CSAE Announces 2019 Honours and Awards Recipients

The Canadian Society of Association Executives (CSAE) has honoured Catherine Cummings, CAE, Executive Director of the International Alliance of ALS/MND Associations, with its Honorary Award of Excellence and Lia Daborn, CAE, Chief Executive Officer / Chef de la direction of Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of New Brunswick, with its Pinnacle Award.

Both awards, together with additional individual and organizational awards, were formally presented during CSAE’s National Conference & Showcase held October 22- 25 in Vancouver, BC

Honorary Award of Excellence – Catherine Cummings, CAE

Catherine Cummings, CAE, Executive Director of the International Alliance of ALS/MND Associations,is the 2019 recipient of the Honorary Award of Excellence that recognizes a member’s sustained commitment and outstanding contribution to CSAE for a minimum of 10 years at either the national or local level.

‘Catherine Cummings is an outstanding person. She is incredibly bright and tremendously dedicated and brings this to her professional work and volunteer experience. Catherine has extensive experience in the Canadian not-for-profit sector including the Canadian Payroll Association and most recently the Canadian Bar Association. She believes deeply in the value of sharing knowledge and how doing so encourages growth and creates a community that works together toward a better outcome.

She has a long history volunteering with CSAE, some of her biggest highlights are:

CAE Task Force – 2016-2019
The CSAE Board – 2014-2017
Chair of CSAE’s Membership Committee – 2018-2019
CSAE Nominating Committee – 2018

Pinnacle Award – Lia Daborn, CAE

Pinnacle Award recipients are accomplished leaders who have demonstrated leadership qualities within their own organizations, contributed to other voluntary organizations and the community-at-large, and to CSAE at both the national and local levels.

“Over the years that she has been involved in associations, Lia as earned the respect of all those with whom she collaborated. She was on the Board of the CSAE and served as an Officer and Chair of the Society at a critical time in the organization’s evolution. Specifically, at CSAE, Lia was very active in participating in and leading discussions and decisions on strategic planning, budgetary management, program development, and special projects.

Lia’s volunteer work has been impressive. Whenever she takes on a volunteer role she totally commits to it and delivers much beyond what would be expected. I have seen this time and again in my own association when we called upon her on many occasions to help us on out on many key initiatives. She brings energy and ideas to all that she undertakes and as a result she is highly respected by everyone, her peers, her employers, her staff and stakeholders. In closing, Lia is an exceptional person who has contributed immensely to the advancement of this CSAE and the betterment of the association community in Canada,” said Claude Paul Boivin.

Bedford Award for Emerging Leaders, In Honour of Donna Mary Shaw

This Award encourages deserving individuals to pursue careers in the not-for-profit sector by providing them with the resources, education and counseling opportunities needed to advance within their own organizations or other not-for-profits. This year’s winners were Svitlana Nechyporenko,Base Consulting and Management Inc.,and Jamie Ricci, Indspire.

CSAE Awards of Distinction

CSAE’s Awards of Distinction, introduced this year, are based upon the core competencies of the Certified Association Executive (CAE®) program and recognize outstanding achievement in association leadership, structure and governance and the planning and execution of internal, external and integrated programs that serve members and/or engage external stakeholders and volunteers.

The following organizations received Awards of Merit:

• The Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science for the success Formalization and Scaling-Up of the Research and Special Initiatives Department.
• Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association for the success of of DVBIA’s Clean Team Program.
• Speech-Language & Audiology Canada for the success of The SAC Audiology Event.
• Fertilizer Canada for the success of Welcome to Fertilizer Canada!

The following organizations received Awards of Excellence:

• Association of Consulting Engineering Companies – Canada (ACEC-Canada) for the success of the #20DaysOfExcellence in Engineering Campaign.
• Canadian Society of Respiratory Therapists for the success of The CSRT Infrastructure Renewal Initiative.
• Canadian Housing and Renewal Association for the success of the Housing Professional Mentorship Program.
• Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association for DVBIA’s Mandate Renewal Engagement Strategy.
• Fisheries Council of Canada for the success of the Development of a New Annual Budget and Work Plan.
• Conference for Advanced Life Underwriting for the success of Optimize Governance – Strategic Plan.
• Intellectual Property Institute of Canada for the success of IPIC’s IP Awareness Campaign.