The Top 7 Over 70 Awards is a dream-turned-reality for founder Jim Gray, a renowned Calgarian, oil patch pioneer and philanthropist. Over the years, Jim noticed award programs sprouting up for people in a myriad of demographic groups, except for those who were older in years. At the same time, he seemed to be meeting an increasing number of people who were starting new ventures and initiatives even after they reached traditional retirement age.
The vibrant contributions these people were making to the community seemed to be getting a bit overlooked by society and Jim decided he was going to do something about that. He began dreaming — and talking — about an awards program that would recognize the contributions of community members after age 70.
“I am struck by the dynamic contributions I see Calgary seniors making in every facet of life, adding to the richness of our community,” says Jim. “That’s why I thought it is time to celebrate the unique achievements of seniors by recognizing the Top 7 Over 70.”
Jim and fellow philanthropist Brian Felesky began rounding up a coalition of acquaintances and business professionals to help turn this idea into a solid project.
The result was the formation of a volunteer committee that includes Linda McNally, who serves as co-patron with Jim Gray, and Bonnie DuPont and Steve Allan, who in 2017 served as co-chairs with Brian Felesky. In 2019, Bonnie continued as chair of the Top 7 Over 70 executive committee. For the 2021 instalment, Kim McConnell takes over this role.
The committee held the first Top 7 Over 70 awards gala in 2017. (For details on the 2023 gala, please click here.)
Any senior who is over 70 — and lives in Calgary or its surrounding communities — is eligible to be nominated. Ideal nominees are those who have started something different or new, or implemented a new venture or idea, after age 70. The focus of the awards isn’t on past accomplishments or lifetime achievements. Rather, individuals should be nominated for new accomplishments. These achievements may be based or built on previous work or commitments, but they should have a “current” flavour or different twist, or perhaps be occurring in a completely new arena.
Nominees’ accomplishments can be occurring in fields such as: health and recreation; arts and culture; science; business; volunteerism; environment; overcoming adversity; and making a difference. To get more information on these categories and on the nomination process, please see the “nominate” tab on the menu of this website’s homepage or click here.
Another goal of the awards is to promote and encourage achievement of others, in addition to the nominees. To that end, the awards raise funds to initiate programming to foster engagement between seniors and younger people. The exchange of ideas, advice, experience and mentoring is key to this venture, called InterGen — a unique talent development program and matching platform. This helps re-energize our economy by partnering transitioning or retiring individuals with young entrepreneurs, thus creating multigenerational teams that can rapidly scale growth. The founders of four young companies have already been matched with experienced Calgarians, producing positive results in areas including networking, board leadership, financing direction and strategic planning.
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Top 7 Over 70 — 2023 Committees
Executive committee: Jim Gray (founder and patron), Monica Zurowski (chair), Bonnie DuPont, Brian Felesky, Steve Allan, Cameron McDonald, Catherine Brownlee, Bev Foy, John Fitzsimmons, Luanne Whitmarsh, Cheryl Hamelin, Emily Hilman, Marcy Krafft, Sandi Gilbert, Linda McNally, Kim McConnell, and Lindsey Galloway.
Top 7 Over 70 Ambassadors: John Fitzsimmons (chair), Ann McCaig, David Chalack, Susan Church, Terry Bullick, My-Linh Walker, Patti Morris, Bob Brawn, Susan Turner, Luanne Whitmarsh, Harwinder Kang, Dale Hodgson, Carolyn Levy, Don Verdonck and Lindsay Blackett.
Top 7 Over 70 Sponsorship Committee: Catherine Brownlee (chair), Brian Felesky, Steve Allan, George Brookman, Pam Draper, Bonnie DuPont, John Fitzsimmons, Sandi Gilbert, Jim Gray, Bilal Hammoud, Emily Hilman, Trish Josephs, Lilian Jourieh, Marcy Kraft, Miriam Mitchell-Banks, Derek Payne, Krista Rabidoux, Cathie Saroka and Salima Shivji.
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Special Thanks for previous galas
The following individuals and organizations have helped make this event a great success in the past:
Al Muirhead and his band
Barbara Surplus
Brent Morrison Creative
Brookfield Asset Management
Christina Ryan Photography
Gavin Young
Jason Kingsley
Karly Beaudry
Kelly Brothers Productions Inc.
Mackenzie DePatie
MobSquad
Olive Kaufman
One West Event Design and Logistics
Proshow Audiovisual
Rozsa Foundation
Wendy Leckie
Special thanks to our major InterGen partners and gala supporters: Dylan Jones, Deputy Minister at Western Economic Diversification, and Jeff Boyd, regional president of RBC.
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COMMUNITY PARTNERS
The Top 7 Over 70 organizers give a special tip of the hat to the many partners in our city who help support our initiative:
Calgary Arts Development
Calgary Association of Lifelong Learners
Calgary Chamber of Commerce
Calgary Economic Development
Calgary Foundation
Calgary Public Library
Calgary Opera
Calgary Seniors’ Resource Society
Centre for Newcomers
City of Calgary
Haskayne School of Business
Heritage Park Historical Village
JA (Junior Achievement) Southern Alberta
Karma & Cents
Studio Bell/National Music Centre
Rotary Clubs of Calgary
University of Calgary
YWCA