At the recommendation of Demetrios Nicolaides, the minister of advanced education, Alberta’s lieutenant governor approved early this week two recent appointments to the board of governors for Grande Prairie Regional College.
- Shawna Miller
- Kevin Szakacs
Shawna Miller owns several Subway chains with her spouse Jason through their company Smithco Enterprises Ltd. The company also operates an oilfield services division called Virtus Services Ltd. and a property management division called Westward Property Management.
Miller was appointed to the Workers’ Compensation Board of Alberta by the UCP government earlier this year for a 3-year term as a representative of the interests of employers. She has also been a board member for the Alberta Chambers of Commerce since 2015 (currently chair), previously sat for 8 years on the Grande Prairie Chamber board (including time on the executive and as chair), and currently sits on the Canadian Chamber of Commerce board of directors.
Miller donated $1,000.00 to the PC party in 2014 and $450.00 to her local PC constituency association in 2016. Her spouse, Jason, donated $1,000.00 to the PC party in 2015, as well as $1,000.00 to Doug Schweitzer’s UCP leadership campaign in 2017.
Kevin Szakacs is the owner of Hi-Tech Business Systems, a technology support company, as well as the president of Signature Land Corp, a land development company.
In 2008, Szakacs and his spouse, Wendy, each donated $500.00 to PC candidate Mel Knight’s election campaign. Last year, he donated $1,000.00 to Alberta Proud, a right-wing political action committee.
Szakacs’ company Hi-tech Business Systems donated $900.oo to Gordon Graydon’s 2004 PC election campaign and $800.00 the Cibylla Rakestraw’s Liberal campaign in the same year. In 2008, the company donated $1,000.00 to Wayne Drysdale’s PC election campaign. In 2012, it donated $1,000 to Drysdale’s election campaign, and nearly $2,000.00 to Everett McDonald’s PC election campaign. In 2015, the company gave $500.00 to Laila Goodridge’s Wildrose election campaign.
