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John Diamond Named New CEO of the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba

John Diamond

In a press release issued Thursday, January 30, the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba announced the appointment of John Diamond as its new CEO. Diamond is scheduled to begin his new role on Monday, February 10, 2020.
A lifelong resident of Winnipeg, Diamond’s appointment follows a period of more than a year in which the Foundation had no CEO.
Despite not having a CEO, the Foundation managed to continue operating successfully – having received $7.5 million in new contributions in the 2018 fiscal year, and having allocated a record $4,558,794 in grants during that period – up $13,055 from the previous year.

 

 

 

 

Following is the full text of the announcement of Diamond’s hiring:

The Board of Directors of the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba (JFM) is very happy to announce the appointment of John Diamond as its new Chief Executive Officer. He will begin his new role on Monday, February 10, 2020.

As a lifelong resident of Winnipeg, John understands our Jewish community. John’s uncle, Samuel N. Cohen, was one of the original signatories to the JFM Charter in 1964. John has an appreciation of the importance of the JFM’s engagement with the new generation of Jewish youth and the need for creativity, modernization, and adaptation.

John has been an active member of the volunteer community of Winnipeg for both Jewish and non-Jewish organizations, including serving on the allocations committee of the Jewish Federation, the “Y” sports annual dinner committee, Chairman of the Board of Versatech Industries (now Imagine-abilities), the alumni board of St. John’s Ravenscourt School, and a leader, coach, and mentor for Challenger Baseball Manitoba.

John completed his B.A. from the University of Winnipeg in 1989 before earning his LL.B. (Hons) from the University of Manitoba, Faculty of Law (1995-1996) and the University of Sheffield, Sheffield England School of Law (1993-1996).

John practiced law at Thompson Dorfman Sweatman from 1997 to 1999. From 1999 to 2007, John served as a Private Client Manager for high net worth clients at Assante Asset Management, managing 140 client families with assets in excess of $200,000,000. John served as a Senior Account Executive with Walton International, at the time one of the largest real estate companies in North America specializing in land holdings and development.

In 2014, John was sought out to be the president of Threshold Mortgage Corporation, a large independent mortgage firm. In 2017, John and his team started a new company called Excelus Financial Inc., a unique online independent financial education and credit building organization, where John has been Managing Director.

John is married to Dr. Heather Diamond, and together they are the parents of three boys: Ben, Alex, and Jake.

 

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First year medical student Tim Rozovsky founds new association for local Jewish medical students

By MYRON LOVE In the face of a concerning surge in antisemitism over the past nearly three years, I am happy to report a good news story in that regard.  Tim Rozovsky, the founder of the new Jewish Medical Students’ Association of Manitoba, reports that he and his fellow Jewish students enrolled in the University of Manitoba’s Max Rady College of Medicine are not experiencing any significant issues involving antisemitism.
Hopefully, the matter of the notorious Med school Valedictorian who used his podium to attack Israel was a one-off.
“My goal in forming the Jewish Medical Students’ Association of Manitoba,” says the first year medical student, “was to create a safe, supportive environment for my fellow Jewish medical students.”
He reports that the current first year class at the school has eight Jewish students – an increase over more recent years – with maybe a dozen more in the other years.
For a new medical student, Rozovsky already has an impressive resume. He was born in Russia and grew up in Israel. After the completion of his army service in 2018, the then-22-year-old rejoined his parents, Dr. Katya and Alexander, who had moved to Winnipeg a few years before.  
Prior to coming to Winnipeg, Rozovsky had completed a personal trainer program out of The Academic College at Wingate in Jerusalem. Some readers may know the young man from his work as a Master Personal Trainer at the Rady JCC.
Shortly after arriving here, he enrolled in a kinesiology program at the University of Winnipeg. He graduated with a BKin Honours in 2023 and did post graduate work at the University of Manitoba. Last fall, he received his MSc in Physiology and Pathophysiology  – earning two gold medals, along with 32 awards and scholarships in the process.
Rozovsky says that it was his mother who inspired him to pursue a career in medicine. Dr. Katya Rozovsky is an associate professor at the University of Manitoba and an attending radiologist, specializing in pediatric diagnostic imaging. 
(Tim also adds that his wife, Irina Gelzin, whom he married about a year ago, is training to be a nurse.)
Insofar as the  Jewish Medical Students’ Association of Manitoba is concerned, Rozovky reports that the group gets together multiple times a year. One of its programs was a joint Chanukah celebration with the Jewish Physicians Association of Manitoba.
There was also a joint program with the Christian Medical and Dental Students’ Association of Manitoba.
“More recently, we have been helping prospective Jewish medical students with their applications,” he says. “Hopefully we will be able to get together over the summer with the incoming Jewish students.”
As to his own future plans, Rozovsky notes that it is too early for him to be deciding on a specialty.  “My goal,” he says, “is to work hard and get good grades and become the best doctor that I can be.”

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Gray Academy to Represent Manitoba at National Reach for the Top Competition

Gray Academy staff (l-r): Daniele Miller, Lindsey Leipsic, Nick Maier

By NOAH STRAUSS Posted June 6) Gray Academy’s Reach for the Top team is headed to Moncton, New Brunswick, to represent Manitoba at the National Reach for the Top tournament.
Reach for the Top is a Canadian school league that quizzes teenagers on a variety of different topics, from science and history to pop culture. Reach started out in 1961 in Vancouver, where a local CBC station broadcasted the new show; it eventually became a national broadcast starting in 1966. Alex Trebek, who famously hosted Jeopardy!, started out by hosting Reach for the Top.
Gray Academy’s very own team, made up of Grade 7 and 8 students, will travel to Moncton, New Brunswick, to compete as Team Manitoba. By winning the provincial Reach tournament, they secured their spot in the national competition.
Faculty members at Gray Academy are very supportive of the program. The Jewish Post spoke with three different staff members at the school. Coach and high school teacher Danielle Miller says she is excited for the trip; although she will not be accompanying the team herself, shehas coached them all year.
“This year we had over 20 students come to the club to join us, they practice twice a cycle at lunch,” Miller said. Due to the large turnout this year, two teams had to be formed. At lunch practices, students split into two teams of four where each player has a buzzer. The two teams compete to see who can answer the most questions correctly.
One of the two teams did exceptionally well at various tournaments throughout the year and will be traveling to nationals as the sole team representing Manitoba.
Co-coach Micah Doerksen described Reach as a great academic competition where young minds are tested on various topics through quick,fast-paced questions.
High school guidance counselor Lindsey Leipsic said, “We have athletes, non-athletes, we have students who are really involved and students who are not as involved at school, and we have quiet leaders, and we’ve seen friendships be built in Reach.” Some of her favorite memories of Reach involve seeing students from across Winnipeg come to Gray Academy and bond with one another. Lev Chisick, who is competing at nationals, agreed, saying, “Moncton is going to strengthen our school spirit and make us a better team.”
As the junior team makes their way to Moncton, the senior team will head to provincials. Later this week, students from the senior team will travel to Virden, Manitoba, to compete at the provincial level. The team qualified after placing high enough at their most recent tournament, which took place at St. Paul’s.
Confidence is high as the school heads into these final tournaments. When Nath Goldenberg, who is also competing at nationals, was asked what he is most looking forward to, his answer was short and sweet:“Winning.”

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