SYTYKM 2016 Winners

 2016 Award Ceremony

The eighth and final SYTYKM Awards Ceremony was held at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. In addition to the prizes listed above, there were bonus ones determined by random draw: the $500 Early Bird Prize went to Madeha Jeraj, a student at Langstaff Secondary School in Toronto, while Sir Fredrick Banting Secondary School in London became the 3+ School Random Draw Winner, receiving $2,000 toward the purchase of audiovisual equipment. Nicholas Cox, a teacher at The Woodlands Secondary School in Mississauga, and a member of the Teachers' Academy, which selected the winner of the Teachers' Choice Award, won $1,000  in a random draw held during the awards ceremony.

A video recorded by Capital Arts Productions, a company started by SYTYKM alumni, captured some of the many highlights of the evening, as did these photos by Shan Qiao Photography.

Thank you!

We are exceedingly grateful to the dedicated members of the SYTYKM volunteer judging panel for the passion and integrity that they bring to evaluating the efforts of the contestants. Thank you to Christina Blizzard, Queen's Park columnist, QMI; John Coulbourn, theatre, film and arts critic; James Cullingham, an award winning documentary filmmaker and the journalism program coordinator at Seneca College; Peter Fuchs, Director of Corporate Affairs at Glencore; Sofia Gallagher, Educational Consultant, retired Rainbow District School Board Coordinator of Science and Technological Studies; Joanne Kearney, Vice President of  Smithcom, a communications agency specializing in corporate affairs and marketing communications; and Jane Werniuk, Senior Geologist, Technical Reporting at Agnico Eagle Mines and former editor of the Canadian Mining Journal. Without the judges' valuable time, professional objectivity and expertise, this competition would not have been a success.

As always, we were dazzled by the star power of the award ceremony presenters. Thank you to Rob Assabgui, Director of Mining, Vale; Christina Blizzard, Queen's Park columnist, QMI; Robert Closner, Regional General Counsel - The Americas, Boart Longyear; Stephen Crozier, Vice President, Corporate Affairs, IAMGOLD; Frank Demers, General Manager, Sudbury Operations, KGHM International; Micheline Faccendi, Senior Human Resources Specialist, KGHM International; George Flumerfelt, President and CEO, J.S. Redpath, Ltd; Jim Gallagher, President and CEO, North American Palladium; Sofia Gallagher, Educational Consultant; Michael Gravelle, Ontario's Minister of Northern Development and Mines; Ingrid Hann, Vice President, Human Resources, The De Beers Group of Companies; Eric Kohtakangas, Vice President, Operations, Cementation; Peter MacPhail, Chief Operating Officer, Alamos Gold; Melanie Martin, Manager of Regional Communications, Goldcorp; Gerry Rogers, Vice President, Goderich Mine Operations, Compass Minerals; Richard Sloos, Communications Teacher, Resurrection Catholic Secondary School in Kitchener; Larry Sparks, Human Resources Manager, OMYA Canada; Conor Spollen, Chief Operating Officer, Vale; Derek Teevan, Senior Vice President, Corporate and Aboriginal Affairs, Detour Gold; Peter Xavier, Vice President, Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations, Glencore; as well as the hosts of the evening: Marc Lauzier, Vice President, Operational Support, Canada & US, Goldcorp, and Chair of the Ontario Mining Association Board of Directors; and Chris Hodgson, Ontario Mining Association President. 

The irrepressible Wexford Gleeks and the sublime Trudy Lang-Flumerfelt made the evening musically exciting. Thank you.

We would also like to acknowledge the awesome staff at the Royal Ontario Museum, who helped us to organize a wonderful evening. 

Over the past eight years, SYTYKM received almost 1000 video submissions, and awarded $272,000 in prize money to students and schools. It offered a platform for talented young people to make academic and creative strides, and to have their extraordinary work recognized, while drawing together a large and varied community of people who are passionate about our industry. We are grateful for the involvement of all competitors, educators, parents, judges, online voters, Teachers' and OMA Academy members - everyone who gave their time, showcased their talent and made the story of Ontario mining their own.

So You Think Know Mining was a success because of the collective financial and moral support of Ontario Mining Association members. We gratefully acknowledge the support of the companies listed in the video below.