Nominations for 2025 Peace in the Pages Award Honorees

Do you know someone who:

• Is a champion of literacy, reading, or education in our community?
• Embodies the values of empathy, peace, non-violence, health, education, freedom, leadership, and success – and those values’ connections to literacy?

Tell us who! Nominate today!

There are seven award honoree categories and details about each are below. You can also read more about our 2024 Peace in the Pages in Honor of Roseann Duran event here.

Award Categories

READ to Lead Award

This award recognizes someone who exhibits the bravery and willingness to lead – especially when such leadership is difficult.

Past award winners include:

• Patti McElroy
• Betty Seabrook Burney
• Audrey Moran

READ to Succeed Award

This award is presented to an individual who embodies how reading fuels success in life.

Past award winners include:

• Caleb Johnson
• Tim Cost
• Judge Rhonda Peoples-Waters

READ to be Free Award

This award was created to honor an individual who understands the connection between the individual empowerment that comes from literacy and freedom. As George Washington Carver once said, “Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom,” and our award recipient is also someone who fully embodies this ideal.

Past award winners include:

• Ronnie Gadio
• Kevin Gay
• The Honorable Warren Jones

READ to Heal Award

This award recognizes someone who embodies the importance of healing in all forms – intellectually, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Healing brings our community together and unites us in support and respect for one another, and the recipient of this award personifies the intersection of healing and literacy.

Past award winners include:

• Dr. Andrea Barnwell Brownlee
• Nicole B. Thomas
• Jeff Chartrand

READ to Remember Award

Dr. Martin Luther King once said, “We are not makers of history. We are made by history.” The recipient of this award makes historical connections relevant to today and embraces literacy as the connection between our past, present, and future.

Past award winners include:

• Dr. Sherry Magill
• Dr. Floyd Willis
• Dr. Jim Crooks and Laura Crooks

Marjorie Broward Memorial Scholarship Award

Marjorie Broward established libraries all over the globe and, closer to home, initiated JAX READS and many other book-related projects during her 95 years on this earth. It is in honor of this remarkable leader that READ USA established the Marjorie Broward Memorial Scholarship Award, which is presented to a school leader who exemplifies Marjorie’s commitment to service, community, and the common good.

Past award winners include:

• Principal Katie Adkins
• Principal Paula Findlay
• Principal Felicia Hardaway

Mark Landen Memorial Award for Democracy through Journalism

Mark Landen worked for the Florida Times-Union for 30 years, starting by delivering papers and rising to the position of Director of Circulation. Mark’s legacy and unwavering commitment to journalism is the essence of this award recipient: a member of the media who embodies the ideals of sound journalism, ethics, and most importantly, the role literacy plays in our democracy.

Past award winners include:

• Tenikka Hughes
• Mark Woods
• Beth Reese Cravey

Submit your nomination soon for our Board of Directors to make final decisions on our 2025 Award Honorees in the near future!