February 11, 2010, Calgary, Alberta – SAIT Polytechnic will present its 2009 Distinguished Alumnus Award to Tom Mauro, Founder of Albi Homes, at a reception this evening.

“Tom is being honoured not only as a successful SAIT graduate, but as a community leader and strong supporter of SAIT,” says Irene Lewis, SAIT President and CEO. “Tom is a member of the Founding Builders Circle and the Promising Futures Campaign Cabinet in support of SAIT’s new Trades and Technology Complex. His commitment to post-secondary education is further exemplified in the fact that sixty per cent of Albi Home employees are SAIT grads.”

Mauro is the 28th recipient of SAIT’s Distinguished Alumnus Award. Established in 1988, the award recognizes SAIT graduates who have demonstrated strong leadership, exceptional achievements in business or industry, outstanding contributions to the community and an history of support for SAIT.

View Mauro's video presentation.

A strong commitment to SAIT is also demonstrated by the first-ever recipient of SAIT’s Young Alumnus Award. Although only in her early thirties, Smita Acharyya, a graduate of SAIT’s Cinema, Television, Stage and Radio program (see our Film and Video Production program), has already made a name for herself in the film community as a successful filmmaker.

“Smita is a fitting recipient of our very first Outstanding Young Alumnus Award,” says Lewis. “She is active in many film industry organizations as an energetic volunteer and mentors many aspiring filmmakers, at SAIT and in the larger community.”

Acharyya’s work has been nominated several times for awards from the Alberta Motion Picture Industries Association and has been included at the Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver International film festivals.

Acharyya is the first recipient of SAIT’s Outstanding Young Alumnus Award. Established in 2009, the award recognizes a SAIT alumnus who has graduated from SAIT in the last ten years and is 35 years or younger who has demonstrated leadership skills, exceptional achievements in their field of endeavour and outstanding contributions to the community.

View Smita's video presentation.

SAIT Polytechnic is one of Canada’s most exciting destinations for post-secondary education, offering more than 100 career programs that position people for success in technology, trades and business. A leader in innovation, SAIT also collaborates with industry on applied research and delivers corporate training worldwide. SAIT is a member of Polytechnics Canada and one of Alberta’s Top 50 Employers for 2011.

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