Brian Gervais is thrilled to be joining the Board of Directors of the Calgary Public Library Foundation and promises to do everything he can to help the organization reach its goals.
Brian arrived in Calgary in 2014 as the Senior Vice President, Prairie Region for TD Canada Trust and is impressed with the changes the city has undergone since he last worked here a decade ago.
“It is a much different place than it was ten years ago, and it is great to see the city grow and progress. I think there are ways I can advance the agenda of the Library Foundation and I am thrilled to be joining. I’ll help in any way I can,” he said.
He added that progress is evident in Calgary’s library system, one he has quickly learned to love, along with his wife and three daughters.
“It is a very progressive organization and institution. The move to make the Library accessible to everyone by making library cards free is an example—new Canadians coming to the city can benefit from that. It is incredibly progressive. When I drop my youngest daughter off at Signal Hill, I see great throngs of people going into the library,” he said.
The TD Bank Group is a great supporter of Calgary’s libraries. Recently, TD made a $1 million donation to the Library, supporting the Great Reading Room planned for the New Central Library and the Family Program Room at the Fish Creek Library.
“The bank has always been a supporter of children’s literacy and, personally, I have seen the impact libraries and reading has had on my kids,” he said.
In November, Brian held his first annual meeting with the 200 TD branch managers in his region. He surprised them by having a ‘day of giving’ as part of the agenda.
“We sent a couple of managers over to the Central Library to read to kids for an afternoon. It was great to see our employees when they came back and told their stories about the impact it had on the kids,” he added.
– Story by Chris Nelson
