PGI 2019: A Success!

On May 7^th, 2019 over 200 literacy supporters gathered at the Delta Hotel in Fredericton for the Literacy Coalition of New Brunswick’s annual Peter Gzowski Invitational. This year the event raised $57,000 for literacy in New Brunswick.

This year’s recipients of the Champions of Literacy Award were Diane and Bernard Lord.  Diane believes literacy is a cornerstone of early childhood development. She offered her time and support to the Born to Read and Le goût de lire initiatives as well as Family Day.

Bernard is the Chief Executive Officer of Medavie and became one of Canada’s youngest Premiers in 1999. He also oversees Medavie’s holistic approach which includes the Medavie Blue Cross sponsorship of Moncton’s Legs for Literacy Expo and Race. Bernard played an instrumental role in establishing Born to Read and Le got de lire.

The Marian Zaichkowski award was introduced this year to honour the memory of Marian and all the work she did for the coalition. Craig Manufacturing was the first recipient of the award. They were chosen due to their outstanding dedication to literacy over the past 65 years. One of their contributions was organizing a community library in Hartland. 

The Peter Gzowski Award went to Janet Parlee. The PGI award recognizes Janet Parlee’s unwavering support for literacy and the PGI. Particularly, her support for the live and silent auctions. 

The President’s Award was given to Office Interiors for their outstanding contributions to child and youth literacy.

As always, a special part of the evening was honouring hard-working adult learners with Adult Learner Awards. Kianne Nicholas-Perley, Samuel Côté-Larouche, Crystal Drew, and Gloria Clark were celebrated for showing exceptional performance and progress in their literacy programs.

Since our first inaugural Peter Gzowski Dinner and Auction 16 years ago, the Literacy Coalition has raised more than $1.6 million dollars. Funds raised go directly to youth, adult and family literacy programs around the province, including support for our schools, libraries and community groups.