2020 Dr. Marilyn Trenholme Counsell Literacy Awards Winners Announced

We are excited to announce the award winners for this year’s Dr. Marilyn Trenholme Counsell Literacy Awards. The winners will accept their awards during the ceremony on November 26th, which will be held via Zoom.

Established in 1998 by Dr. Marilyn Trenholme Counsell, former New Brunswick lieutenant-governor and senator and now past president of the Literacy Coalition of New Brunswick (LCNB), these awards recognize outstanding achievements in the fields of literacy and essential skills.

The winners are:

In the category of Early Childhood Literacy, the award winner is Talk with Me – Parle-moi. A free community-based speech-language pathology services in NB, the program is funded by the government of New Brunswick and works directly with parents and early childhood service providers to strengthen early language and communication development of all young children in NB in both official languages. 

Our 2020 award winner in the Outstanding Effort in Indigenous Literacy category is Gail Francis who works for Three Nations Education Group Inc. as the Autism/Resource Specialist, has recently launched a culturally based Indigenous children’s book, entitled “Moonbeam” which highlights traditional naming practices.

This year’s recipient in the published author category is Armand Doucet. A teacher in Riverview, N.B, Armand has co-written a book entitled, “Hope, Where Are You?”  This book is the story of six children around the world who are experiencing school closures because of the COVID-19 pandemic.  The book is available free online and proceeds from the print book are being donated to UNICEF.  

Our first winners in the Outstanding Contribution to Literacy Category are Kim Stewart and Jill Davidson are receiving this award not only for their innovative Shelfie-Talk Twitter program but also for their exemplary contribution to professional learning for educators in New Brunswick and beyond.

Kim is an experienced educator, researcher and assistant professor in the Faculty of Education, University of New Brunswick. Jill Davidson is a Literacy Coordinator for 21 Middle and High Schools across Anglophone West School District in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

Our final winner in the Outstanding Contribution to Literacy Category is Bob Savoie. A partner with KPMG, Bob has been a tireless volunteer for literacy for over 20 years. As a long time member of the NB PGI team he has helped raise over $1.5 million in his tenure with PGI for literacy programs.

Congratulations to all the winners! We look forward to seeing you all virtually on November 26th.