The 2022 and first recipient of the John Allec Memorial Bursary was Lisa Owens, from 211 North (Thunder Bay, ON). Lisa was awarded the bursary on May 18, 2022 at the IO Symposium by John's sister, Edith.
In honour and memory of John Allec, who passed away peacefully and unexpectedly at his home in Toronto in early October 2021, the Symposium Bursary has been renamed the John Allec Memorial Bursary.
John was a passionate contributor to the North American Information and Referral sector for more than 30 years. His measured, collaborative and cooperative approach enabled advancements in the field and broad standardization across North America.
As a long standing member of the AIRS Taxonomy Committee, Canadian Taxonomy leader and AIRS Board Director, John combined attention to detail with careful thinking to promote accessibility in resource development. In these roles, John led and supported significant innovations including the transition from Toronto’s well-respected Blue Book to the 211 Toronto online resource directory.
In recent years, John helped modernize North American taxonomy including the development of an Indigenous Services chapter in the Canadian Taxonomy Toolkit and promotion of a more inclusive 2SLGBTQ++ taxonomy.
John was in intregal part of the creation of the original InformOntario 2003 Style Gude.
John was a kind and gentle man and a talented musician. Many will remember his beautiful voice and skillful piano playing at AIRS conferences. For those of us who worked closely with John, we will remember his thoughtfulness and dedication to his craft, a smile that took over his face and his humility. He will be deeply missed. Here is the link a video tribute.