Vi Bjarnason-Hilton

Phone Volunteer

Music has always been a part of my life and a pleasant morning walk in Assiniboine Park brought me to a radio station broadcasting from the Lyric Theatre (one of Izzy Asper's projects). Izzy was born in my home town of Minnedosa, and I went to many Saturday matinee movies at his father's theatre, The Lyric, where Izzy would take our tickets.

Woman of Distinction Award Winner Vi Bjarnason-Hilton was honoured in April, 2010, as the recipient of the YMCA-YWCA Women of Distinction Award for Community Voluntarism. At the award presentation, her impressive credentials for receiving the Award were outlined. She is a leader in both the Icelandic and broader communities where she has helped raise funds for many organizations, including the Canadian Cancer Society and Heart and Stroke Foundation. Hilton also helped raise $1.5 million to keep the Icelandic newspaper Lögberg-Heimskringla going. In addition to CJNU, she volunteers for the Manitoba Art Show, Manitoba Freeze Frame Film Festival and as a Gold Wing Ambassador greeting travellers at the Winnipeg airport. She's part of Icelandic Canadian Frón, an organization that strengthens Icelanders' commitment and accountability to each other and their community. At 70, she posed for the 2006 Beauty is Timeless calendar which raised $43,000 for the St. James Senior Centre.

I began with CKVN in 1999 and have been through all call letters since then (CHNR, CJML, CJNU).

A teacher by profession, I have four children (all in Winnipeg), eight grandchildren (two sets of twins) and two great-grandchildren. I attended United College and Brandon College, taught school and had the opportunity to be a stay-at-home Mom for 15 years. I was advertising manager for Voxali (C.F.B. Winnipeg newspaper) for four years, taught Driver Education in St. James Assiniboia School Division for eight years, and for three years was a partner in Saga Tours, a travel agency organizing mainly trips to Iceland (I’ve been there seven times and have many relatives there).

I took adult business education and worked at Buffalo Credit Union for five years, retiring at age 60 (too early).

Retirement has been the greatest - gardening, antique collecting, studying Icelandic, on the Board of Directors of Logberg-Heimskringla Icelandic newspaper as marketing and promotions manager, a Gold Wing Ambassador with Winnipeg Airport Authority, and a Red Hatter St. James Rhinestones.

I'm enjoying retirement to the fullest as an active septuagenarian. The fun, laughter and camaraderie are the crème de la crème in retirement.