For Evan Hazell, Sc’81, a fulfilling life is more than just having a successful career.
“I have been very fortunate to have worked with and been inspired by some great business leaders. The balance of business and community effort is what I truly admire,” he says.
A lifetime of working with inspirational people is one of the many reasons Mr. Hazell has juggled his job as an investment banker with giving back to Queen’s University and many charities and non-profits in Calgary for the past 30 years.
His passion for community service and philanthropy is the reason he is this year’s recipient of the Calgary Branch Johnson Award, the highest honour bestowed by the Calgary Branch of the Queen’s University Alumni Association (QUAA).
Mr. Hazell, who recently retired, began his career as a Calgary-based Petroleum Engineer before transitioning into an investment banker (specializing in the oil and gas industry) with major financial institutions such as HSBC Global Banking and RBC Capital Markets.
“Evan has had a positive impact on both the Calgary and Queen’s communities. He embodies the Queen’s spirit and I am proud he is a member of the Queen’s alumni family. The Calgary branch looks forward to celebrating his achievements and giving him the proper recognition he deserves,” says Calgary Branch president Nick Godwin, Artsci’11.
Mr. Hazell has been a longtime supporter of Queen’s. In 2012, he established the Hazell Endowment in Chemical Design and Innovation in honour of his parents, John Hazell, Arts’55, MA’56, and Mary Hazell (nee Gibbs), NSc’56. The donation helps fund a research professorship. It also brings experts to Queen’s and sends Queen’s experts abroad. Mr. Hazell also served on the Queen’s Engineering cabinet during the Initiative Campaign.
“I was very fortunate to be able to attend a great university built by the generations before me. I want to make sure that future attendees of Queen's have every opportunity – and more – than I did,” said Mr. Hazell.
Mr. Hazell volunteered for 12 years on the board of Calgary Opera (including several years as Board Chair). He has also served on the boards of other non-profits, including the Calgary YMCA and the Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology.
The Johnson Award was first handed out in 2001. Past recipients include Kim Sturgess, Sc’77, LLD’16, Joseph Lougheed, Artsci’88, Mike Rose, Artsci’79, and Susan Riddell-Rose, Sc’86.
Tickets to the Johnson Award reception are now available online. The event takes place in the ENMAX Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo. The food will be prepared by Krish Nair who was a winning chef in 2016 on the reality cooking show Chopped Canada.
