Moffat & eight of his students are working the Fairmont Chateau Whistler kitchen and it’s been a whirlwind of an adventure and learning.

And there’s no shortage of culinary celebrities! The team met the highly humble and personable Canadian giant, Chef, Michael Smith.

Thompson Rivers University, BC Canada, takes its Culinary Arts program, complete with labs, course work, students and an instructor to Whistler during the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games.

A team of eight, Cook level 1, Culinary Arts students will learn their cooking lessons in the kitchens of the Fairmont Chateau Whistler from February 6 to March 2 during the height of the Olympic Games.

“Being involved in culinary activities right in the heart of the 2010 Winter Olympics is an amazing opportunity for our students from the School of Tourism at TRU,” said Dr. Harold Richins, TRU Dean of Tourism. ” We are also very excited that this is taking place in partnership with one of the top hotels in BC – the Fairmont Chateau Whistler.”

Read more http://newsroom.blog.mytru.ca/2010/01/27/culinary-arts-students-embark-on-olympic-opportunity/

Open Learning items have been made available for purchase and can be viewed at the following website: http://www.thebookstore.tru.ca/ Click on TRU Clothing & Merchandise, under General Merchandise click on Open Learning Clothing.

(The direct link is HERE)

Please note that this is a limited time offer and orders need to be placed online with a credit card by Sunday, November 15, 2009. The clothing will be available for pick up at the Bookstore during the 2nd week of December. Free shipping is available for employees working off campus by entering “Open Learning” in the promotion code during the ordering process.

If you don’t know what size to get in a particular garment, comparable items are available in the Bookstore.

It is unknown if this offer will be repeated, so be sure to take advantage of this opportunity if you are interested in telling the world (OK, those that actually see you in the clothing) that you are part of the Open Learning team!

The motivated crew of 30 volunteers from TRU will include President and Vice-Chancellor Kathleen Scherf, who has been a passionate supporter of the United Way since her arrival to Kamloops
a year ago.

“The TRU community didn’t hesitate to come forward and use a day’s vacation so they could pitch in and help the Boys and Girls Club with painting and improving the playground,” Scherf said. “I am exited to be able to spend the day volunteering along side members from CUPE, our Faculty Association, the TRU Student Union, trade students and so many others from the university that support the United Way.”

Besides painting several rooms inside the building – recreation areas as well as storage space, tables and cabinets, TRU volunteers will be picking up larger projects outside the facility. They will build a pergola as TRU Trades students erect a storage shed that has been donated by the TRU School of Trades and Technology.

Day of Caring is a community initiative designed to foster a sense of caring through volunteerism. It is not a fund-raising event, but an opportunity for businesses and their employees to undertake worthwhile projects for non-profit organizations. Not only do the non-profit organizations benefit from valuable assistance in completing a much
needed project that would not have been done otherwise, but the employee groups are given the opportunity to see first hand what valuable services are being provided by annual contributions to the United Way.

In 2008 President Scherf led TRU’s United Way employee campaign, raising over $63,000. TRU also earned the 2008 Community Spirit Large Organization award, which recognized TRU’s encouragement of staff to learn about and contribute to their community through
United Way involvement.

from http://www.tru.ca/marketing/mediareleases/2009/united_way_day_of_caring.html

Premier Gordon Campbell officially opened the $12.3-million B.C. Centre for Open Learning, a state-of-the-art building at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops that is a base to deliver programs for students to complete a post-secondary education throughout the province.

Premier Gordon Campbell at the grand opening of the $12.3-million B.C. Centre for Open Learning in Kamloops, which will support students throughout B.C. taking open learning courses and programs either online or by traditional print-based distance methods.

Premier Gordon Campbell was joined by Advanced Education Minister Murray Coell, Kamloops MLAs Kevin Krueger and Claude Richmond, and staff and faculty of Thompson Rivers University to open the $12.3-million B.C. Centre for Open Learning.

from BC Government News – November 2, 2007