TVCOGECO VOLUNTEER PROFILES
EVELYN LAM
Evelyn Lam: Taking on the World
Evelyn Lam, or Mei Chu Lam as she is known in her birth city of Hong Kong, has always had an interest in culture. She was a prolific writer in high school, editorializing on current affairs and social issues. Her work appeared regularly in the student writing section of Ming Pao, a Hong Kong daily. “I was a contest winner with my very first letter. I submitted a story celebrating my dad and what he meant to me as a father. The newspaper liked it and published it.”. Evelyn has a passion for Western Arts and Culture. She borrowed her English name from the famous author John Evelyn, whose diaries cast considerable light on the art, culture and politics of his time. She especially enjoys theatre and a dream of hers is to travel to London, England to see where William Shakespeare lived and tour the site of the recently re-discovered Rose Theatre. A fond memory for Evelyn is when she holidayed on Prince Edward Island and attended a production of Anne of Green Gables the musical.
Wanting to experience Arts and Culture first hand, Evelyn moved to Canada at the age of 21. “My older brother Franco, who was in advertising, came to Canada on a business trip and let me tag along with him”. Although Franco went back to Hong Kong, Evelyn stuck around and completed her high school diploma in Toronto. She then attended the University of Windsor for Engineering. She followed that up with a move to study Chemistry at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. While there, she took up writing again and contributed to the school paper. She wrote a popular series of articles exploring the differences between Eastern and Western cultures.
Evelyn moved to Kingston to continue her education at St. Lawrence College, taking Engineering Technology. She also began pursuing a Sociology degree through correspondence from the University of Saskatchewan. Her continued interest in Culture led her to want to learn more about broadcasting and she began volunteering at TVCOGECO in 2006. She started as a cameraperson on The Lounge, a weekly variety program featuring Anthony Mann, and stayed with the show until it’s final season. Evelyn has broadened her skill sets and now works on a variety of programming both in the studio and on location.
Evelyn has enjoyed her experiences in small town Canada but is eager to one day move to a bigger city. “Somewhere where the social scene is bigger, more alive! A bustling city more like my hometown of Hong Kong.” For now, she’ll remain in Kingston with her two Canadian born boys and finish off her schooling. “My children come first!”. Her future plans? “I would like to combine my love for industrial engineering and sociology and do something important in this world, I’m just not sure what that is yet.”
Evelyn Lam: Ready for Action
RICHARD KERR
Richard Kerr: Performer at Heart
Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland to a chef mother and a tradesman father, Richard Kerr came to Kingston at the age of 16. He developed a passion for theatre and acting when he was cast in Sleeping Beauty at 13 years old. A prolific Domino Theatre career began in the early ‘80s and Richard won best supporting actor for his role in One Flew over the Cuckoo’s nest.
Richard’s interest in Radio and TV began in 1984 when he enrolled in the Broadcast Journalism course at Loyalist College in Belleville and, after graduation, interned at CKWS Radio in Kingston as a writer and producer. He also added community television to his roster, volunteering at Cablenet 13 with producer Dawn Wallace on Seniorscope.
A year later, eager for a job in his field, Richard hopped in his VW Rabbit and took a job as a commercial writer at CJSJ Radio in Saint John, New Brunswick. “My car broke down twice on the way there, the 2nd time just around the corner from the station!” Richard exclaims. He then moved on to write ads for Auto Trader magazine in Fredericton. “I wrote stuff like ‘tenderly owned and operated, but needs to move on to a good home’, that kind of thing”.
While pursuing his career out east, Richard’s father was diagnosed with cancer and shortly thereafter suffered a heart attack. Even though Richard found Maritimers to be the friendliest people around, he wanted to be closer to his ailing father and followed his heart back to Kingston after just 2 years out east. His father would pass away 4 months later.
Richard jumped right back into TV and theatre, taking a role in the Kinsmen production of Evita as well as onstage and backstage positions with Domino Theatre and the Kingston Miestersingers. He also returned to TVCOGECO and began a busy volunteer career on sports productions, most notably Scarpazza Homes Soccer and Ponies Baseball. He even won himself a stint as host on both Seniorscope and Plugged In!
The acting bug bit Richard hard and he moved to Toronto in 2001. He got an agent, and worked as an extra on over 7 feature film. He also held down jobs at both Canada’s Wonderland and The Skydome.
After 2 years in the big smoke, his mother fell ill, and Richard, feeling homesick yet again, came back to Kingston to become her primary caregiver. “Kingston always claims it’s own”, he says.
Once again, Richard re-entered the TVCOGECO fold and dove back into theatre, starring on the Domino stage in 2004’s Road to Bountiful.
Richard’s memorable TVCOGECO moment: “The station did a Remembrance Day special back in 2003. The program was shot at Cataraqui Cemetery, where my Dad is buried. There’s a shot in the show, that features my Dad’s grave marker, and I know he would have been honored to be part of this important and moving program, as he was a war veteran himself”.
Richard remains an integral member of the TVCOGECO team and is a key player in ‘The OHL Tonight’ broadcasts. He was the lucky winner of a mini-DV camcorder in our annual volunteer appreciation giveaway contest. Congrats Richard!
Richard Kerr and Programming Manager Scott Meyers
