Canadian Workplace Wellness Pioneer Award

Leadership, innovation, passion, commitment and courage are all attributes that describe a pioneer, and we are proud to have so many of them in the field of workplace health in Canada!

Canada’s Workplace Wellness Pioneers are committed to a belief that the work world can be a better place, and have contributed greatly to improving the experience of work in Canada.

About the Award

Canadian Workplace Wellness Pioneer Award winners are chosen for their outstanding contribution to the field of organizational health. Since 1997, the Canadian Workplace Wellness Pioneer Awards have recognized professionals from the public and private sectors who have made a difference toward significantly improving the health of the Canadian workplace. The presentation of this award is a highlight of the annual Health Work & Wellness™ Conference.

The Health Work & Wellness™ Conference proudly hosts this award and the nomination and adjudication process is handled by the Canadian Healthy Workplace Council.

Nomination Form 2009

We are now accepting nominations for 2009 Canadian Workplace Wellness Pioneer Award. The deadline to submit a nomination form is February 20, 2009.

2008 Award Recipient

We are pleased to announce the recipient of the 2008 Canadian Workplace Wellness Pioneer Award – Coreen Flemming. The award will be presented to her on Friday, October 17, 2008.

Coreen Flemming

Coreen Flemming
Coordinator, Workplace Wellness and Health Promotion Program
Centennial College

Coreen Flemming is a life-time contributor to the organizational health care and educational sectors. A persevering workplace and community wellness professor and college coordinator, her vision has manifested itself in 20 years of post-graduate instruction in "Workplace Wellness and Health Promotion" at Toronto’s Centennial College.

In 1986, Coreen sat in the audience at the Wellness in Action Conference and listened to Don Ardell, Bill Hettler and Marc Lalonde’s keynote panel, "The History and Future of Wellness" during which, she says, "a light went on." Working with her team at the College, Coreen surveyed the offerings of Canadian colleges and sought to bridge the gap between business administration, leisure/physical education studies, and health studies. The emerging concept was "Workplace Wellness."

The program to which Coreen has dedicated her life has taught countless would-be pioneers the methodology to impact workplace and community health. To many, she has been a beacon in an industry that is oftentimes blurred. Her graduates gain the clarity necessary to go on to exponentially impact our wellness industry.

The scope of Coreen’s influence is grand, yet her demeanour remains forever unassuming - the quintessential wellness profile. Constantly cognizant of the bottom-line and savvy enough to achieve tight fiscal imperatives, she remains the "approachable east-coaster" gently going through her days with time for all, inspiration for most, and balanced modelling for many.

From stroke-survival and hemiplegic recovery, to marathon running and beachcombing, from careful and constant data analysis to defend the need for workplace wellness training, to spiritual signpost – her wheel is well-rounded.