CEMA Chair Madeline Ziniak was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Russian Canadian Business Association’s annual gala on Jan. 12, 2008. Member Valery Tokmakov received the Community Achievement Award.
The lavish evening, which featured a gourmet dinner, Russian entertainment including opera singers, dancers and instrumentalists and an ocean of greyGoose vodka, honoured seven prominent members of the community. All present were lavish in their praise of RCBA president Maia Masgter for her brilliant staging of the evening.
This was the latest in a large number of awards and honours for Madeline, which include the Order of Ontario and the 2004 Broadcaster of the Year Award from the Ontario Association of Broadcasters. Her entire career has been spent in the broadcast industry and includes a stint as Vice-Chair of the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (Ontario Region) and former co-Chair of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ Task Force on Diversity.
Valery Tokmakov, producer of the popular OMNI-TV program Russian Waves, was unable to be present because he was detained in Moscow on account of a serious health condition. His wife Natalia Nikitina accepted the award for his many achivements including the promotion of interfaith understanding. He is also a talented artist, having taught animation technique at Sheridan College.
