Photo L-R: Kevin T. Boyce, President and CEO, Molson; Clare Archibald, Executive Director, Moncton Headstart;Peter Johnson, President of Moncton Headstart; Mayor George LeBlanc, Mayor of Moncton

President and CEO of Molson in Canada, Kevin Boyce, joined with colleagues in Moncton earlier today to celebrate the one year anniversary of the Moncton Molson Brewery opening with a $15,000 cheque to Headstart. This money will be dedicated to the Headstart Food Box program this holiday season and will benefit 200 families in the Moncton area.

Clare Archibald from Moncton Headstart spoke about last year’s total of 1700 food boxes that would have provided food to over 3700 people. Archibald is hopeful that Molson’s efforts will encourage other corporations and individuals to provide support for this worthwhile cause.

Kevin Boyce spoke about the inspiration that he felt when touring the Headstart kitchen during last year’s brewery opening festivities. Moncton Mayor George LeBlanc was also on hand and as a past president of Moncton Headstart he spoke about the impact that this food box initiative has on families who are receiving this kind of support.

Molson has a long standing heritage and history of supporting the greater community. Kevin Boyce spoke about the company and the pride that Molson employees have in being involved in their communities.

If you would like to support Moncton Headstart you can visit www.monctonheadstart.com to lend your support to this worthy initiative.

Cheers, Tonia

La campagne Centraide de cette année a connu un grand succès avec une augmentation de 7,7% versus l’an dernier. Notre objectif pour la province était de 105 000 $ et nous avons amassé 117 000 $. Bravo et merci à tous les employés qui ont fait un don ainsi qu’à ceux qui ont participé aux événements.

De plus, nous offrons nos plus sincères félicitations à tous les solliciteurs et aux membres du comité pour leur implication et leur dévouement. L’équipe à Montréal était composée de 23 solliciteurs cadres et 22 solliciteurs syndiqués ainsi que de 15 employés qui formaient le Comité.

En région, Danielle Caron (Est du Québec) et Francine Parent (Centre du Québec) étaient les deux solliciteurs qui ont géré les campagnes à l’extérieur de Montréal. Merci Danielle et Francine pour votre bon travail.

Encore cette année, nous avons obtenu l’aide de deux employés retraités qui ont donné bénévolement de leur temps. Un de ces retraités, Serge Pilotte, a offert 280 heures à la campagne. Serge est une personne très influente et respectée auprès des employés autant cadres que syndiqués et il agit en tant que co-président. Le deuxième retraité est Serge Vincent qui a travaillé comme solliciteur à notre Centre de distribution sur la rue Dickson. Sincères remerciements à ces deux personnes.

Tirage du gagnant d’une paire de billets de hockey

Gagnant du 1er tirage moitie-moitie: Benoit Ste-Marie

Plusieurs activités de levée de fonds ont été organisées et ont pour la plupart remporté du succès. Nous avons eu une activité de lancement qui est un lunch Oktoberfest qui fut très apprécié des employés. Il est à noter que la nourriture pour cette activité fut offerte par le Groupe Compass et nous tenons à remercier le chef, Marc Lavigne et son équipe. Les autres activités furent : tirages moitié-moitié, encan silencieux, encan en ligne, mercredis jeans, journées de massothérapie, journée popcorn, installation de pneus, vente de billets pour le tirage de billets de hockey et une activité de team building ‘Art au travail’. Quelques activités ont été organisées secrètement par les employés dont la collecte de métaux par le Service de la Centrale thermique et le paiement pour le café au 1320. Au nom du comite, merci a tous les employes Molson et a l’an prochain. Ensemble on Centraide!

Art au Travail

More photos from Centraide

Thank you!

It’s very gratifying and humbling to be recognized for our work - especially given we had such a great time hosting the events, that it didn’t really feel like work!

We’ve learned so much from this experience and met so many great people as a result. We hope to take our learning forward in our future activities and continue to be contributing members of the online community. Our goal is to be the go-to brewer in Canada, and to do this we will continue to listen, learn, and provide relevant content and genuine value to conversations.

To learn more about #Brew2.0, read my blog posts from the Toronto and Vancouver events and our entry submission.

