“I cannot imagine a world where people do not read, or read well,” Audrey Lougheed said Monday after accepting an award for championing literacy in the Yukon.

Lougheed is the territory’s recipient of the 2016 Council of the Federation Literacy Award, and was toasted by the premier at a ceremony in the lobby of the Yukon Government Main Administration Building.

“Ms. Lougheed stands among Canada’s literacy leaders,” said Darrell Pasloski.

“(The) Council of the Federation Literacy Award publicly recognizes leaders in the field of literacy and highlights remarkable achievement, and it is an honour and a privilege to present her with this literacy award today.”

The council is made up of Canada’s 13 provincial and territorial premiers. Its purpose is to promote co-operation among jurisdictions.

Canadian premiers have presented the literacy award annually, in each province and territory, since 2004.

The award is given to adult learners and other Canadians who’ve contributed to literacy in the workplace, community, and health, and to indigenous literacy and family literacy.

Educators, learners, volunteers, community organizations and businesses are eligible for the award.

“Canada’s premiers recognize that literacy is an essential building block in the development of a vibrant society and a prosperous economy,” Pasloski said.

Lougheed, who has promoted literacy in the Yukon for more than three decades, said she felt “excellent” about receiving the award.

“I’ve always been a reader; my family’s always encouraged me to go to school,” she said.

It’s wrong, she said, that not everyone in Canada has the opportunity and support to finish grade school, let alone a post-secondary degree.

So, “(I) put my money where my mouth is and do what I can,” she said.

For the last 33 years, Lougheed has helped Yukoners read, write and gain the skills they need to be active in society.

In 1983, Lougheed helped found the Yukon Literacy Council, now Yukon Learn.

Apart from reading, writing and numeracy assistance, Yukon Learn offers programs that teach the computer and oral communication skills necessary in so many workplaces today.

“We are living in a digital world,” Lougheed said. “We have to have a skilled labour force in order to progress and create a better Yukon.”

For more than 12 years, Lougheed has held numerous positions on Yukon Learn’s board of directors.

“In her various roles over the past three decades, she has devoted hundreds and hundreds of hours,” said Pasloski.

“She’s touched countless lives providing one-on-one tutoring services for adult literacy and for English second language learners.”

Lougheed moved north from British Columbia in 1981, when she got a job working for Northwestel Inc. in Yellowknife.

That same year, she transfered to Whitehorse, where she worked as an operator for the northern telecommunications company.

She retired in 2007.

Lougheed has a long history of community service beyond supporting literacy.

Back in B.C., Lougheed worked with the Elizabeth Fry Society, which assists women moving through the criminal justice system, and was a founder of the Kamloops crisis line.

She volunteered at a school for children with disabilities in Victoria and was in a status of women action group in that city.

Since moving to the Yukon, Lougheed’s focus has been on helping people pursue education – because it’s never too late.

If reading is the foundation of learning, Lougheed says build your house with whatever materials you can find.

“I don’t care what you read as long as you’re reading,” she said. “If you read Playgirl, it’s not up to me to say, ‘No, no, no.’

“I don’t care; you’re reading. That’s a start.”

“Literacy is the foundation for lifelong learning, opportunity and social development,” said Education Minister Doug Graham.

“Ms. Lougheed’s devotion to promoting literacy has touched countless lives over the decades, and Yukon is a better place because of her work.”