August 27, 2002

THE VALUE OF LITERACY…
CANADA POST ANNOUNCES THE
WINNERS OF THE 2002 LITERACY AWARDS

How valuable is the ability to transform signs and characters into words and sentences? While many Canadians take these skills for granted, the winners of this year’s Canada Post Literacy Awards know first-hand the personal and economic value of literacy.

To Earl Atwater (Rocky Mountain House, Alta.), Brigitte Béland of Grand-Mère, Qué., and Normand Richard, of Mont Carmel Wellington, P.E.I., the value of literacy is reflected in their improved career prospects and ability to communicate with their family. For educator Janet Skinner, from Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Nfld. and Lab., literacy holds its value as the key to the life-long journey of learning. And for the dedicated people of Kingston (Ont.) Literacy and the Richmond (B.C.) Public Library, the belief that every resident’s literacy is of direct benefit to their community is a driving force behind their work. These literacy champions are among those being honoured with this year’s Canada Post Literacy Awards.

Thirty-four winners of the 2002 Canada Post Literacy Awards, from every region in the country, were announced today. The awards are given in four categories – Individual Achievement, Educator, Community Leadership and Business Leadership. They showcase the efforts of hundreds of Canadians who have personal knowledge of, or recognize and support, the extraordinary value of literacy.

“We are celebrating the 10^th year of Canada Post’s Literacy Awards. And, even after this time, the incredible effort and dedication of each nominee inspires us,” said Alain Guilbert, vice-president of Communications. “Positive public awareness plays an important part in addressing the problem of illiteracy, a role that Canada Post is proud to undertake, and this year’s winners will inspire everyone who becomes aware of their successes,” he added.

The Winners

Individual Achievement:

Due to family demands, Earl Atwater’s (Rocky Mountain House, Alta.) early education stopped at grade one. It wasn’t until he was 70 years old that he was able to enrol in adult literacy classes. Six years later, Earl is writing stories for a weekly newspaper and his children say the letters their dad writes to them are priceless.

A severe hearing disability hampered Brigitte Béland’s efforts at school. As an adult she felt isolated and suffered from a lack of confidence. Full of determination, she has now earned a diploma in accounting. Today, Brigitte works in electronics and views her future with great optimism.

Suffering from a visual impairment detected late in life, Normand Richard had to manage by memorizing everything. After working 30 years in a gas station, he is now learning office work and is very proud of the new direction his career has taken.

Other winners of this year’s Individual Literacy Achievement Awards [English] are Angie Oman (Kamloops, BC), Clayton O. Nepinak (Swan River, MB), Christine Galbraith (Saint John, NB), Kelly Lambert (Shoal Harbour, NF), Patricia A. Connors (Truro, NS), Ernestine Lafferty (Yellowknife, NT), Morgan Canning (Peterborough, ON), Rosemarie Wood (Borden, PE), Fred A. Lyons (Melocheville, QC), Lynda Richards (Swift Current , SK) and Gerd Sutter (Mayo, YK).

Other winners of this year’s Individual Literacy Achievement Awards [French] are Lucille Ducharme (Saint-Laurent, MB), Philippe Morin (Saint-Léonard, NB) and Thérèse Berthier-Faucher (Shumacher, ON).

Community Leadership:

Approaching its 25^th anniversary, the non-profit Kingston Literacy organization operates an urban learning centre, a Family Literacy Centre, and two rural literacy centres. In the past 25 years the group has helped almost 4,000 individuals improve their skills and has given 7,000 hours of valuable volunteer time to the community.

Last year, more than 55,000 learners took part in nearly 1,900 Richmond Public Library programs – programs that touched every age-group in the community – including ESL conversation circles, after-school tutoring for youngsters, a reading buddies program for teens, programs in computer literacy, a writing contest for young adults, and an immigrant orientation program.

Winners in the Community Leadership category represent the best of the many deserving nominations Canada Post received. Recognizing the economic and social value of a literate community, these groups provide services and support to thousands of Canadians. Other winners of the 2002 Canada Post Literacy Awards for Community Leadership are Calgary Public Library (Calgary, AB), Carman Family Resource Centre (Carman, MB), Partners in Learning (West St. Modeste, NF), Adopt-a-Library Literacy Program (New Glasgow, NS), NWT Literacy Council (Yellowknife, NT), Nunavut Literacy Council (Cambridge Bay, NU), Fitzroy Centre (Canadian Mental Health Association) (Charlottetown, PE), The Centre for Literacy of Québec Inc. (Montréal, QC) and Prince Albert Literacy Network (Prince Albert, SK).

Educators:

Known as a “warrior for literacy”, Janet Skinner has championed the development of several literacy initiatives and organizations, including a northern network that links programs and groups to each other. She has also developed resource materials, teaching tools and community literacy projects that have resulted in long-term contributions to Labrador communities.

Canada Post’s Educator awards recognize teachers, tutors and advocates whose work within their communities, often on a volunteer basis, improves the literacy levels of thousands of students of all ages. Other winners in the Educator category of the 2002 Canada Post Literacy Awards are Anne M. Letain (Coaldale, AB), Cheryl Brown (Grand Bay-Westfield, NB), Donna Smith (London, ON) and Rod Goertzen (Saskatoon, SK).

Business Leadership:

The Business Leadership Award recognizes the achievements of a single business organization toward the advancement of literacy in Canada. This year’s award goes to Hamilton’s Dofasco Inc. Based on the premise that a company pursues and achieves success through its people, Dofasco shares the cost of an employee Essential Skills Program that is designed, implemented and evaluated by volunteer workplace teams. The company has also partnered with a local agency to offer peer tutoring training.

Winners in the Individual Literacy Achievement and Educator categories will receive a personal computer, while winners in the Community Leadership category will receive a cash prize of $2,000. Winners will be honoured at special ceremonies throughout the country this fall.

Presenting Sponsors of the 2002 Canada Post Literacy Awards are Health Canada, the National Literacy Secretariat and the Lowe-Martin Group. In addition, Canada Post acknowledges its Literacy Award’s Official Sponsors: CGI Group Inc.; the National Post, Maclean’s Magazine and Les Affaires. Supporters include: Les Hebdos du Québec and the Canadian Community Newspapers Association.