MS Society elects 2012 Alberta Division Board - Multiple Sclerosis ...

News Release
For immediate release
MS Society elects 2012 Alberta Division Board
16 members elected from across the province
Edmonton - The Alberta Division of the MS Society of Canada elected a new Board of
Directors at its Annual General Meeting on April 21, 2012. Held in Edmonton at the
Radisson Hotel South, the AGM saw Society members from across Alberta vote in a new
Board that brings a wealth of experience.
The 16 newly elected Directors bring a diversity of knowledge and experience to Alberta
Division, including business, financial and legal expertise, as well as substantial
knowledge of government relations and MS research. In addition, many of the new
Directors are either living with MS or impacted by it through friends and/or family.
Below is a brief description of the newly elected Directors. For a full description, visit
mssociety.ca/alberta/awards_2012.html and click on “Bios - Board Nominees” near the
bottom of the page.
Carey Mogdan: Chair (2009 - Calgary)
Carey has participated and fundraised in the MS Walk with his family for the last several
years. He was diagnosed with relapsing remitting MS in 2004. Carey is Vice President of
Tarpon Energy Services – an oil and gas services company based in Calgary.
Kevin O’Neil: First Vice Chair (2009 - Edmonton)
Kevin O’Neil is employed by Stantec Consulting Ltd. as a Senior Environmental Scientist
in the Urban Land Engineering Department at the company’s head office in Edmonton.
Kevin is a graduate of McGill University and has specialized in environmental
management issues since 1976. Kevin was employed by the Government of Alberta for
several years where he managed a number of environmental initiatives

Phil Clarke: Second Vice Chair (2011 - Edmonton)
Phil Clarke has been in the restaurant business for over 35 years. For the last 16 years he
has held the position of president, chairman of the board and operating partner of the
Moxie’s Edmonton Franchise group.
Gayelene Bonenfant: Treasurer (2010 - Calgary)
Gayelene has been an accountant for eighteen years in the oil and gas industry, ten
years as CFO of a company called Athena Resources Ltd. While at Athena, she had the
rare opportunity to start her own oil company in conjunction with her employer. This
opportunity brought numerous rewards, not the least of which was the valuable
experience of learning how to run a business.
Jessica Williams: Secretary and Nominations Chair (2011 - Calgary)
Jessica is a mother of two young girls aged four and five. She works from home as a
mortgage broker. Jessica has a BA in English from the University of Calgary and has
completed continuing education classes in Journalism.
James Orr: Past Chair (2006 - Edmonton)
James is the Outgoing Chair of Alberta & Northwest Territory Division and member of
the National Board of the MS Society of Canada. He received his LL.B. in 1998 and his
B.A. in 1992 from the University of Alberta and is currently the Director of Safety Codes
& Standards with Safety Services, Alberta Municipal Affairs.
Wayne Jacques: Member-at-large (2010 - Edmonton)
Appointed by the Minister of Justice of Alberta, Wayne serves as a Lay Bencher with the
Law Society of Alberta. He is also a member of the Law Enforcement Review Board
pursuant to an appointment by the Solicitor General of Alberta.
Doreen Saunderson: Member-at-large (2009 - Calgary)
Doreen is a lawyer with Field LLP in Calgary. Her primary area of practice is insurance
litigation. Doreen is a member of the firm’s Insurance and Surety Service Group and the
Health Law Service Group. She has appeared before all levels of Court in Alberta and
before administrative tribunals.
Melanee Framp: Member-at-large (2010 - Fort McMurray)
Melanee received her B.B.A. from Memorial University of Newfoundland in 2007
through distance learning. After moving to Alberta in 2003, Melanee worked for

Syncrude Canada Ltd. as a Business Analyst until early 2009. Since then, she joined the
Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo in the same capacity.
Hazel Flewwelling: Member-at-large (2009 - Red Deer)
Hazel has been a Chairman of the Red Deer Public Library for five years and the Chair of
the Literacy and Legacy Campaign to raise $2.5 million for the Red Deer Public Library.
She was appointed as a Member of the University of Alberta Senate for six years and
presented the late Dr. Ethel Taylor, community activist and first woman alderman of
Red Deer, with her honourary doctorate of laws from the University of Alberta.
Jason Kaye: Member-at-large (2011 - Sherwood Park)
Jason is a journeyman boilermaker and worked at Jacobs Canada as a Senior Project
Control Specialist until 2004, when his MS prevented him from continuing to work.
Jason also worked in the financial industry and sold insurance and mutual funds. Along
with others in the MS community, Jason attended a meeting with the Minister of Health
in October, 2010, for the purpose of advancing CCSVI trials in Alberta.
Judy Gordon: Member-at-large (2012 - Lacombe)
(Completed 6-year term in 2010; appointed as Honourary Director in 2011)
In 2004 Judy Gordon was elected Mayor of the Town of Lacombe. Judy acclaimed in
2007 and returned to this position. From 1993 to 2004, Mrs. Gordon served three terms
as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the rural constituency
of Lacombe – Stettler. Mrs. Gordon served on a number of boards and committees.
A highlight for Mrs. Gordon was her election as Deputy Chairman of Committees by the
full Legislative Assembly in 1997. She was the first woman in Alberta’s history to occupy
this position.
James Purdy: Member-at-large (2012 - Bonnyville)
James achieved his Bachelor of Science in Oil and Gas Engineering in 2005 and is
currently a Field Production Engineer with Devon Canada Corporation. As an MS
Ambassador and MS Advisory Council member for Lakeland, James volunteers tirelessly
to support the MS Society. His walk team - MS AIN’T PURDY - raised over $90,000 in just
three years.
Gail Taylor: Member-at-large (2012 - Lloydminster)
Gail Taylor is co-owner of BG Taylor Consulting Ltd. in Lloydminster. Gail has been very
active with the MS Society in the Lloydminster Chapter since her diagnosis in 2007. She
serves on the board, is an MS Ambassador, works on the annual Carnation Campaign

and, together with her husband of 31 years, hosted a golf tournament in 2011 that
raised over $19,000 for the MS Society.
Bob Macklon: Member-at-large (2012 - Edmonton)
Bob was diagnosed with MS in 1988. Bob is currently retired on a medical disability, is
married, and has two adult sons and a granddaughter. Since his retirement Bob has
been an active volunteer serving on the Edmonton and Capital Region Chapter Board,
the Provincial Barrier Free Council, the Alberta Division Government and Community
Relations Committee and the Steadward Center Advocacy Group.
Dr. Chris Power: Member-at-large (2012 - Edmonton)
Christopher Power, M.D., F.R.C.P(C) is a Professor of Neurology at the University of
Alberta and holds a Canada Research Chair in Neurologic Infection and Immunity. He
received his B.Sc. from the University of Toronto and an M.D. from the University of
Ottawa and subsequent training in medicine and neurology at McMaster University and
the University of Western Ontario, respectively, with a postdoctoral fellowship at Johns
Hopkins University in neurovirology.
About MS
Over 11,000 Albertans live with multiple sclerosis. Most people with MS are diagnosed
between the ages of 15 and 40. Women are three times more likely than men to be
diagnosed with MS. Canada is a world leader in MS research. In particular, Alberta
researchers are making significant gains into the treatment and cure of MS. MS is a
disease affecting the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). It destroys the
protective covering of the nerve fibers, and sometimes the nerve fibers themselves,
preventing signals from being transmitted from the brain and spinal cord to the rest of
the body.