Fin MacDonald

Last night I attended the annual Junior Achievement Nova Scotia Business Hall of Fame gala. As a volunteer with Junior Achievement I am invited to this prestigious event every year. Once a year they get together to induct three new laureates into the hall of fame. The event included a reception and networking period, three course meal, and an awards ceremony.

This years laureates were:

1) Robert (Bob) Kelly, chairman and CEO of the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation

2) Sharon and Richard Calder, founders and owners of Charm Diamond Centres

3) The late Rose Schwartz, co-founder and owner of Schwartz Clothing

The event was hosted by students who took part in the junior achievement program this year, who will likely be the business leaders of tomorrow. Lynn Coveyduck who is the head of JA Nova Scotia presented some interesting research data from the Boston Consulting Group. It turns out that JA students are far more likely to get a college education, earn higher wages, and be successful than those who don’t take the program. We have always known this but thanks to the Boston Consulting Group it is now quantifiable.

I would like to thank all the sponsors of the evening, especially Cox & Palmer who was my sponsor for the evening. All together the event raised over $200,000 for JA Nova Scotia.