In its 99-year-history, this is the largest donation Lakeland College has received from a private foundation.
“We’re supporting Lakeland College because of the college’s focus on hands-on training. Lakeland provides its students with many real-world experiences through labs, practicum placement and field trips. Another important factor is that Lakeland offers programming to help people who currently work in the industry get the training they need to advance their career,” says Gwyn Morgan, retired founding president and CEO of EnCana Corporation.
This contribution to the college’s Centennial Campaign will be used to establish an endowment fund that will generate a minimum of three annual awards to assist people taking oil and gas related training at Lakeland. Named The Gwyn Morgan Centennial Award, the first awards will be presented in 2013 during the college’s 100th anniversary.“This new endowment fund will make it possible for more people to pursue their educational goals at Lakeland and get the training they need to start or advance their career in the energy sector,” says Glenn Charlesworth, president of Lakeland College. “With the help of The Gwyn Morgan and Patricia Trottier Foundation, award recipients’ financial burden will be reduced.”
Lakeland College today held a sod-turning ceremony to celebrate the start of construction of a Petroleum Centre at the Lloydminster campus. When the expansion is complete Lakeland College will be able to train almost 200 full-time students plus hundreds of more part-time students.
“Statistics show that there’s an unprecedented demand for more qualified workers in the petroleum industry throughout Western Canada. With new awards available, more people will be able to take the training they need to find suitable employment in this important sector,” says Charlesworth.
Photo: Glenn Charlesworth and Kara Johnston show off a $250,000 cheque courtesy of The Gwyn Morgan and Patricia Trottier Foundation, the largest donation Lakeland has received from a private foundation.
