Adelstein named Entrepreneur-in-Residence at John Molson

Westmount's Greg Adelstein has been named the first-ever ‘Entrepreneur-in-Residence’ (EiR) at Concordia University’s JohnMolson School of Business (JMSB).

 

Greg Adelstein

The EiR role includes participation in research, guiding student projects, acting as a guest lecturer and mentoring students. The focus of  the mentorship is on venture ideas, opportunities for and challenges to businesses, and advice on family businesses. The EiR position was created as part of the National Bank Initiative in Entrepreneurship and Family Business, established by a donation from the National Bank. The Initiative is run by Alexandra Dawson, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Management, Concordia University.

“As a Concordia alumnus, I’m honored to have been named EiR at the JMSB,” says  Adelstein, who by day is the president of  iGotcha Media. “I’m looking forward to working with the students. They bring a great deal of energy and passion to their work. I hope to help inspire young entrepreneurs at Concordia and I also expect to draw a lot of inspiration from them.”

Adelstein earned a BA in International Relations from Clark University in 1991, a Graduate Diploma in Sports Administration from Concordia  in 1992 and a JD in Law from Brooklyn Law School in 1996. After working with several technology start-ups in Montreal, he  co-founded iGotcha Media in 2005.

What is iGotcha Media? The company specializes in delivering turn-key digital signage solutions, including: hardware, software, installation, content development and network management. They help businesses achieve their signage needs, generate new streams of revenue, reduce costs and gather data. Clients include Cambridge Group of Clubs, Le Château, National Bank of Canada, Reebok, Rockport and Via Rail Canada. Headquartered here in  Montreal, iGotcha Media was founded in 2005. For more information, please visit www.igotchamedia.com.

Adelstein moved with his family from Côte Saint-Luc to Westmount at the age of eight. He attended elementary school at Roslyn and St. George`s and continued at the latter for high school as well.

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Gloria Henriquez makes her on-air debut on Global TV

For the past couple of years I got to know Gloria Henriquez in her role as a producer for The Global Morning News. A 2010 Journalism graduate from the University of King's College, she came to Montreal with her boyfriend Douglas Gellevan when the latter got hired as CBC TV and Radio sportscaster. Gloria lined up the guests for hosts Camille Ross and Richard Dagenais and  her charming personality made it pretty impossible to say "no" to any requests.

Gloria Henriquez

Global TV Montreal recently conducted some layoffs due to the change in format of the morning show. Shaw Media decided to add a national newscast to the program. That resulted in less local content and the departures of control room director  Jim Connell, Dagenais and Henriquez.

Henriquez told me she asked news director Karen Macdonald if she could do some freelancing for Global and the boss responded with a few immediate assignments. In fact, I was part of two of them last week alone: one on the subject of  school board elections and another on the planned  closure of Manoire Montefiore in Côte Saint-Luc. She handled both assignments like a grizzled veteran.  Here is one of them. Hopefully we will see her filling in for Jessica Laventure on morning weather this summer as well.

Global is presently down one permanent reporter: veteran Domenic Fazioli stepped away recently for personal reasons. We have now learned that he is not expected to return. The post will likely be filled by one of the many talented freelancers on staff.

Lyric Theatre's Back to Broadway an absolute mastepiece

As I fully expected, the  Lyric Theatre Singers have another winner on their hands with their  25th anniversary show at Concordia’s state of the art downtown DB Clarke Theatre (1455 de Maisonneuve).  I was on hand for the opening show of Back to Broadway on June 11 and musical directors Bob Bachelor and Chris Barillaro, their 48 performers and cast of many others knocked it out of the park. Three performances remain:  June 12 (8 p.m.)  and June 13 (2 p.m. and 8 p.m.).

This highly entertaining Broadway revue features the 48 performers, backed by five musicians, as they transport audiences Back to Broadway via a varied list of musical theatre favourites. Highlights from The Book of Mormon, Chicago, Hairspray and The Producers are featured, along with songs from Company, Catch Me If You Can, Finian’s Rainbow, Beauty and the Beast and so much more!

A scene from the show.

The show starts off with a bang as the entire company enters the stage dressed to the hilt, the men in tuxedos and the ladies in pretty dresses, as they perform Opening Night and The King of Broadway from The Producers, followed by It’s De-Lovely from Cole Porter, My Romance from Richard Rogers and a bilingual version of Singin’ In The Rain. Jonathan Eidelman and Daniel Wilkenfeld pair off nicely in their rendition of a scene from Stephen Sondheim’s Agony from Into the Woods.  In a scene from How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Charlotte Clement and Richard Kallos are nicely complemented by the dynamic Sterling Tipton who tries to play matchmaker.

