Another award for Heathwood Homes

Today, Heathwood Homes was honoured for its commitment to building healthy, energy-efficient homes by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

Heathwood, led by the extraordinary Hugh Heron, has demonstrated this commitment by incorporating efficiency and sustainability as standard features in their homes, CMHC said in a press release. The development of the Green Home, a house with advanced energy- and water-saving features and a monitoring system that measures the home’s energy performance is another of Heathwood's initiatives.

Hugh Heron is also the co-founder of the Mikey Network, which creates public awareness, eduction about heart-healthy lifestyles, and places portable defibrillators in public locations. So far, the Mikeys are credited with saving 15 lives.

Photo of Hugh Heron by Pawel Dwulit/Toronto Star

 

 

Happy birthday Archie Alleyne

What do Billie Holiday, Stan Getz, Mel Torme, Chet Baker and Coleman Hawkins have in common? Answer: legendary drummer Archie Alleyne was often their sideman during their visits to Toronto.

Alleyne, who turned 80 on Jan. 7, will celebrate his birthday with a tribute concert at the new Regent Park Paintbox Bistro on Jan. 19, kicking off their new “Season of Entertainment,” sponsored by the Daniels Corp.

Alleyne will take the stage at 8 p.m., alongside Stacie McGregor on piano and Artie Roth on bass. The event will also feature Alexander Brown Cabrera on trumpet and special guest vocalist Jackie Richardson.

Alleyne career started in the early 1950s and he became a familiar sight as the resident drummer at the Town Tavern from 1955 to 1966. During the same time, he was a regular studio musician, and a featured sideman, touring with Marion McPartland and Teddy Wilson.

But after car accident in 1967, Alleyne settled into the restaurant business, partnering in the popular Underground Railroad. But all that jazz called him back to the stage and he went back on the road with saxophonist Jim Galloway and as a sideman with pianist Oliver Jones, according to the Canadian Jazz Archives.

In 2000, he helped form Kollage, a jazz sextet that is now one of the busiest bands in Canada.

Alleyne has been recognized with a Toronto Arts Award, an Order of Canada 2011 and a dazzling collection of industry accolades including a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Urban Music Association of Canada, numerous Drummer of the Year nominations from the National Jazz Awards and an African Canadian Lifetime Achievement Award from Pride, Canada’s leading African Canadian and Caribbean magazine. Alleyne keeps his long-standing Archie Alleyne Mentorship Program, the Evolution of Jazz Productions active in schools.

The Paintbox Bistro is at 555 Dundas St. E. Reservations for the Jan. 19 concert can be made by calling 647-748-0555. A three-course dinner package, including the performance, is available for $40 and the performance only is $15.

 

(photo by Colin McConnell/Toronto Star)

 

 

 

 

 

A gift worth celebrating

Carter Hansen has a lot to be thankful for … including the Mikey defibrillator that recently saved the 2-year-old’s life.

The defibrillator, provided through the Mikey’s Kids program, was on standby at the Hansen family’s Nobleton home after the youngster was diagnosed with a benign heart tumour. In early December, Carter went into arrhythmia and his parents, Craig and Jennifer, used the Mikey to save their son.

In May, 2012, Carter went cardiac arrest due to the previously undiagnosed tumor. “The paramedics got a rhythm back after 27 minutes, but the resulting significant brain injury kept us at SickKids and Holland Bloorview Children’s Rehab Hospital for 6 months,” Craig said, “and we’re still fighting to regain as much of our son’s co-ordination, vision and speech as we can.

“We went home a month ago with an AED from the Mikey Network, knowing that any further arrest would be incredibly critical. Neurologists told us that by the time EMS arrived, it would be too late. Our only chance was the defibrillator.”

Carter went into arrhythmia again on Dec. 4 and his parents immediately started CPR. “Because of the training supplied by the Mikey Network, we had his shirt off and the pads on him well ahead of the voice prompts from the AED, which analyzed and advised a shock, which we delivered. The change in our son was immediate,” Craig recalls. “He started breathing on his own again. We observed him and kept the AED on him until EMS arrived.”

The Mikey Network, founded in 2003, works to create public awareness and provide education about heart-healthy lifestyles. To date, 15 lives have been saved, over 1,300 Mikey defibrillators have been placed across Canada and 11,000 people have been trained in CPR/AED.

The Mikey Network was named for Mike Salem, a valued partner at Heathwood Homes and The Heron Group, who experienced sudden cardiac arrest and died on a golf course in 2002.

His good friend, Hugh Heron, president of Heatwood Homes, founded the Mikey Network in Salem’s honour.

 “When a child has a serious cardiac problem, the family lives in constant fear, knowing the heart can skip a beat at any moment,” said Heron. “The Mikey’s Kids program provides families with portable Mikeys so these children can lead more normal lives.”

“You guys gave us another chance with our son. Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Craig said.