Again, thank you to SNCR for recognizing our efforts, to Hill and Knowlton for all your hard work, and of course to the many bloggers who joined us in Toronto and Vancouver!

Cheers.

Part of our A-team in Toronto: Will Forbes, National Chair, Judy McClelland, National Executive Coordinator, Drew Stevenson,  Ontario Chair

I’m often amazed by what people can accomplish when they work together, and this year’s United Way campaign at Molson is one of those moments of awe.  Along with many other companies across Canada, we held our internal 2008 Molson United Way campaign for three weeks in October. This was my first year being part of the campaign as a Molson employee, and I was *seriously* blown away by the efforts of everyone.

I’ve been planning to write about the campaign in detail for a few days, and I’ve now got all the results, all the pics and all the videos — so here it is:

Our 2008 United Way campaign launched October 15th where, (here at 33 Carlingview in Toronto), employees gathered together in the cafe for the kick off.  Bob Duff, a very inspiring United Way volunteer and the Manager of  St. Simon’s Shelter in Toronto took the time to share his United Way story and really helped us understand the impact that United Way can have — Thanks Bob.

A team of ambassadors were put to the test to come up with some great activities to engage and excite employees about the campaign.  Let me tell you — these guys did an AMAZING job.  We had online auctions, a 50/50 draw, casino night, a Halloween party, beer bingo, beer carts, jeans week, CN tower climb….even a hair-growing challenge.

From the internal pledges alone, Molson employees pledged $154,000 — a 10% increase over last year. From special events, over $107,000 — an increase of 77% over last year!

In addition to the internal activities, many Molson’ers volunteered their time for the United Way’s Days of Caring series (read more Days of Caring from Ferg).

Photo: Days of Caring — Davenport Perth Neighbourhood Centre, Toronto: Employees educated schoolchildren about the health benefits of trees in urban environments and the simple steps for proper tree care, while also helping to mulch & water trees in schools and parks.

Video: Will Forbes, Molson United Way National Chair

Simon Brockett in Calgary getting his head shaved for United Way

The beer cart boys in Toronto…sorry guys, couldn’t resist!

In total, with pledges, special events, corporate donations, and Molson’s matching gift program, Molson raised just over $610,000 for the United Way — an increase of 15% from 2007.

I had some conversations recently with friends who work in the non-profit sector who have said, yes, we are worried that people won’t be able or willing to give during these tough times, and it’s true — it will be more difficult to give, but it’s still possible.  I saw this possibility become a reality when Molson employees took the challenge, reached AND surpassed goals….while having a great time!

What do you think?  Will your giving habits change while we go through tough financial times?

Tell us about your United Way efforts….share you stories and photos — we’d love to hear from you.

Cheers,

Tonia

Every year on November 11, Canadians pause in a silent moment of remembrance for the men and women who have served, and continue to serve our country for the cause of freedom and the pursuit of peace.

More than 1,500,000 Canadians have served our country in this way, and more than 100,000 have died. They gave their lives and their futures so that we may live in peace. As we stop to reflect, let us remember the men and women who have answered the call to duty to serve.

Molson commits to continue to honour and remember the courage, selflessness and sacrifices made by those men and women who served our country for the freedom and the pursuit of peace in future years. 

Here’s how we will be remembering our veterans on November 11th :

·         Lowering the Canadian flag to half mast at the Toronto Brewery

·         Observing a minute of silence at 11 a.m.

·         Making an announcement over the Emergency Response System

·         Shutting down equipment, where operationally feasible

On October 4^th Molson again teamed up with the Queen’s Business Environment Today Conference (QBET) to deliver the Charity Challenge. The case competition, like always, was a highlight of the event.

Why is it such a hit? This case competition has a cause! The student delegates are put into groups and asked to tackle a challenge facing a local charity. This year’s featured charity was the Learning Disabilities Association of Kingston.

To start the day a representative from the charity briefed the group on the numerous types of learning disabilities that cause challenges for so many. One of the most interesting pieces was a list of successful business leaders that have learning disabilities including Virgin’s Richard Branson. The students were given a specific challenge – determine new revenue streams for the Learning Disabilities Association of Kingston.

