Awards

Althea Dyce


(Left to right) Korey Miller & Althea Dyce MicroSkills is proud to name Althea Dyce and Korey Miller co-recipients of the first ever Spider Jones Youth Leadership Award.

In honoring Althea and Korey with this award, MicroSkills is recognizing the hard work, exceptional teamwork, optimism, and determination that they have demonstrated on their journey as friends and partners to launch their new business. Bizonia.com is an advertising and promotional company that gives businesses a competitive advantage through a well-developed search engine.

As inaugural recipients of the Youth Award, Althea and Korey personify the award's intention. Both of these young people have faced personal challenges and experienced conflict with the law, but both also had a desire to improve their lives. Independently, they arrived at Microskills' Youth Centre where they learned business skills and received mentoring. Now good friends, they met while participating in the Centre's Youth Employment and Local Leadership Program (Y.E.L.L.) "When I first came to MicroSkills," says Althea, "it forced me to think about my future. For young people, the financial rewards of crime are tempting, and crime certainly makes money - but it doesn't pay."

During their time in the Y.E.L.L. program, Althea and Korey learned time management skills, developed a strong work ethic, and recognized the importance of persistence and intellectual integrity. Their work produced high-quality results time after time, and it wasn't long before peers were seeking their advice and support. When they realized they shared the same dream of starting a business, Althea and Korey pooled their ideas and energy to establish Bizonia.com, an online search engine for small businesses. It was a major undertaking that took much thought and more effort, but never once did they think about giving up.

Althea and Korey have been selected to receive the Spider Jones Youth Leadership Award for their outstanding contributions during the Y.E.L.L. program funded by the City of Toronto. As role models for the award recipients to follow, together they have established a high benchmark. Congratulations, Althea and Korey!