A.N. MYER 60TH Reunion

Twelve students receive 2024 MacBain Niagara Falls Scholarships
Each recipient will each receive up to $44,000 to pursue post-secondary studies.

By Ray Spiteri Reporter
of the Niagara Falls Review
Thursday, May 23, 2024

Twelve Niagara Falls students will each receive up to $44,000 to pursue post-secondary studies at their institution of choice this fall thanks to McCall MacBain Foundation.
This is the seventh and largest cohort to receive MacBain Niagara Falls Scholarships founded by John MacBain and Marcy McCall MacBain to support young students from MacBain’s hometown.
Scholarships are awarded to applicants with “exceptional character, active involvement in community service, and leadership potential,” said a press release announcing this year’s recipients.
In addition to the full scholarships, seven finalists will be supported with a one-time $2,500 award.
This year’s scholarship recipients are Shahad Abdul-Aziz (A.N. Myer Secondary School); Kaytlan Bujilov (Westlane Secondary School); Francesca Cavezza (Saint Michael Catholic High School); Michael Iancov (A.N. Myer); Michaiah Ivri (A.N. Myer); Charlotte Johnstone (Saint Paul Catholic Secondary School); Megan Kennedy (Saint Michael); Lily Lococo (Saint Michael); Arielle Longo (A.N. Myer); Davin MacKenzie (Saint Michael); Domenic Talarico (A.N. Myer); and Sarah West (Stamford Collegiate).
“Every year, I am inspired by the values, service, and leadership shown by young people from my hometown,” said MacBain in the release.
“Marcy and I couldn’t be prouder to support this next generation of change-makers from Niagara Falls. I am confident that each of them will continue to leave a lasting impact on local and global communities now and in the future.”
MacBain graduated from A.N. Myer and would go on to amass a fortune with Canada’s Auto Trader magazines, which he sold — along with other publications — in 2006.
The following year, he and his wife, Marcy McCall, established McCall MacBain Foundation to support initiatives in education and scholarships, climate change and the environment and health and wellness.
For his achievements as a business leader and for his contributions to academic institutions as a philanthropist, MacBain was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2016.
In an emailed statement, Ann Gilmore, superintendent of curriculum and student achievement with District School Board of Niagara, said the scholarship “recognizes the dedication, potential and limitless opportunities that await our students.
“The District School Board of Niagara is incredibly proud to have students from all three eligible DSBN Niagara Falls secondary schools — A.N. Myer, Stamford Collegiate and Westlane — named as recipients,” she said.
“We are also thankful to the McCall MacBain Foundation for investing in the future of our students, empowering them to pursue post-secondary education and achieve their dreams.”
In an emailed statement, Niagara Catholic education director Camillo Cipriano said the board is also “proud” to hear five of its students will receive scholarships.
“These very generous scholarships will make an enormous difference in the lives of Francesca, Megan, Lilly, Davin and Charlotte, who will be free to pursue their post-secondary educations with fewer concerns about the financial burden,” he said.
“This recognition is a testament to their hard work and commitment to their schools and community, and I’m confident that their principals are both very proud of them.”
This year’s scholarship recipients will attend universities and colleges across Canada to pursue degree and diploma programs in various subjects, including art history, wildlife conservation, social work, medical sciences, architecture, mechanical engineering and sustainability.
Aligning with the scholarship’s ethos, the recipients “demonstrate a deep commitment to improving their communities in a wide range of ways,” said the release.
They include students who have coached school and community sports, developed their own video game, founded a digital arts magazine, led inclusion initiatives and community-building events at school, volunteered to serve local charities and families, trained with the Canadian Armed Forces and have been youth leaders with Niagara District School Board.
Scholarship recipients were selected through a “comprehensive” process that included a written application, school nomination and in-person interviews, said the release.
Since its launch in 2018, the MacBain Niagara Falls Scholarship has supported more than 40 students from Niagara Falls to pursue post-secondary education.
Applications for the 2025 cycle open Sept. 17.
For more information, visit https://www.mccallmacbain.org/macbain.

