Orateurs principaux —
Donna Wilson
Vice présidente de direction – Main-d’œuvre et durabilité
Comité d’organisation des Jeux olympiques et paralympiques d’hiver de 2010 à Vancouver
Donna Wilson consacre l’essentiel de sa carrière à travailler auprès des gens et des organisations. À titre de vice-présidente de direction, main-d’œuvre et durabilité, elle a la tâche importante d’aider le COVAN à définir et développer sa culture organisationnelle. Elle guidera donc l’organisation à travers les différentes étapes de croissance, d’exploitation et de réduction progressive des opérations, tout en l’aidant à réaliser sa vision de durabilité.
Mme Wilson résume l’éventail de ses responsabilités comme suit : « Je suis responsable de tout ce qui a trait aux gens, aux relations et à l’héritage que nous laisserons ». Plus spécifiquement, cela fait référence à l’embauche de 1 400 employés salariés et de près de 25 000 bénévoles qui travailleront pour les Jeux olympiques et paralympiques d’hiver de 2010 à Vancouver. Mme Wilson supervise également le dossier des langues officielles, élément clé de la vision du COVAN qui consiste à édifier un Canada plus fort en célébrant sa dualité linguistique. Les autres domaines dont elle est responsable sont la durabilité, la participation autochtone, le service à la clientèle internationale et les services d’interprétation durant la période des Jeux.
Le rôle fondamental sous-jacent à toutes les fonctions que doit remplir Donna Wilson consiste à préserver et à promouvoir la culture du COVAN. « J’ai toujours aimé m’assurer de la santé d’une organisation et l’aider à déterminer ses besoins pour s’épanouir », déclare Mme Wilson. « Mon objectif est de veiller à l’intégration de nos valeurs dans toutes nos pratiques, afin d’assurer que nos employés y adhèrent fièrement et démontrent par le fait même la vivacité d’esprit de tous les canadiens.»
Orateurs principaux —
Todd Nicholson
In 1987, Todd became a paraplegic after being involved in a car accident as he was returning home on the night of his graduation dance. But his condition has not kept him from reaching his goals and today, he ranks among the top six sledge hockey players in the world. Todd believes that it is partly thanks to his family and friends that he was able to pursue a career in sports and that he owes his success to their support and encouragement.
Todd began his career in sports at the tender age of 4 and was introduced to Paralympic sports during his stay at the Royal Ottawa Rehabilitation Center in 1987. He is an extremely talented hockey player and has a keen sense of the game. He can play any position on the ice! He has been competing since 1989 and joined the national team in 1991. Todd earned two medals at the Paralympic Games, four more in World Championships and earned a gold medal in the 2006 games in Torino. He now trains in Ottawa, Embrun, and West Carleton.
Todd is much admired and appreciated in his community. He has won several awards and the city of West Carleton even held the Todd Nicholson Day on June 6, 2000. His courage and perseverance are an example for many young athletes. Today, Todd is a project manager for the Canadian Border Services Agency.
Orateurs principaux — Jessica Des Mazes
One fine morning, as part of a summer job fighting forest fires, Jessica Des Mazes left home for a few weeks to help stop a 90,000-hectare blaze in the Northwest Territories. The university student was gone seven months.
“My life changed forever,” recalls Des Mazes. “Another firefighter and I were in a truck, patrolling a back-country dirt road at the fire’s edge. Suddenly, the truck fishtailed; the driver lost control, and I was thrown out of the vehicle.”
Her back was broken, and the sports-minded, kayaking, backpacking young woman became a paraplegic.
Four years later and now 25 years old, she lives independently, attends the University of Victoria law school, and is a medal-winning wheelchair athlete.
A law degree will “make my life better by helping other people,” she says. “I’ve always wanted to stand up for the little man. Now I am the little man. If I let something bar me because of my disability, that hurts the 10 people coming behind me. So I will be an advocate.”
Jessica also wants to help change a widespread belief that people in wheelchairs are handicapped. “While traumatic, my injury taught me what strength really is. It’s not how much you can lift or how fast you can run. It’s your core, what’s left when everything else has been ripped away.”