Tipton, a resident of NDG, is originally from Indianapolis where she majored in French studies at nearby Ball State University. She came to Montreal and through Lyric met her

Sterling Tipton.

significant other Geordie while speaking both languages without a trace of an accent in either. She performs several solos in this year’s show, but her day job in post-production makes her invaluable as Lyric’s webmaster. “I spent a semester in France during my studies and came to find that Quebec was really the perfect blend of what I loved about France and what I loved about Indiana - plus it's a lot closer to home than living overseas!” Tipton noted. “I didn't want to lose my linguistic skills, so it became obvious that this is where I belonged. I've been here five years now and been with Lyric for four of those.”

The company was just splendid in a series of Gershwin numbers, with Farida El Kilany, Justin Muniz and Tarik Azgui standing out. In Impossible/I Have Dreamed from A Good Night for Singing by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Jennifer Bond, Eidelman, Laurie-Anne Jean Baptiste, Tipton and Wilkenfeld knock it out of the park. Bond, by the way, is here via New York and much to the dismay of Lyric officials only sticking around for a year because of her husband’s employment. She is absolutely superb and watch for her in the show’s encore.

Jennifer Bond lights up the stage.

Bachelor and Barillaro get into the act as well, performing Irving Berlin’s You’re Just In Love from Call Me Madam.  Cathy Burns, who has been with both the Theatre and the Singers on and off for decades as a performer and director, assists Bachelor with all the staging for this show. The duet was her idea. “We needed something to serve as a filler while the cast got changed for the next big number,” she told me. “Bob and Chris are great together.”

That next number was Hairspray – six complete songs in fact and performer Dan Derkson in drag as the perfect Edna Turnblad. Not only were the costumes bang on, but so was the singing and dancing from Welcome to the Sixties, Good Morning Baltimore and It Takes Two to Mama I’m a Big Girl Now, I Know Where I’ve Been and  You Can’t Stop the Beat. Hats off to Mary Sarli for handling the choreography on this one.

The second half starts off with a bilingual presentation of six songs from Beauty and the Beast, with Charlotte Clement as a stunning Belle and Adam Gallay really impressive as Gaston.

Eidelman and Wilkenfeld returned, much to the delight of the audience, with a reprise of Agony followed by another Rodgers and Hammerstein number called Many A New Day/Wash That Man with Hélene Charbonneau, Takeyce Mais and Yamila Scarone Azzi as leads. The Song of Purple Summer, All That Jazz, How Are Things in Glocca Morra and Be My Friend lead us to one of the most popular parts of the evening –the song Two By Two from Book of Mormon. They closed things out with Live in Living Color from Catch Me If You Can and the finale – Being Alive from the 1970 musical Company by Stephen Sondheim.

The Lyric Theatre Singers and more than 85 alumni performers will unite on Saturday, October 17 at the Oscar Peterson Hall in NDG for a very special 50^th anniversary concert.

Back to Broadway’s design team is made up of lighting designer Paul Ludwig Teichgraber, sound designer Rob Burgess and costume coordinator Karen Pearce. “It’s a delight and a privilege to work with these talented artists in a state-of-the-art facility,” said producer Louise Dorais. “At the D.B. Clarke Theatre, The Lyric Theatre Singers receive the technical support we need to bring our creative team’s ambitious vision to life. It is very exciting to combine the great performances by our cast and musicians with the enhanced production values at Concordia. The result is 100 percent pure entertainment.”

Tickets are $34 general admission; $30 for students and seniors and $17 for children 12 and under. For more information go to www.lyrictheatrecomany.com, email lyrictheatreboxoffice@gmail.com or call 514-743-3382. Donations of non-perishable goods will be gratefully accepted for the NDG Food Depot.

Richard Dagenais resurfaces at CJAD

It was great to hear the golden pipes of Richard Dagenais once again.  After having his job abolished at the Global TV Morning News last month, he has resurfaced as a freelance news anchor on CJAD Radio. His first shift was on June 6.

Richard Dagenais

Dagenais was part of  dynamic duo for two and a half years with Camille Ross on Global. The two really played well off each other and I would always tune in to find out via Dagenais what "international day" it was. He has got a great sense of humour. When Global owners Shaw Media decided to rejig the newscast and introduce a newscast from Toronto, that meant somebody from the Montreal team had to go. So, from three on air personalities, they went to two. Ross and Jessica Laventure remained.

I hope Dagenais can get some more work with Bell Media properties here: CJAD, Virgin Radio, CHOM, TSN 690 and CTV Montreal,  In fact, from 1985 to 2002 --16 years - he worked for CHOM and CKGM as  a writer, producer, host, and interviewer.   He joined Global in 2002. When the first incarnation of their morning show was cancelled in 2008 he was out of job, but was brought back two years later as a maternity leave replacement.

While Dagenais was not eager to do an interview with me, he his finally shared his thoughts on his personal blog. Here is the link. 

