Nomination Form
History of the Wall of Honour
As part of our 50th Anniversary Celebration in 2007, Barrie North Collegiate established a Wall of Honour. Our purpose in doing this, was to honour alumni who have made a significant contribution to their community, or who have been extremely successful in their chosen careers. The Wall of Honour will present models of success to current Barrie North students in order to emphasize the importance of students' setting high goals for themselves and working toward accomplishing these goals. It will also recognize the tradition of success at Barrie North Collegiate.
Each inductee will be honoured with a plaque hung on the Wall of Honour in the front foyer of our school. Inductees will continue to be selected each year at our annual Night of Excellence Ceremony in the fall. Nomination forms may be picked up at Barrie North in the Guidance office, or click on Nomination Form on this website.
Our Wall of Honour committee is made up of five North current staff and alumni members. For more information, contact Katie Kirkpatrick at (705) 726-6541 ex: 41175 or [email protected].
Current Members
Dr. Kenneth S. Courtis
Ken graduated from Barrie North Collegiate in 1964. After obtaining an undergraduate degree from Glendon College in Toronto, Ken went on to obtain his M.A., M.B.A. and finally his Doctorate d'Etat with honours and highest distinction from the I'Institut d'etudes politiques, Paris. He currently is the Chairman of Starfort Invesment Holdings and is recognized as one of the world's leading investment bankers. He was formerly Managing Director of Goldman Sachs, Managing Director of Deutsche Bank and Chief Economist of Deutsche Bank Asia. Dr. Courtis has worked closely with central banks and ministries of finance. He has been called upon to advise the heads of governments of countries in Europe, Middle East, Asia and North America, including four U.S. Presidents. He has lived and worked in Asia for more than three decades, and is fluent in English, French and Japanese.
October 2018
Bradley J. Dibble
Brad graduated from BNC in 1984 as valedictorian. After attending the Arts and Science program at McMaster University, Brad obtained his M.D and also studied Internal Medicine and Cardiology at the University of Western Ontario. He opened his practice in Barrie in 1996 and works with two hospitals within the region. He has a particular interest in preventative medicine and risk factor modification. Brad is a regional spokesperson for the Ontario Heart and Stroke Foundation. He served as Physician Lead for the Division of Cardiology and Medical Director for the Cardiovascular-Renal Program at RVH, working to bring advanced cardiac care to the Barrie region. Brad is also known for promoting public access to Automatic External Defibrillators and for his work regarding global warming and climate change. He is the author of Comprehending the Climate Crisis.
October 2017
Maya Burhanpurkar
Maya graduated from BNC in 2016. In her Grade 9 year, Maya was recognized as one of Canada's Top 20 Under 20. Maya was Student Council President, Student Trustee, Chair of the SCDSB Student Senate and served on the Education Minister's Student Advisory Council. Maya has received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, Ontario's Junior Citizen of the Year Award, has twice won the Grand Platinum Award at Canada's National Science Fair for discoveries in microbiology and fundamental physics and has been a finalist at the Google and Intel International Science Fairs. Maya was named the Inaugural National Brescia Emerging Canadian Female Leader of the Year. She is the only Canadian to be presented with the International 2016 Gloria Barron Prize. Maya is a Research Associate at the Perimeter Institute. She will attend Harvard in August.
October 2016
Michael Forgrave
Mike graduated from BNC in 1977. His successful career in Track and Field and Hurdles began at BNC. Mike was named North's MVP twice and later MVP of the University of Waterloo Track team. He was a member of the Pacific Conference Games Team, Ontario Canada Games Team, Canadian Commonwealth Games Team (semi-finalist) and the 1980 Canadian Olympic Team. His career in sport led Mike to complete his pedorthic exams at Northwestern University in Chicago and subsequently open his own pedorthics business which included a number of clinics. In 2004 he attended the Athens Olympic Games as Head of the Foot and Ankle Clinic for the Athletes Village. Mike was awarded the Canadian Pedorthic Award of Excellence and the U.S.A Seymour Lefton Award for Lifetime Achievement in Pedorthics.
October 2015
Mark Neelin
Mark graduated from BNC in 1976. While in high school he volunteered with the Barrie Auxiliary Police Force. After graduating he became a cadet and completed his recruitment training at the Ontario Police College in Aylmer. Over the years he earned many additional qualifications at the Ontario Police College and the Canadian Police College in Ottawa. He also completed additional courses in Toronto and Los Angeles. Mark held a number of positions prior to becoming the first Chief of Police for Barrie to be promoted to that position from within the service. He was also an instructor at the Ontario Police College. Mark is the recipient of the Police Exemplary Service Medal and the Queens Diamond Jubilee Medal.
June 2014
Brent Burns
Brent graduated from BNC in 2003. A hockey player since the age of four, he was recruited by the Toronto Marlboroughs junior hockey team when he was 9 years old. He finished his junior hockey career as a member of the Brampton Battalion. He was drafted as a defenseman by the Minnesota Wild in the first round, 20th overall, in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. He was traded to the San Jose Sharks in 2011. Brent brought home a silver medal with Team Canada at the World Junior Championships in Finland in 2004. He won another silver medal as part of Team Canada in 2008 at the World Championships where he was selected as best defenseman of the tournament. He also played for Team Canada in 2010 and 2011. Brent generously donates to Defending The Blue Line, to ensure that children of military members are able to participate in hockey.
