Dr. Marilyn Trenholme Counsell Literacy Awards 2018
The winners for the 2018 Dr. Marilyn Trenholme Counsell Literacy Awards were presented with their awards by the Literacy Coalition of New Brunswick (LCNB) at the at the Crowne Plaza Fredericton on November 26th, 2018, at 7:00pm.
Awarded annually since 1998, the awards were founded by Dr. Marilyn Trenholme Counsell, former New Brunswick lieutenant-governor and senator and now past president of the Literacy Coalition of New Brunswick.
“These awards recognize outstanding achievements in the fields of literacy and essential skills in six categories, “said Brent Melanson. “To mark the 20th anniversary of these awards, we have added a new category for Outstanding Effort in Indigenous Literacy”.
“We are very pleased to name Mah-Sos School of Tobique First Nation as the 2018 winner in the category for Outstanding Effort in Indigenous Literacy,” said Dr. Trenholme Counsell. This year’s award was presented to Chief Ross Perley in recognition of Mah-Sos’ selection as a model school in the Paul Martin Model Schools Literacy Project.
The 2018 winners in the Early Childhood Literacy Category were Claudette Godin and The Elizabeth Fry Society of Saint John. Godin is a founding member and long-time volunteer with Lire et Faire Lire Acadie, an intergenerational early childhood literacy program for children 5 to 8 years old in the Francophone school districts of New Brunswick. The Elizabeth Fry Society of Saint John received the award for their Mother Child Read Aloud Program for incarcerated women in the Nova Scotia Institution for Women in Truro, Nova Scotia.
The Community Literacy Program Award went to the Tantramar Family Resource Centre in Sackville, New Brunswick. For more than 10 years, the Centre has organized literacy programs and events and sustained themselves as a valuable rural literacy resource to the families in the Tantramar Marsh area.
Glenwood Kitchen Ltd., a Shediac area wholesale cabinet manufacturer was the award winner in the Business/Corporate Literacy category. The 2018 award recognizes the efforts of owner James McKenna and HR Director Kerry Kearney for their incentive-based literacy program offered to their employees.
The Published Author award winner was Wendy McLeod MacKnight who has published two popular middle grade novels and recently received the 2018 Atlantic Independent Booksellers Award for Emerging Artist.
The Individual Outstanding Contribution to Literacy award was presented to New Brunswick born poet, writer and story teller, Sheree Fitch for her contribution to Canadian literature and education, as well as her work as a literacy advocate and activist for social justice.
The Literacy Coalition of New Brunswick provides leadership to advance literacy, lifelong learning and essential skills for all citizens through partnerships and collaboration with government, educational institutions, business, labour, community organizations and individuals.
For more information, contact Lynda Homer, Executive Director, at (506) 457-1227, toll-free: 1-800-563-2211 or via email: lcnb@nbliteracy.ca. Follow LCNB on Twitter: @LiteracyNB