A transformative opportunity for A.N. Myer students

Five former students have attended Neuchâtel Junior College, a Canadian independent school Switzerland, through the Franca and Arthur Moss Scholarship, made possible through support of the McCall MacBain Foundation.
By Alison Langley Reporter
Monday, February 5, 2024


Art and Franca Moss stand outside of A.N. Myer Secondary School in Niagara Falls. The retired educators run a scholarship that sends one of the school's students to Switzerland to study for a year.
Julie Jocsak St. Catharines Standard

When Franca and Art Moss both taught John MacBain at A.N. Myer Secondary School in the 1970s they were impressed by the drive of the young Niagara Falls man.
“John was quite the powerhouse,” Franca recalled.
“He was an engaging student, tremendously academic, but with a fun spirit and energy.”
About the same time, Franca and Art were also involved in organizing educational trips to Europe for Niagara students.
“The value of the empowerment of travel and learning ideas from other countries was very clear to us,” Franca said.
The idea of overseas study was suggested to MacBain, but he opted to stay at Myer where he became student council president in his final year.
He would go on to amass a fortune with Canada’s Auto Trader magazines, which he sold — along with other publications — in 2006.
The following year, he and his wife Marcy McCall established the McCall MacBain Foundation to support initiatives in education and scholarships, climate change and the environment, and health and wellness.
Flash forward a few decades and the Mosses were members of the Canadian advisory committee at Neuchâtel Junior College, a private Canadian school Switzerland.
Founded in 1956, the school provides an international education experience to Canadian students in their final year of high school.
In the 11th-century French-speaking city of Neuchâtel, students live with host families and earn Ontario Grade 12 curriculum credits.
“The students are really immersed in the culture and the environment,” Art said.
The school often invites expats to address the student body.
Franca thought MacBain would be a perfect keynote speaker for the 2009 graduating class. At that time, the philanthropist lived not far from the school.
MacBain agreed and it was during a subsequent visit to their home near Geneva that the Franca and Arthur Moss Scholarship was born.
The McCall MacBain Foundation would fund the scholarship, and the Mosses would manage it and select the recipients.
Applicants must be in Grade 11 at Myer, and recipients are selected on the basis of academic performance, character, interests, talents and potential.
The scholarship has now sent five students to the college, including Lauren George in 2017.
Now 24, she is in her final year of law school at University of Toronto.
She described her experience at NJC as “nothing short of transformative.”
“It was a year that not only expanded my academic horizons but also allowed me to develop a global perspective and a greater sense of myself,” she said.
“The experience broadened my world view and instilled in me a sense of global citizenship that has helped shape the trajectory of my life.”
George encouraged Myer students to apply for the scholarship.
“NJC is more than an academic year abroad; it's a chance to set the foundation for any future to which you aspire.”
She said she is forever grateful to the Mosses and the McCall MacBain family for their commitment to education and philanthropy.
“Their investments in young people and belief in the power of scholarships have positively impacted countless communities and individual lives, including mine.”
Another recipient, Sabrina Grady, was valedictorian for the Class of 2020.
The 21-year-old recently finished the final semester of her undergrad studies at University of Ottawa with an honours bachelor of political science.
She’s now working on a political research project and will soon travel to rural Brazil for a monthlong field research course.
She plans to pursue a master’s degree and then a doctorate.
“My experience at NJC was life-changing, to say the least,” she said.
“The skills I learned by being explorative, independent, and curious during my time at Neuchâtel have carried me through my university years and will support me long into the future.”
She also encouraged prospective applicants to take a step outside of their comfort zone.
“If you don’t take a leap of faith and try something new, you will never know the true extent of what you are capable of,” she said.
“You are stronger than you think … let yourself prove it.”
The Mosses are looking forward to receiving a new batch of applicants this month and will start the process to select a sixth scholarship recipient to attend the school this fall.

