Honorable Minister Boyd, Ministers, Ladies and Gentlemen.

Before expressing my appreciation for being rewarded with this honor, a brief word of explanation for the non-scientists in the audience about this award. A fundamental aspect of support for mineral exploration and geoscience studies provided by the provincial and federal governments is the preparation of maps that indicate the location of rocks and mineral occurrences. This is a labor-intensive process, which among other things, requires sending geologists into the woods and countryside to examine the rock exposures found there, interpret them, and prepare maps of their distribution. The Provincial Geologists Medal recognizes excellence in this activity.

Although there are many awards in geoscience, most, if not all, recognize laboratory or academic expertise. Consequently, I am greatly honored to be the 10th recipient of this medal. I have had the pleasure of knowing or working with most of the previous recipients, and am fully aware that I am in esteemed company. Plus, there is a certain symmetry to winning the award this year. Charlie Gower from the Geological Survey of Newfoundland and Labrador won the award in 2007 for his work in the eastern Grenville geological Province, and my expertise is in the western Grenville

As the old expression goes, behind every good man stands a great woman, and I am no exception. In my case, it is Monica; my wife, my friend, my editor who has provided me with support and encouragement for close to 3 decades. I would also like to express my appreciation to all of my teachers, professors, co-workers and colleagues whom over the years have encouraged me, taught me, and inspired me. Unfortunately, time does not allow me to name them all individually.

In reflecting on this award, I can safely say that I would not be here today were it not for being blessed with a variety of well-timed opportunities that became available throughout my career. Don’t worry – I’m not going to give you a complete listing – however, I’d like to mention a few of the key ones.

First, while going through university, I had the opportunity to learn mapping and regional synthesis from some of the best federal government geologists of our generation, as well as being provided with logistical support for my mapping-based doctoral thesis at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Thus, when I joined the Ontario Geological Survey in 1982, I had 10 years of field experience under my belt.

At OGS, I was given my next great opportunity: an almost exclusive assignment to my own geological province, with considerable operational latitude. To put this in perspective, I was able to study rocks located within three hours drive of Toronto that had not been studied for over 100 years. As a bonus, this assignment occurred just as a small-cadre of government and academic geologists were revolutionizing our understanding of the geology of this area, and I had the privilege of being inducted into this talented group.

And finally, shortly thereafter, I was given to opportunity to synthesize my new-found knowledge into both the Geology of Ontario volume and the LITHOPROBE program.

One of the themes of today’s meetings was skills development. On the positive side, there are numerous opportunities for young earth scientists today, what with the booming demand for mineral and energy resources, the availability of new technology and analytical tools, and the retirement of the baby boomers. On the other hand, the opportunities for them to learn geological mapping and regional synthesis skills are few and far between. Certainly it would be very difficult today to get the type of experience and the aforementioned opportunities I had the privilege of receiving early in my career.

Every year, our pool of great mapping geologists gets smaller as the result of retirements and promotions. We run fewer field crews with fewer assistants, thereby diminishing the opportunity to train our replacements. It is harder to support mapping-based theses projects. And government service is no longer viewed by many young people as the attractive career-path it was to my generation. Consequently, we need to be more pro-active in training and attracting the next generation of mappers, as the creation of high-quality geological maps still remains a fundamental aspect of our profession.

Thank you for your patience, and this wonderful award.