Our guest speaker today was Abigail Bimman from CTV who was introduced by President Dave.
From breaking news to investigative work to feature stores, Abigail shoots, writes and produces reports on what matters to viewers across Southwestern Ontario.
Abigail was the first CTV Kitchener reporter to win a Canadian Association of Journalists Investigative Award, and she has done so twice; for her coverage of an unregistered nurse, employed in a nursing home which led to police charges, and for her in-depth look at life behind bars at the Grand Valley Institution for Women. She has also won two RTDNA Awards for her feature stores. Abigail is known for holding public officials to account, and her reporting has effected change in public school board policies and local health care.
She also enjoys lighter reporting moments, such as coverage of a trifecta of backyard animals in Guelph over the years; a therapy horse, lawn-mowing sheep and chickens wearing sweaters.
Most recently Abigail is a part of a new investigative unit at the station. For five years before that, Abigail produced and anchored the weekend news at 6 and 11:30 pm.
Abigail Bimman joined the CTV Kitchener news team in 2011. Previously, she was a videographer with Studio 12 News/CHEX TV where she helped launched news show for the Durham Region community. She has also worked in the newsrooms of CTV Ottawa, CTV News Channel, and First Local on Rogers TV. Earlier career highlights include producing in Newfoundland for CTV during the 2008 federal election and reporting on children's summer camps in Ukraine for the Canadian Jewish News.
She graduated with Highest Honours from Carleton University in Ottawa, where she earned her Bachelor of Journalism degree.
Outside the newsroom Abigail volunteers weekly with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, where she records talking books. She is an avid reader and theatre lover. Abigail also enjoys travelling and spending time with family and friends.
In keeping with the time of the year Abigail came to tell us about a series she did called Haunted Kitchener. She spoke a bit about what her role as a journalist and report involves and then showed three videos of stories she did a couple of years ago on the theme of Haunted Houses.
The first featured Homer Watson House and Galt Collegiate Institute. At the Homer Watson House it is said that the sister of Homer Watson haunts the lower level and her presence has been felt by most of the workers and volunteers there. Tassie Hall in GCI is named after Mr. Tassie, a former principal of the Galt Grammar School that eventual became Galt Collegiate Institute. He was very opposed having the school go co-ed and left the school when it was to come about and is said the haunt the building. A clock in the school stop running the day the first female principal took office.
The second show highlighted the work of the Ontario Gay Paranormal Society from Guelph who do Ghost Haunting work. They were shown doing their ghost hunting at the Albion Hotel in Guelph and in Cambridge at Café 13 were it is said a woman and child died under mysterious circumstances many years ago.
The last episode was filmed at the Wellington Museum and Archives which was formally the Wellington House of Industry and Refuge, know locally as the Poor House. Over 100 people died while at the house and many are thought to haunt the building.
As it turns out Abigail is about to move to Ottawa for a new position and this was her second last day on the job in Kitchener.