Alison Langley for The Niagara Falls Review

Major post-secondary scholarships awarded to 11 Niagara Falls students
Recipients underwent extensive interviews to gauge their academic achievements, leadership and community involvement

By Paul Forsyth Niagara This Week - Niagara Falls
Thursday, August 24, 2023

He grew up a local kid who went on to fame and fortune, but John MacBain never forgot his roots in Niagara Falls and how landing a scholarship was a game changer that allowed him to achieve things most people only dream about.
So years after he became wealthy and successful, MacBain continues to help high-achieving students in the city who go above and beyond to enhance life in their city to pursue their post-secondary dreams.
While many University graduates struggle under what can be crushing student debt, a group of high school graduates in the city will be able to head off to post-secondary education without the constant financial worry that can come with that.
For the sixth year in a row, the McCall MacBain Foundation will provide 11 local students with scholarships worth up to $44,000 apiece over four years to pursue their post-secondary studies starting this fall.
Traditionally, those scholarships were reserved for students heading to university. This year, it was expanded to include college studies.
This year’s recipients are:
• Mackenzie Agretto from Saint Paul Catholic High School who will study social sciences at McMaster University;
• Isabella Berardi of A.N. Myer Secondary School who will study accounting at Brock University.
• Hannah Bet of A.N. Myer who will study biomedical sciences at McGill University.
• Kate Biamonte of A.N. Myer who will study communications at the University of Ottawa.
• Stephany Chen of Westlane Secondary School who will study creative industries at Toronto Metropolitan University.
• Lilly Dallman of Saint Michael Catholic High School who will study practical nursing at St. Clair College.
• Jordan Howcroft of Saint Michael who will study concurrent education and physics at Brock University.
• Nasra Ibrahim of Stamford Collegiate who will study computer programming and analysis at Niagara College.
• Maddox Libera of Stamford Collegiate who will study landscape architecture at the University of Guelph.
• Tiya Patel of Stamford Collegiate will study health or medical sciences.
• Cole Pybus of A.N. Myer who will study applied science in engineering at the University of British Columbia.
The foundation, founded in 2017 by John and Marcy McCall MacBain, announced on Aug. 21 that in addition to the 11 full scholarship recipients, eight local students were also chosen for finalist awards of $2,500 each for their studies.
The scholarship recipients had to undergo extensive interviews in which they were not only judged on academic prowess, but their pursuits in the service of others and across a spectrum of leadership roles, the foundation said.
MacBain credits a scholarship he received for his education at McGill University — where he studied economics, graduated with an honours bachelor of arts degree in 1980 and was valedictorian — for playing a big part in his success.
After McGill, he obtained a law degree from the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, received an MBA from the Harvard Business School and earned a fortune in the business world with ventures that included running most of the Auto Trader magazines in Canada.
After selling off various publications for billions of dollars, he and Marcy turned their attention to philanthropy to help charities around the world.
“Having grown up in Niagara Falls, it always brings me joy to support young people from my hometown,” MacBain said in a news release. “I received scholarship support as a young person and know what a difference it can have in someone’s life.”
He said he hopes the scholarships light a fire under other high school students in the city to strive for excellence at school, pursue leadership opportunities and make positive contributions at school and in their community.
“I hope this program will encourage recipients to dream big and to continue giving back to the Niagara Falls community and the world at large,” he said.
The foundation will open up applications for the 2024 MacBain Niagara Falls scholarships on Sept. 19. For more information, visit http://www.mccallmacbain.org/macbain/.
Paul Forsyth is a veteran of more than 30 years of community journalism who covers a wide range of issues in Niagara Falls and other parts of south Niagara, as well as topics of regional significance in Niagara.

In honour of Harry Reid and the tradition of his Annual Christmas Party a gathering is planned for the evening of Friday November 18 at the Queen’s Coach, 2845 St. Paul Ave. in Niagara Falls. Usually held at the Belleview which is no longer in business, the Queen’s is the next best choice, also a favourite place of Harry’s and well known to anyone who attended A. N. Myer.
This yearly get together was so important to Harry and friendship was everything to him.
Tell everyone you know to meet at the Queens on the third Friday of this November and raise a glass in his memory. Bring your best Harry story.
As the medical community still strongly recommends masking and social distancing, but the government and businesses have basically given up the ghost, please be tolerant of those who chose to mask.

SUPPORT SYLVIA SOMERVILLE!!!

Support My 300 km Ride to Fight Kids' Cancer! Sylvia Somerville is riding in the Great Cycle Challenge. Please sponsor Sylvia now to end childhood cancer and save little lives. View Sylvia's fundraising page!

GNCC COVID-19 vaccination passport survey results - Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce For two days, the GNCC ran a two-question survey which asked whether the respondent favoured a vaccine passport, and what... more »