Joan Hollobon is a Life Member of the SWCC (formerly CSWA). She was a member of the NASW before the Canadian Science Writers' Association (CSWA) was founded in 1971, and she served as president of the CSWA in 1974-1975.
I am excited to celebrate the news with you that 4 weeks before her 100th birthday, Joan Hollobon was named an Officer of the Order of Canada on 28 December 2019 in recognition of her contribution to Canada during her career as a medical reporter for The Globe and Mail from 1959-1985.
There are three levels of the Order of Canada - from lowest to highest - Member, Officer, and Companion - and on the strength of her contribution the Committee recommended that Joan should be appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada, one of the highest honors a Canadian can receive.
Joan's appointment as an Officer of the Order of Canada appears on the website of the Governor General of Canada (www.gg.ca), along with a short Citation:
"For her career in journalism focused on increasing the public's understanding of scientific concepts related to health and medical advances".
By Andy F. Visser-deVries
Andy served as Executive Director of The Canadian Science Writers’ Association from 1991-2004. He was first elected to the Board of The Canadian Science Writers’ Association in 2011, serving as Treasurer until 2017. Andy is Managing Editor of Developing World Bioethics, a journal dedicated exclusively to developing countries’ issues that aims to provide case studies, teaching materials, news in brief and peer reviewed original articles. He is sole proprietor of Mistakes Can Happen, a copyediting and proofreading company he established in 2011. Born and raised in northern Ontario, Andy has lived in Saskatoon, Toronto, Kingston and Cobourg. He is a graduate from the University of Saskatchewan and Queen’s University at Kingston with an education in business administration, theology, and world religions. An avid reader and book collector, Andy has a passion for history and family tree research and enjoys Baroque music, theatre, architecture, travel, and gardening.
