Lorne and Melita Segal
Lorne Richard Segal
Lorne Segal has inspired a generation of new philanthropists through his personal generosity, leadership and extraordinary kindness.
Acknowledged by community, business and philanthropy leaders across Canada for his ability to engage and motivate others, Mr. Segal, president of Kingswood Properties Ltd. and a director of Kingswood Capital Corporation, has used his business success to propel his community giving. He is a long-serving Director of the Vancover Board of Trade and a member of the Simon Faser University Dean's External Advisory Board, Segal Graduate School of Business and is the chair of Coast Mental Health Foundation's Courage to Come Back Awards.
Mr. Segal is also the Founding Chair of Free the Children's We Day Vancouver. Serving in that capacity for the past nine years, he has been a catalyst of a social movement among youth that promotes social responsibility and global citizenship. He and his wife, Mélita, also donate their home for the benefit of numerous charities including the annual Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation Life Commitment Dinner which has raised close to $2.5 million for those living with HIV.
In 2012, Mr. Segal received the Justice Institute of British Columbia Foundation Community Leadership Award and in 2013 was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for Service. In 2014 he was invested into the Order of British Columbia – the province's highest honour.
Melita Segal
Melita Segal was born in Cairo, Egypt to Captain Marinco and Mrs. Jenny Muzina – a pilot, deep sea master and captain who worked in the Suez Canal and a professor of the French language respectively.
After spending her first 12 years in Cairo, Melita and her family moved to the south of France where they lived until she was 16. The Muzina family was then transferred to Vancouver where Melita began studies at Capilano College and completed her degree in Urban Geography at the University of British Columbia.
Melita is fluent in French, Italian and English, as are her two children Chanelle (24) and Matthew (21). Chanelle is a recent graduate of the Elliot School of International Affairs at George Washington University, Washington D.C. and Matthew is a Junior at Yale University majoring in Economics. Both children have been ambassadors of "Free the Children" since 2007 and played a significant role in bringing the inaugural "We Day" to Vancouver in 2009 – an annual gathering of 20,000 students for the purpose of celebrating the power of youth to change the world.
Melita works alongside her husband, Lorne, in all their charitable causes including the Coast Mental Health "Courage to Come Back Awards", We Day Vancouver and the Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation Life Commitment Dinner.
James Shavick
One of Canada's most successful film and TV producers, Mr. Shavick began his career after graduating from first class of Concordia University's (SGWU) film program. Originally from Montreal, it was natural that his first feature would be set in Quebec. "Two Solitudes", a landmark drama about the English-French, became a Canadian classic. Since then, Mr. Shavick has produced more than 500 hours of television - over 100 feature length television movies and 10 television series.
Working for many years in California, James held numerous production positions and his series were commissioned by ABC Family Channel, NBC/PAX, Fox Family Channel, Showtime and HBO. His television productions were among the top ten performers for their networks and he retains the singular distinction of being the only Canadian producer to ever have had two number 1-rated shows in the United States.
Mr. Shavick moved his production company to Vancouver in 1993 and quickly became the largest producer west of Toronto. Over the years he has mentored and employed a multitude of young producers - many of whom now form the backbone of film and television production in Western Canada.
Mr. Shavick married former finance minister and prominent B.C. politician Joy MacPhail in 2005. He is the majority shareholder and CEO of Canadian broadcaster OUTtv, a specialty digital channel with over 1 million subscribers, and a recently launched international video subscription service.