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Our Speaker Program

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January 8, 2019

"CONNECTING THROUGH STORY"
 
Dean Verger and Ruth Stewart-Verger

After graduating from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario, Dean Verger started up a little folk club in Ottawa, a café named Rasputin's.

After hearing epic tales, Dean was inspired to seek out larger tales to tell. He has developed and toured one-hour versions of The Princess Bride, and Moby Dick. His latest project is Bram Stoker's 1897 “Dracula”. He has also written ghost stories, one of which was filmed by CJOH TV and aired on Halloween.

Dean has given workshops on microphone use, and storytelling. He has acted with Ottawa's Theatre for Children, Orpheus, and Ottawa Little Theatre. He has appeared at Centrepointe Theatre, on stage at the National Arts Centre's Fourth Stage, and in the Museum of Nature. He has performed his original works on both radio and television, and across Canada at festivals, in schools, cafes, and libraries.

These days, when not performing, Dean teaches the Psychology of Creativity at Carleton University.

Upcoming Performance of Dracula Thursday, February 21, 2019, 7:3pm at uOttawa's LabO, 10 Daly Avenue
For more information: www.ottawastorytellers.ca or the Ottawa Storytellers office Tel: (613) 322-8336

Ruth Stewart-Verger grew up in a storytelling household, immersed in the tales of travellers who dined at the family table, tales of her grandparents' childhood memories, and tales of Canada's historical heroes. She spent her early years north of the Arctic Circle where tales are told all winter long, and thus developed a respect for an oral tradition that lives in all cultures. Her love of the spoken word has been shared on stage, at festivals, in embassies, on radio, in the wilds of backwoods and the comfort of libraries and classrooms.

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Future Speakers

Here are the other planned speakers for this fall (subject to change).

If you have any suggestions for future speakers,
please pass them on to Beth Sweetnam at program@probuswesternottawa.ca

February 12, 2019

Jennifer DeBruin will talk about "In Search of Home, the Loyalist Experience"

March 12

Tony Atherton will talk about "The History of Print Journalism"

April 9

Sidney Elizabeth Porter will talk about "L'Arche in Canada"

May 14

Pam Thompson will talk about "Canadian Art History 101"

June 11

Terry Coffer will talk about the "Experiences of a Canadian ambassador to Kuwait and Iran"

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Previous Speakers

Where a speaker's name and topic is underlined, this is a link to additional information.

2018-19	September	October	November	December	January
	Gary Sealey -- LRT Discussion.	Allan Symons -- Two Centuries of Canadian Clocks	Brian Tackaberry -- The Lost Generation: Eastern Ontario in WW1	Valerie Knowles -- Well Known Ottawa Personalities From the Past	**  -- **
	February	March	April	May	June
	** -- **	** -- **	** -- **	** -- **	** -- **
2017-18	September	October	November	December	January
	Bruce Di Labio -- Birds in the Ottawa region	David Smith --  Einstein: his life and works	Greg Matte  --  From Helmets to Hardhats	Charlotte Gray --              The Promise of Canada	Peter  Hamer -- EMR -- Electronic Medical records
	February	March	April	May	June
	Sue Garvey -- Cornerstone Housing for Women	Kate MacNeil  -- The Ottawa Carleton Wildlife Centre	Dr. John Hardie --         A dental murder mystery	Rachel Boere -- Arctic experience with Students on Ice	Judith Cox -- Purple Carrts, Honey Bees and Magic
2016-17	September	October	November	December	January
	Howard Clifford -- The Wild Child, involving youth with nature	Frank Hitchens --         Are we alone in the universe?	Richard Brisson -- The Enigma Machine	Service Clubs -- Dwight Brown, Rotary, Linda Leinan, Lions	Barrie Kirk -- Automated vehicles are here to stay
	February	March	April	May	June
	Dawn and Peter Doyle: Our cruise to Iceland	Rick Baker  --  CARP	Caroline Midgley and  Jeannie Mathews --  Home care options	Randy Boswell -- Digital databases help re-discover our past	Brock Godfrey -- Mass marketing fraud awareness
2015-16	September	October	November	December	January
	Cheryl Cooper: Tall Ships and the War of 1812	Jonathan Moore: The Franklin Expedition ship Erebus discovery	Kanina Dawson: My Afghan war experience	Ian Smillie: Blood diamonds in Africa	Jane Madigan: Service dogs and anxiety disorder
	February	March	April	May	June
	Michele Leboldus: Our heritage and the next generation	Robert Hannaberry: "Sooner or Later" housing/ care needs	Gerda Kraft: Making refugees feel welcome	Jim Holmes: Kanata Theatre and the community	Dr. Andrew Frank: Memory loss and Alzheimer's
2014-15	September	October	November	December	January
	Joyce Trafford --           The Carp Fair	Joy Forbes --                 The One-Room Schoolhouse	Miriam Rawson -- Matthew House and the Ottawa Furniture Bank	Don Wiles -- Uranium in my Bones	Matt Craig  -- The Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority
	February	March	April	May	June
	Norm Christie  -- Canadian war graves -- Our Sacred Places	George Laidlaw -- The joys of Canadian history	Roddy Bolivar -- The Carp Road Corridor BIA	Brian Hartley -- Bridging the  Chasm	Nelson McDougall-- The NAC Orchestra
2013-14	September	October	November	December	January
	Mac Evans --             Canada's Space Program	Bob Slack - the Canadian Snowbirds	Dr. Andew Burtch The Korean War	Doug Harvey-Smith DesignAbility	Dr. Tim Pychyl -- Procrastination
	February	March	April	May	June
	Nadine Fowler and Cristina Myers -- The Queensway Carleton Hospital	Barry Risk -- Canada Customs    "The Thinner Blue Line"	Dave Brown -- After 10,000 columns	Guy Thatcher -- Walking the Camino de Saint-Jacques	Terry Currie --              The great Fire of 1870
2012-13	September	October	November	December	January
	Dr. Kent MacDonald -- President Algonquin College	Karen Bell -- Seniors Nutrition	Ronald Cohen -- Sir Winston Churchill Society of Ottawa	Dr.Janet Biggar and Jim Jamer -- Empowering youth in Africa	Dr. Aisha Sherazi -- Women in Islam
	February	March	April	May	June
	Ian Farthing -- St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival	Matt Warin -- US Embassy         Trafficking in persons	Peter van Boeschoten -- Ottawa Older Adult Plan	Helen Forsey -- Eugene Forsey and the Senate	J.F. Sauriol --  Computer Security for Seniors
2011-12	September	October	November	December	January
	Max Keeping -- Community Ambassador	Mayor Jim Watson	Guy Parent -- Veterans Ombudsman	Jamie Lunn -- The War Amps of Canada	Allison Knight -- Office of the Information Commissioner
	February	March	April	May	June
	Barbara Carriere -- Kilimanjaro grannies	Grete Hale --     Baker's daughter	Hon. Bill Rompkey -- Senate reform	Hon.Peter Milliken -- longest serving Speaker of the House of Commons	Rotary Club and Ottawa Police -- The ABC's of Fraud