November 2012
Carl Dixon
Carl graduated from BNC in 1977. He began music studies on the piano, followed by guitar, drums and percussion, and voice. He started singing and playing guitar with a band at age 15. His debut album with Coney Hatch went Gold, paving the way for more albums and extensive touring with bands like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. He has produced several music videos on Much Music and MTV and he has written songs for artists and television shows, like Baywatch. After a very successful solo career, Carl became a member of The Guess Who and later April Wine; he performed internationally and made albums and videos with both bands. He has co-written songs with many other artists and his songs have been recorded by many performers. He has recorded and released five solo albums. Carl is the proprietor of Diamond Ditty Music.
November 2011
Mary Anne Wilson (nee Thompson)
Mary Anne graduated from BNC in 1971. She quickly became a passionate advocate for public education. She was a school board trustee for 17 years, serving in Haliburton and Simcoe Counties. She excelled in this role and on four separate occasions chaired the Simcoe County District Board. She was a devoted and passionate public servant who strove to address the needs of all students, both young and old, and was a staunch supporter of accessible adult learning. She was a member of the Ontario Public School Board Association for 10 years. She obtained a Human Resources Management Certificate from Georgian College in 2001. She was also an accomplished artist and lively orator. Two scholarships, in her honour, will be awarded annually at the Barrie Adult Learning Center and at Barrie North Collegiate.
October 2010
Ryan Marshall
Ryan graduated from BNC in 1994. During his studies at the University of Waterloo he completed a cooperative education placement at Research In Motion (RIM); his first project as a co-op student at RIM was designing the operating system core for the first ever Blackberry! After graduating with his Bachelor of Mathematics, Honours Computer Science - Software Engineering, Ryan signed on full-time at RIM as a computer programmer and quickly moved up the corporate ladder from team lead to manager, to director, to vice-president of operating systems. Ryan contributes to his community by generously giving his time and financial support. In 2009 he was named the youngest member of Canada's Top 40 Under 40 that year.
October 2009
Justin Young
Justin graduated from BNC in 1988. He earned his Bachelor of Economics at the University of Western Ontario. From the age of 12, Justin was a keen entrepreneur, juggling the operation of small businesses, working at the local Canadian Tire store, and attending high school. During this time, Justin was diagnosed with cancer in his left leg. While undergoing extensive chemotherapy, radiation and the amputation of his leg, Justin completed high school and was the owner of a small business, a vehicle and a home before he set off to university! Since then, Justin has owned a number of Canadian Tire stores. In addition, he continues to be an avid supporter of many community charities, including The Canadian Tire Foundation for Families, the Lions Club, the Canadian Cancer Society, the Clair Hills Community Association and various food banks.
October 2008
Joel Andersen
Joel graduated from BNC in 1964 as Head Boy. He obtained his B.A. at Queen's University in 1968, his M.S. at Michigan Tech University in 1970 and his M.D. at Queen's in 1975. He ran a family practice for over 30 years in Sudbury, Ontario, all the while conducting research, upgrading his certifications, and teaching at the Northern Ontario School for Medicine. Joel was particularly esteemed by his patients for his caring manner and attention to detail. He has been heavily involved in occupational health issues including serving as the medical director of numerous hospitals and Canadian companies and institutions. He is the recipient of the YMCA Peace Medallion for his work with the outreach program Men for Missions in Haiti.
October 2007
Vaughn Collins
Vaughn graduated from BNC in 1969 and was directly employed with the Ontario Provincial Police. With no further formal academic study, he worked his way through Police ranks from Constable to Undercover Officer to Deputy Commissioner responsible for Investigations and Organized Crime. He completed many management and investigative courses during his 37 year career. A highlight of his training was graduating from the Federal Bureau of Investigations' National Executive Institute at Quantico, Virginia. As a result of his groundbreaking work on organized crime including terrorism within Canada, Vaughn was presented with the Officer of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces by Governor General Adrienne Clarkson at Rideau Hall in Ottawa.
October 2007
James Corrigall
Jim graduated from BNC in 1965. He attended Kent State University on an athletic scholarship and became an All American Football Player; he obtained a degree in History and Political Science. Although he was a second round draft choice of the St. Louis Cardinals, Jim chose to play in Canada for the duration of his 12 year professional career. As a Toronto Argonaut (CFL), he was an outstanding defensive player winning many awards: Rookie of the Year in 1970, All Pro four times, All East eight times, Most Valuable Defensive Player in 1975 and Schenley Most Outstanding Player in 1975. Jim was honoured as an “All-Time Argo” in 1997 for his contributions to the Argonaut team and was inducted to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1990.
October 2007
Jason (Campsall) McCoy
Jason graduated from BNC in 1988. Using the stage name Jason McCoy, he quickly became a very successful country music singer and songwriter. He has won numerous Canadian Country Music Association awards including Male Vocalist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, Group of the Year and Producer of the Year. Other awards include a Juno for Group of the Year and many SOCAN Country Music awards; he has also been recognized as Global Artist of the year. Jason has enjoyed the sale of Gold and Platinum albums and the production of TV specials as a soloist and as leader of The Road Hammers. Jason is also known for his work with such charities as Dreams Take Flight and Seasons Centre for Grieving and Traumatized Children.
October 2007