Gift honours automotive industry veteran whose service went above and beyond 

Posted on Wednesday, May 18th, 2022

Barry Gilbert Memorial Award to help graduating Motive Power Technicians

Algonquin College is pleased to announce that the family of Barry Gilbert, a friend of Algonquin College and mentor to co-op students and graduates, has donated a major gift to establish an award for Motive Power Technician students. The Barry Gilbert Memorial Award will be given each spring in perpetuity to a student in the final term of the Motive Power Technician program.

Barry Gilbert grew up in Grand Falls, Newfoundland. He moved to Ontario in 1988 to attend the Automotive Business Program at Georgian College. He later attended the Canadian Automotive Institute and obtained the Red Seal for automotive service technicians.

Barry always loved cars and he took this lifelong love along with his knowledge and experience to spend most of his working life in the automotive service industry, including time at Dilawri Automotive Group, Pathway Hyundai, and as service manager at Bank Street Kia. Barry passed away in August 2021 at the age of 58.

“Barry was much loved and admired by his colleagues and his customers,” said Mark Savenkoff, Vice President, Advancement and Strategy. “This award will help students just starting their careers in the automotive industry to walk in big footsteps as they transform their hopes and dreams into lifelong success.”

His family set up the award to honour his memory. Barry was a kind, caring man who would go out of his way to help others. He would share freely of his knowledge and experience to assist customers and co-workers alike. He took the time to mentor many people new to the industry. His family hopes that award recipients would look for opportunities to mentor and assist others as Barry did during most of his life.

The Barry Gilbert Memorial Award is open to any student in good standing completing the final term of the Motive Power Technician Program.


Comments

Comments are closed.