Recent News

Remembering Laura Bennett, APR

Laura Bennett was the first CPRS Nova Scotia member to receive the CPRS Shield of Public Service. Bestowed upon her in 1990, it honours distinguished and dedicated service in the public interest. It is awarded to a CPRS member whose personal effort on behalf of a public service endeavour, entirely apart from duties required by client or employer, has demonstrated an unselfish, outstanding and persistent dedication to the cause or movement.

CPRS NS Members remember her as a trailblazer in PR both locally and nationally.

We offer our condolences to her family and friends.

You can read her obituary here: Obituary of Laura Bennet | T.J. Tracey Cremation & Burial Specialists (tjtracey.com)

Remembering Tom Peck, APR

Former CPRS-NS Board Member, Mary Barker, APR, LM, FCPRS(H), remembers Tom’s many contributions to CPRS:

Tom served twice as a former President of CPRS-NS (2007-08), and again (2012-2014). He was also the Chair of the CPRS national conference held in Halifax in 2008 which celebrated the 60th anniversary of CPRS. Many of our members worked long and tirelessly on that conference committee chaired by Tom to make it the success it was, especially Tom. Serving as both our President and Conference Chair at the same time was no easy task. That conference was indeed very successful financially, and under the rules of the time, CPRS-NS benefited greatly. It was thanks to Tom that half of the money CPRS-NS received as our portion from that conference was set aside to provide PR student scholarships for a period of 10 years.

Obituary as it appeared in Saltwire: April 7, 1951 – September 15, 2023. Tom Peck often remarked that he was fortunate to have the support of family and friends. To those of us for whom Tom was husband, father, son, brother, and friend, Tom was the source of steadfastness, strength and love. Born in Sydney and raised in Louisbourg, Cape Breton, Tom’s link to his roots remained firm. Connecting with his vast range of cousins and friends and sharing memories of the town and work at the Fortress was especially meaningful. Tom began his career in radio journalism in Cape Breton, before moving on to work in New Glasgow, Ottawa and Fredericton. After leaving radio Tom taught journalism and media law at the New Brunswick Community College. From there he moved to Halifax to attend the Public Relations Program at Mount Saint Vincent University. This led to a second career in government communications, eventually holding Communications Director positions in departments including Economic Development, Tourism, Skills & Labour, and Elections Nova Scotia. Tom became an officer with the Canadian Public Relations Society and achieved his Accreditation in Public Relations (APR). It was in Halifax that Tom met and married Lynn and they had John Allan, the undisputed apple of Tom’s eye. Tom’s life became focused on his family and he loved every minute of playtime and daycare runs, swimming lessons and the PTA, with a little golf thrown in for good measure. Particularly special were weekends at the cottage in Cape George. In 2015 life took another sharp turn when Tom suffered the significant impacts of a stroke. He fought hard to recover to the extent possible, and joined a new community at the Northwood Ivany in Bedford. Here Tom and his family benefitted from the tremendous care provided by the wonderful and dedicated staff. Even with his health challenges, Tom remained Tom, he joined the Resident Council and poured over meeting agendas and annual reports. Regular trips home were made possible by the terrific dispatchers and drivers with the Halifax Transit Access-a-Bus system. This allowed us to still enjoy the simple pleasures of a regular family meal and chat, watching the Jays or his beloved Montreal Canadiens, and attending church together. Tom is survived by his wife, Lynn Adams and their son, John Allan Peck, Dartmouth; beloved step-father, John Dunton, Bedford; and sisters, Brenda (Bob) Wild, Porters Lake and Valerie, Halifax. He is predeceased by his loving mother, Hope Dunton; father, James Peck; and grandmother, Frances MacIntyre. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Canadian Heart & Stroke Foundation, the Northwood Foundation, St. David’s United Church in Cape George, Antigonish Co., or a charity of your choice.