Hurley, Acting Director, Communications and Public Engagement

Dana Swarts, Employee Benefits Co-ordinator

Jennifer Caffrey, Human Resources Specialist, Employee Well-being and Benefits

David Forrester, Manager, Annual Campaign, Alumni Relations

Tracy Vandermolen, Administrative Assistant, Intercultural & Group Programs