SUBMITTED BY SALT SPRING ISLAND PUBLIC LIBRARY
Judy Nurse was a dedicated Salt Spring library volunteer for over a decade, serving on the board of directors for six years, from 2017 to 2023.
As library board chair for her last two and a half years of library service, she gave countless hours of her time, skill, intelligence, insight and goodwill. As the chair of the library’s long-term planning committee in 2021, Nurse was a champion of the library’s current strategic plan. Her vision and leadership led to broad community engagement, and new library priorities on diversity, equity and inclusion, reconciliation and climate change. Working together we moved quickly forward on new initiatives including the FabLab and Indigenous Learning Area. Above all, Nurse valued the library as a place for everyone, and it was her idea to put the new library guiding principle “You Belong Here” above the library’s front entrance.
Now the next generation of library volunteer and working students can benefit from Nurse’s love of our library. Her husband, Murray Nurse, and three children — Laura Morris, Michael Nurse and Heather Connolly — are sponsoring the new Judy Nurse Bursary in her memory.
This year’s recipients, Maia Cassie and Jo Hughes, have been wonderful volunteers and working students with the library for many years. They both worked in different positions, from summer camp leader to social media expert. Cassie and Hughes are not only highly valued library team members but also exceptional high school students.
Hughes graduates from Gulf Islands Secondary School and will follow her passion for archaeology, having been accepted into the archaeology program at Simon Fraser University.
Cassie graduates from Queen Margaret’s School in Duncan. Her next step will be to study social sciences at the University of Toronto.
The library congratulates them and wishes them the best of luck in their future endeavours.