On November 6^th, 2024, Scott Thon was granted anhonourary diploma – the college’s highest honour – during the Fall 2024convocation ceremonies.

Scott’s involvement with the college started in 1994, when he was one of the founding supporters of Bow Valley College’s Premier’s Scholarship Luncheon. Scott’s time and dedicated has helped propel this annual tradition to becoming the college’s most supported and well-attended event that has raised over $2 million and impacted over 300 students since inception.

Additionally, Scott served on the college’s Board of Governors beginning in 2004. From 2007 to 2010 he served a Board Chair, and during this time the college saw increased enrolment and program offerings, as well as completed Phase I of its North Campus expansion and redevelopment project. In 2013, he was awarded the Distinguished Citizen Award from the college, in recognition of his commitment to volunteer his time, expertise, and experience to making the school’s vision of providing world-class educational opportunities for adult learners a reality.

Personally, Scott and his wife, Deb, are also donors, who have provided support towards a number of areas that have had a positive impact on our students. This includes the Deb and Scott Thon Bursary, which supports Bow Valley College students who are also single parents, and balancing their education with the needs of their families with resilience and hard work. Because of their generosity in establishing an endowment, their commitment to funding student awards will be maintained in perpetuity.

Scott has also been instrumental in securing donations to Bow Valley from companies he has been involved with including AltaLink and Berkshire Hathaway Energy and its affiliates.

At the ceremony, Scott shared these words with the graduates.

“I have had the good fortune of working with businesses, governments and non-profit agencies around the world for more than40 years, and in that work, I have been able to bear witness to some exceptional people. While there is a long list of qualities that we could use to describe these exceptional people, there are three common traits that standout for me: team, curiosity and hard work.

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The best people in life care about their teams, are curious and never shy away from doing the work required.”

Over the course of his career, Scott hasheld a variety of senior positions in the energy industry, from operations andengineering to market design and financial management. He has led theinvestment and construction of significant energy infrastructure developmentsin Alberta, Canada and globally. He is currently the President and CEO ofBerkshire Hathaway Energy, where he leads a group of diverse energy businesseslocated in the U.S., Canada and Great Britain, and serves as CorporateDirector.

Scotthas been further recognized for his dedication to community and business withthe Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal (Alberta) in 2022, the LeadersAward by Business in Calgary magazine (2017) and by Calgary Chamber of Commercefor his business and community leadership with the Sherrold Moore Award (2011).