Milton Canadian Champion | Thursday, February 1, 2018 | » LIVE WHERE YOU BELONG! ~~ 6 EXCLUSIVE COUNTRY LOTS AVAILABLE IN PUSLINCH & ERIN | ce RE DON'T COMPROMISE. DISCOVER MORE. CHARLESTONHOMES.CA 519-823-1900 VISIT OUR MODEL AT 27 OLD RUBY LANE, ABERFOYLE insidehalton.com MER rs 14 Sgt Johanie Maheu Bert Washmund receives his Order of Canada medal from Governor General of Canada Julie Payette. Miltonian receives Order of Canada STEVE LEBLANC sleblanc@milton canadianchampion.com A longtime Miltonian who made a global impact in the mining and metal- lurgical industry has joined the Order. of Cana- da fraternity. Bert Wasmund -- who helped take Hatch Ltd. from a small company to a worldwide leader in the field -- received his medal alongside 47 other recipi- ents at Ottawa's Rideau Hall Wednesday, Jan. 24. "It's a very humbling experience," he told the Champion. 3 "Ididn't know too many of the other recipients, but you realize that you're just one frog in a large pond." Raised on a farm near Bancroft and beginning his education in a one- room public-school, Was mund would earn his bachelor's and master's degrees in chemical engi neering at Queen's Uni- versity before obtaining his PhD from the Univer- sity of Toronto in 1966. He'd then join Hatch Ltd. and -- under thé tute- lage of founder and fellow Order of Canada recipient Gerry Hatch quickly began building a reputa- tion as an innovator and « problem-solver. Wasmund's proudest accomplishment was the design of cooling systems used for the protection of the walls of smelting fur- naces, which put Hatch Ltd. in demand with com- panies the world over. Numerous metal oper- ations across Canada have Wasmund to thank for im- provements in their pro- ductivity, cost effec- tiveness and energy effi- ciency. Of course the newly- appointed Order of Cana- da recipient is quick to point out that the success enjoyed over his 51-year career was truly a team ef- fort. "Gerry Hatch was a great mentor. "TIT had good mentors, good fellow workers and good protéeges. It worked 'It's a very humbling experience.' Washmund on Order of Canada out well." Giving back to the edu- cational institutions that set him on a path of suc- cess, Wasmund has served on the advisory board for Queen's University ap- plied science and U of T's department of chemical engineering. Furthermore, he's pro- vided support to research initiatives and helped cre- ate scholarships for stu- dents at both universities. Among the other prestigious awards he's received are the Ontario Professional Engineers' Gold Medal in 2012 and induction in- to the Cana- ~dian Mining Hall of Fame in 2011. His inclusion into the - Dr. Bert ~ Order of Canada comes in a 2018 class with comedic icon Mike Myers and standouts in the fields of medicine, law, literacy, music and sports among others. "It (award) feels good. ['m honoured by it."