"That last day one month ago was difficult and the sign-off, dreadfully precarious," Dagenais writes. "One wrong word or move by anyone would have caused me to unwind emotionally on-air. Just as we came out of the last commercial break, Julie, one of our directors, declared quietly in my earpiece, 'it’s been an honor.' Managing a weak smile, I waved my fist at her through the camera, struggling to hold it together. Thankfully, Camille respected my request to do nothing out of the ordinary. Media critic Steve Faguy hit the nail on the head when he later observed I signed off that last Friday as though I would see viewers on Monday. It took immeasurable effort just to manage what he perceptively described as my 'see-you-Monday' wave!"

When I asked CJAD news director Chris Bury if there would more shifts for Dagenais, he could only respond "it's too early to say." Let's hope we hear more of him in the immediate future.

CTV Montreal goes for youth and hires Sean Coleman as new weekend sports anchor; Sportsnet Central Montreal lays off staff

When CTV Montreal gave sports anchor André Corbeil the option of having his workload scaled back to only the weekend broadcasts, he chose instead to move on with his life. He is now the territory manager for Robinson Bioproducts. Chantal Desjardins  had previously done weekend shifts, as did Eric Thomas. Both are now with Rogers Sportsnet. Veteran Paul Graif, the morning show co-host at K103 FM, was also in the mix the last few years.

Sean Coleman

Jed Kahane, the news director for Bell Media in Quebec, conducted a comprehensive talent hunt the last few months and the winning candidate is Sean Coleman – late of  City’s Sportsnet Central Montreal and a contributor for TSN 690 Radio. The timing could not have been better for last week Sportsnet Central laid off Coleman, producer George Athans and Kelly Greig. Check out Greig’s blog here for a typically sad story in the world of journalism.

“I am very fortunate  for the timing,” Coleman told me. “I’m incredibly lucky and grateful for this opportunity.  There were whispers of layoffs at City for a while, but the decision to lay off the entire crew caught us blindsided.  On Wednesday the show’s staff was told ‘Congratulations for two great years but that’s it.’  It was the first time I was ever laid off,  so it was a mix of shock and indignation.  Lots of people offered advice on what to do next. Of course, you often hear ’As one door closes, another opens.'  In the moment it’s tough to believe, but literally five days later CTV offered me the new position.  I couldn’t be happier.”

Coleman, 23, says the opportunity to work for CTV is a dream come true. For the past five years he has also worked at TSN 690 Radio as  a sports anchor, delivering Sportscentre updates every half-hour - primarily on the weekend with  The Habs This Week and the Canadiens Saturday pre-game shows as well as for  Alouettes and Impact broadcasts.  In addition, he had the opportunity to host a late show on Friday nights called GameNight OT and now host another  called the Sunday Sermon.  At City, he was a sports reporter and producer for local professional and amateur sport stories.  “I would have to take a story from start to finish: -  locate it, research it, book it, produce the shoot, report and script,” he said.  “Both jobs have left me well-prepared for the duties at CTV.”

Born and raised in LaSalle, Coleman still lives near Riverside Park.  He attended   Loyola High School where he was a three-sport varsity captain, then went to Phillips Exeter Academy – a prep school in New Hampshire – for two years before returning to McGill to study economics and political science.  “I worked for TSN every Saturday and Sunday through my degree at McGill,” he says.  “My last year at McGill I was also working full-time for City, taking early classes before work or online ones.  It’s safe to say I’m accustomed to juggling.”

Coleman says that given the fact he has been doing sports updates since the age of  18, he does not see a big learning curve with his new CTV duties.  “The toughest part of the transition is just the nature of live television,” he says.   “On radio you’re solely focused on your voice.  On TV there’s your voice and fifty other things to worry about as well.  But it’s all part of what makes television so amazing.  I’m blessed to work alongside two of the industry’s best in Randy Tieman and Brian Wilde.  The best way I can improve is through practice, practice, practice and soak up as much knowledge as possible from both of them.:

During the summer months Coleman expects to be busier than usual at both TSN and CTV, filling in for vacationers. Ultimately he will be in the market for  regular weekday work.   “For the last five years I’ve grown accustomed to working and studying six, often seven days a week,” he said.  “While this time off is a nice little break, I still have the itch to work more.  I’m also a golf fanatic, so I’ll have a little more time to work on my game.” 

You can follow Sean on Twitter @colemanmtl

   

Louis Douville and Jed Kahane taking on bigger roles with Bell Media in Quebec; Kahane heads all Quebec news operations

Louis Douville

Louis Douville and Jed Kahane have received well deserved promotions at Bell Media.  The former has gone from vice-president and general manager of CTV Montreal to occupying the same title as well for Bell's six Montreal radio stations (CJAD, TSN 690, Virgin Radio, CHOM, Rouge, NRJ). Kahane, who has been director of news and public affairs at CTV Montreal since 2008, retains those responsibilities but takes on the new role of news director for Bell Media in Quebec. In addition to the six stations listed above, he will also oversee the journalists and their work at stations in Abitibi, Drumondville, Sherbrooke, Gatineau, Quebec City, Saguenay, Trois Rivieres, St. Jean, the Gaspe, and Rimouski.

