2008 Winner – Thomas Van Zuiden

FEI Canada is pleased to honour Thomas Van Zuiden of the Hamilton Chapter as the recipient of the 2008 Frank S. Capon Distinguished Service Award.

Mr. Van Zuiden has been an active member of FEI Canada since 1965. He was a Clarkson Gordon CA in 1948, being awarded the FCA in 1979. In the mid-1970s, he was Chairman of the Hamilton-Dundas Branch of the Victorian Order of Nurses and in 1980, Chairperson of the Hamilton District Chamber of Commerce. In 1952 he joined Dofasco and rose to the position of CFO, which he held at his retirement in 1991.

Since retirement, he has been active in ProBus, a Hamilton business organization for retired Professionals, serving as President in 2003/04. He has been active in fundraising activities with the Hamilton YWCA and was Chairman of the McMaster University Hospital Board of Trustees. Mr. Van Zuiden has been a leader among leaders in his community.

Over the course of his 43 years of membership in FEI Canada, Mr. Van Zuiden has contributed to and been instrumental in many areas of the organization.

He was a member of the National Executive during the 1970s and he was one of the founding members instrumental in the move toward establishing a separate administration structure in Canada.

He is a past chair of FEI Canada and one of the few Canadians to ever be the Chair of a North East Area Conference of FEI in 1974/75.

Mr. Van Zuiden served as a member of FEI Canada's Committee on Corporate Reporting (CCR) and of the Steering Committee of FEIsters.

In 1991, FEI U.S. recognized Mr. Van Zuiden with the Distinguished Service Award for his work in building the FEI franchise in Canada. He served as the Auditor of the Hamilton Chapter from 1998 until 2003.

His knowledge of the Canadian Business community and his personal network of friends and associates built over long years of dedication to Canadian industry in an exciting period of Canada's growth have made Mr. Van Zuiden a role model for FEI Canada leadership.