After an energetic hour of ideation the groups presented to the judges. Judging was the highlight of the day for me. Every group came forward with ideas that were creative, strategic, practical and fun. As judges, we decided to ask each group one serious and one humorous question to keep the mood light. The presentation portion was filled with compelling ideas and lots of laughs.

Though the main goal of the challenge is to generate as many ideas as possible, we did recognize two of the top groups with a John Molson bag. A donation of $1,000 will also be made to the Learning Disability Association of Kingston on behalf of all challenge participants.

This unique case competition continues to be impactful for the charity, meaningful for both the students and Molson and a lot of fun for everyone involved.

Cheers!

MOLSON and TAXIGUY are offering a 10% discount on TAXI DOLLARS with a minimum purchase of $50.00 in taxi dollars.

This is a terrific opportunity to by some taxi dollars to share with neighbours, friends and business associates in promoting the responsible choice of enjoying the holiday season but getting home safely with a taxi.  We also remind you to use the 1888TAXIGUY number to call your cab in more the 300 communities across Canada.

Thanks to Justin Raymond at TAXIGUY for a wonderful decade of making a difference and encouraging people to make responsible choices.

Here’s to Responsible Choices this holiday season. Here’s the link to the discount.

…video fifteen second ad…

15-sec-taxi-eng-audio-final

On Saturday, October 18, I completed my 4th “Défi de L’Ile de Montréal”. Before starting, I was not too optimistic, thinking I wouldn’t have as good of a performance as last year.  But I think all the planets were in line for me this year, and after approximately 30,000 strokes, 3 liters of Gatorade, 4 liters of water, and no wipe outs, I completed the 128 km event in 6 hours and 54 minutes. Simply amazing!

Not only did I break the 7 hour mark (I had considered that out of my reach), but I also shave 19 minutes off my best time from last year. I can humbly say that I don’t know why I got such a good result but, in fact, I can think of several excellent reasons:

• There was almost no wind for the entire run. Huge factor!
• I had brand new wheels and bearings so friction was reduce to a minimum. Another important factor.
• The surface was completely dry - Montréal had not received rain for 3 days prior to the event. Thanks to my friend Jeff who confirmed with me before the run that he was to talk to the weather gods!
• The temperature was a little cool (only 2 degrees) at 6:00 in the morning when we started, but the risk of having a heat stroke was nil
• And the main factor: my friends Patrice and Michel who escorted me on their bikes along this challenge.  Not only did they carry water and energy drinks, but they also “pampered” me to ensure I wasn’t missing anything: “Do you need water?”, “How you’re doing?”, “Not too tired?”, “Keep on going!”. They even opened the road to protect me from the light breeze facing us and were regularly pointing out cracks and holes in the asphalt. They no doubt helped me surpass my performance, and  feel quite honored and privileged to have run with such great guys!

Overall, I finished in much better shape compared to previous years; I only have to report a few blisters on both feet that are already healing quite nicely.

I’m now taking what I believe is a well deserved break while still enjoying the satisfaction of having achieved something really “out of the norm”.  But before long you will see me again around the block on my wheels!

Finally, I should add that during this run, I had a special thoughts for those who unfortunately will never have the opportunity of doing what I did because of some physical handicap. Of course, I’m thinking of people affected by MS, a cause dear to my heart. But there are also many other people facing different hurdles. I sincerely hope that everyone will remember that regardless of how difficult a challenge seems to be, patience and determination can accomplish a lot - one step forward is one step closer to reaching a goal. Although sometimes you won’t “win”, just trying is already a victory.

Thank you all for taking the time to read this note.

Cheers,

Alain

Photo L - R: Steve Dykeman, Regional Manager NB/PEI, Molson; Jean-François Damphousse Director of Hockey Administration, Dieppe Commandos

The giving continued on Sunday when I presented a $10,000 donation to the Dieppe Commandos Education Fund at the team’s home game.  These funds will go to help members of the Maritime Junior A team offset their education costs if they achieve pre-determined academic goals.

This is our third year of the partnership and we are proud of our association with this great organization.  They will be hosting the Fred Page Cup in 2009 and we will be behind them all the way.