Launch Corporate TV helps guide Mississauga to the 2007 World Leadership Awards
December 07, 2007
Toronto, Ontario – December 7, 2007 – The City of Mississauga and Lifesaving Society Ontario presented the Swim to Survive Program as part of the 2007 World Leadership Awards this week in London, England. The World Leadership Awards celebrate the very best in modern city leadership to cities that have shown exceptional imagination, foresight or resilience in a number of key fields.

When the City of Mississauga learned they had been nominated for their ‘Swim to Survive’ program they called upon Launch Corporate TV for video production and presentation guidance.

Swim to Survive was born out of World Champion figure skater Barbara Underhill’s personal tragedy of losing a young daughter, Stephanie, to drowning. By partnering with The Ontario Lifesaving Society and the City of Mississauga, the program was embraced by Mayor Hazel McCallion, tested and rolled out across Mississauga in 2004/2005. This unique program offers a simple 3-step program that is delivered at local pools during school time.

For the video, which launched the presentation in London, Producer/Director Glenn Forbes of Launch Corporate TV decided a rich High-Definition look would be needed. The video begins with an emotional interview with Barbara Underhill concerning the loss of her daughter. Lifesaving Society and Parks and Recreation representatives flesh out the Swim to Survive story. Finally Mayor Hazel McCallion spoke to the involvement of the City of Mississauga.

"We were delighted to once more be able to share with the world an example of what makes our community great and in particular this wonderful program which the rest of the world can now learn from," said Mayor Hazel McCallion.

“It was truly a pleasure working with City of Mississauga staff, Lifesaving Society staff, Barbara Underhill, and Mayor McCallion on this very important project,” Forbes said. “The heartbreaking nature of Barbara’s story was challenging in that it had to be told with respect and dignity. Yet, on the other hand, I was charged with making this video a pitching tool to be presented before a panel of judges from Britain’s education sector. So, the balancing of emotional content with the factual information and the successes was always top-of-mind as we were crafting the flow of the program.” Forbes also served as consultant on live the presentation strategy…offering insight on content and flow issues.

Barbara Underhill’s sporting celebrity affords her the opportunity to serve as an ambassador for ‘Swim to Survive’. Her travels require that she revisit her personal tragedy over and over, in the hopes of preventing water-related deaths, not just in Canada, but around the world. “I am always nervous to see how others portray our story, as it is so personal, but Glenn at Launch Corporate TV captured it perfectly,” Barbara Underhill commented.

Mississauga was short-listed among 400 cities around the world that were asked to submit projects in a wide range of disciplines; the winner of the competition was Lima, Peru in the Education and Development of the Young category.

Forbes said, “There is a lot of raw emotion in this story. There is also so much hope that you walk away feeling great about it. We were delighted to have assisted the City of Mississauga with their presentation for this very prestigious international award.”

Launch Corporate TV has created over 600 non-broadcast projects for such heavyweight clients as Canadian Tire, CIBC, AstraZeneca, Celestica, Sears, Holt Renfrew, LCBO, The City of Mississauga, and many more. They operate out of their mid-town offices near Yonge and Eglinton in Toronto.

For more information about ‘Swim to Survive’ and to view the video:

http://www.mississauga.ca/portal/residents/swimtosurvive

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Launch Corporate TV guides the City of Mississauga to the 2007 World Leadership Awards


 
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