"I am delighted to see you all gathered here this evening to participate in this 2015 edition of the Gala Saint-Jean. I am particularly pleased to know that forty students are seated here with us. I must admit that I immediately supported the initiative when we decided to combine both the traditional presentation of scholarships, which usually held in the afternoon, and the Gala Saint. Jean," underlined the Dean of Campus Saint-Jean, Pierre-Yves Mocquais, who also acknowledged the presence of the generous donors at the gala.
In his speech, the dean also made a throw back on his trip to the northwest region of the province earlier this fall along with Debra Pozega-Osburn, Vice President, Community Relations at the University of Alberta. "Although it was a short trip, I quickly realized the necessity to maintain good relations with our communities of Grande Prairie and Peace River. The expectations of Francophones in these regions are very high and we agreed to continue these exchanges during our next visit in spring 2016, "the Dean said.
He also has in his agenda to visit the Central Eastern region early next year. "The details of this visit are still to be finalized, but next year I will focus my attention on the needs of the Franco-Albertan community," Pierre-Yves Mocquais said.
The Gala organizers took advantage of the evening to pay tribute to two generous donors of Saint-Jean who passed away this year; Mr. Ernest Côté who died in February, and Mr. Louis A. Desorchers who died in September. Those present at the gala were able to watch one video on each of the deceased (Ernest Côté and Louis A. Desorchers). These videos were produced some years back.
After the audience had the priviledge to watch these vidoes, Ernest Côté's daughter, Lucie Côté, who had made the trip from Ottawa specially to attend the Gala, made a testimony in honour of her father. It is worth noting that, the Desrochers family could not be present at the Gala; because Mrs. Marcelle Desrochers (wife of late Louis A. Desrochers) passed away that same day of the Gala.
The presentation of students' scholarships followed, the 2014 awards for excellence in teaching and research came next, and the Saint-Jean Recognition Awards was last on the program.
You can find the complete list of 2015-2016 scholarship winners, here.
You can also find the biographies of Saint-Jean award winners:
Ziyah Karmali (promising future awards)
Valery Bazira (promising future awards)
Jim Edwards (Outstanding Contribution Award)
Denis Noël (Saint-Jean Honorary Award)
Hector Goudreau (Saint-Jean Honorary Award)