Kahane is one of the nicest guys in the business and  made an impressive transition from reporting to management. He began his media  career at CKO Radio in 1989, moved to CBC from 1992 to 1997 and then CTV's Alberta bureau in Calgary for three years. In 2000 he returned to Montreal as Quebec bureau chief for CTV, a post he held for eight years until replacing Mike Piperni at CTV Montreal. He has quite the responsibility right now, with more than 50 radio journalists plus the team at CTV under his wing.

Jed Kahane

Basically, Kahane is now  responsible for pretty much everything to do with news: from news policy and standards to hiring and cooperation between Bell Media's various platforms. He  will keep his CTV office on Papineau and have another right across the street which houses the six radio stations. While Kahane will have the overall responsibility for news,  Chris Bury remains the news and program director for CJAD and TSN 690. 

There have already been a number of changes at CTV Montreal, with crossovers involving Lori Graham doing weather on CJAD and Aaron Rand and Terry DiMonte doing noon spots with Mutsumi Takahashi. With Kahane dealing with these personalities on a daily basis one can only assume this could increase and that is a good thing.

Dean Stock's courageous battle with ALS; car wash raises $12 k for the cause

Last summer former NHL tough guy and present-day Hockey Night in Canada commentator PJ Stock took the Ice Bucket Challenge, the hugely successful worldwide fundraising initiative for ALS– a progressive neuromuscular disease in which nerve cells die and leave voluntary muscles paralyzed.   PJ subsequently challenged his brother Dean to do the same thing.

Four months later, on December 11, 2014, Dean was diagnosed with ALS. Happily married, the father of three gorgeous young children and employed at Vanguard Pharma, Dean and his brother decided to go very public on this issue. They established Team Stock via the ALS Society of Quebec to raise money for research and to assist the families of those suffering from the disease.

Dean (in blue) and all of his supporters at the car wash.

On May 30, Dean’s colleagues from Vanguard Pharma held a fundraising car wash at Pennzoil in Dollard des Ormeaux. With Allison Dorval leading the way, a number of people stepped forward and pledged before the event took place. Some colleagues actually drove in from Quebec City. When all was said and done, more than $12,000 was raised for the ALS Society of Quebec.

I got to meet Dean in person. He still remains physically fit, six months after the diagnosis. However, Dean is now experiencing difficulties with his speech. Problems communicating with others and difficulties with eating and drinking are frustrating symptoms that people with ALS experience. As the disease progresses, it weakens the muscles of the mouth and throat by causing atrophy (a decrease in the size of the muscle) or spasticity (decrease in control caused by “tightening” of the muscles). These changes affect various aspects of the speech   and swallowing.

Dean, wife Paula, their beautiful kids and the Stanley Cup.

“I am going back to work,” Dean said. “I am on disability now, but I will go back part=time. From there, who knows?”

As Dean noted, doctors told him that everybody with ALS progresses differently. “It might go to my body or localize here,” he said, pointing to his throat.”

Dean realizes how lucky he is to have a loving family and colleagues like Dorval, Normand Rousseau, Sophie Hamel and others. Dorval even brought her three teenage sons to volunteer on what was a baking hot Saturday afternoon.  “Much of our success was with our ‘pre-event’ push,” she said, “yet we washed over 50 cars and rarely stopped for a minute.  We had over 25 volunteers present and each and every one of them gave everything in honour of Dean, his family and all those affected by this devastating disease.”

I spotted folks like noted communications guru Jean-Claude Torchia at the Pennzoil location supporting the cause. PJ Stock was in Toronto working for Hockey Night in Canada.

“On behalf of team Vanguard Pharma Quebec, we would like to extend a huge thank you to the owners of Pennzoil and Mandevco  Properties, who graciously accepted us to use their location and to bombard their washroom facilities,” Dorval said. “We thank Melodie Prince of the Quebec ALS Society, who provided us direction on our event and to each and every individual who donated to this special cause.”

Vanguard Pharma  matched each  employee’s donations by 1.5.  “In their tremendous support of Dean Stock, they are also supporting all those affected by ALS in Quebec,” said Dorval. “As our president and general manager, Kevin Danylchuk, likes to say ‘thank you for keeping Vanguard Pharma on the move.’ It was a successful endeavor.” 

The Stocks grew up in Dollard des Ormeaux, where their parents still live. PJ and Dean both settled in St. Lazare with their families.

Here is my video interview with Dean Stock and Allison Dorval. It was very windy outside, so excuse some of the choppiness.