Golfers enjoyed the sunshine at the PGI putting green.
Fred Lee charmed the crowd as our Celebrity Putter.
Literacy BC Board President Rebecca Beuschell (left) and Executive Director Judy Cavanagh enjoy the sunshine on the course.
Shawn Richards received the 2010 Learner Achievement Tribute Award at the PGI celebration dinner.
The late CBC broadcaster Peter Gzowski founded the PGI tournaments as celebrations of life, literacy, golf and song, and the annual PGI poet laureate is an important part of that tradition. At the 2010 PGI, the Poet Laureate was Gillian Jerome.
She wrote a poem over the course of the day, weaving together snippets of conversation heard on the green with fortune-cookie sayings. Here is her poem:
Well Where We Wined and Dined
by Gillian Jerome
If you’d a landed it on this side of the green
If you’d a landed it on this side of the green
If you’d a landed it on this side of the green
You’d get new insights into your dealings
Your biggest problems would be solved
& important associates would be there for you.
Please adjust your play to reduce the risk of liability
The swallows love to buzz you as you walk along
If there’s a swath of yellow daisies at Hole 7,
easy times are ahead for you.
In a certain kind of light, you can swing
& see sparks. That why I sell so much scotch
& beer to golf courses. I’ll be honest with you,
I think you’re lucky. Easy times are ahead.
I can feel the money in my pocket now-----O
if only you’d a landed it on this side of the green.
It’s a cheap Philly blunt. You see, I used to know
a bunch of golf jokes but I can’t think of one now---
except my swing. What does that say
about us long-pants guys?
One for the barber pole! One for the barber pole!
Right between two beautiful weeping willows—
Resist the temptation to take a short cut
by the water where the seals talk to you.
Black crow on the green.
Black wings, black beak.
Be patient if some luxuries
are out of your reach.
It’s a book about foxes, hedge hogs and badgers
and lovely to read with kids—
I guess it taught me to be nice to people
no matter what walk of life they come from.
I guess it taught me that love is letting go of fear;
if you can let go of fear, you can learn to love
anything around you and be at peace. My favourite book?
James & the Giant Peach. That apartment inside the peach—
I still remember it. When the time permits
unplanned activities will be the most satisfying. Okay,
Ga-Ga, put these glasses on. Accessorize me.
Make room for me, boys----. Please
place rakes outside the bunkers
& you will be the centre of a special group.
My best golfing happened in Bali—it’s
hilly and there’s palm trees everywhere---
the caddies tell you what clubs to use.
Besides, it means that I can beat my Dad at something
again and again. Dad was always a smoker,
I don’t know if you heard that on the radio---
He would take five or six books upstairs &
read them for the next day.
In the backwoods of Idaho, there’s an old
reclaimed train belt---the Hiawatha Trail---
It’s a Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius.
It’s heaven under the clouds.
Your personal life will become exciting
when the time permits.
My favourite book is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
because I’ve read it at four different times of my life.
We always had a ton of books lying around.
One day we trucked seven laundry baskets filled with books
back to the library. We weren’t rich, but
we had hundreds of books to read.
Putt it firm into the heart. Firm into the heart.
Right into the heart & fortune will be on your side.
My best memory of my literacy work
was in Ghana when I told three kids
that they could go to school. It was seeing
the expression on their faces. Or, watching
female farm workers make every effort
to communicate with me. Putt it
firm into the heart. Right out & over the tree.
Get yourself lined up, wind-assisted.
If you’d a landed it on this side of the green
If you’d a landed it on this side of the green
I loved Peter Gzowski. I liked his enquiring mind
and his character. Would have liked to hang
out with that guy. Keep your eye on the ball:
the moment you look up, you’ve lost it---
Okay, Mr. Par, Mr. Par, Mr. Par: Watch out
this might be the bus that we hit earlier.
It’s on the other side of the lake, up the hill---
avoid taking unnecessary risks.
I loved Tom Sawyer as a kid, loved it.
Everyone should get a mulligan. Everyone
should have at least one mulligan
in their lifetime. I feel out of place
here. I was a logger---usually I’m cutting trees
down not golfing around them.
I wanted to save my life
and so I thought that I should sit down
& understand some books. Desires
that are not extravagant will be granted.
The late CBC broadcaster Peter Gzowski founded the PGI tournaments as celebrations of life, literacy, golf and song, and the annual PGI poet laureate is an important part of that tradition. At the 
