Big Brothers Big Sisters of Saint John announces winners of 2025 James K. Irving Lifetime Distinction in Mentoring Award
As part of the 2025 SPARK Mentoring Awards, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Saint John is recognizing the many years of volunteer service of Jim Jordan and Dianne Godfrey with the James K. Irving Lifetime Distinction in Mentoring Award.
The award is named after James K. Irving, the late Chairman of J.D. Irving, Limited and Co-founder of PALS (Partners Assisting Local Schools), in recognition of his lifelong commitment to helping kids be the best they can be.
Both Jim and Dianne were founding mentors and organizers for the Big Brothers Big Sisters In-School Mentoring Program through PALS (Partners Assisting Local Schools). They were both also integral to the establishment of PALS, which is this year marking its 25th anniversary of supporting local school children through fostering a network of schools and community partners. The mentoring program was one of its earliest initiatives.
Jim, the former Vice President of Supply Chain for JDI, retired after 34 years with the company. In the early days of PALS, Jim was instrumental in bringing other businesses on board, and through his encouragement and advocacy, was the reason why many members of the community signed up to become mentors for Big Brothers Big Sisters.
Leading by example, Jim became a devoted mentor to a grade 4 student, a relationship that has continued past graduation to this day. He has also served as a board member of Big Brothers Big Sisters. Elsewhere in the community, Jim has been involved with the Hampton Alliance for Lifelong Learning and was the chairman of the NBCC Foundation.
Dianne was among the first Big Brothers Big Sisters mentors from JDI. Joining the company in 1970, Dianne would become Secretary for James K. Irving in 1981, a role she would hold until semi-retirement in 2016 and then full retirement in 2020. Her involvement with PALS can be traced back to its development stages and then as a volunteer. Dianne led the way for other employees to become mentors themselves by mentoring two children over the last two decades. She continues to play a role in their lives even as they are now adults and is very proud of all they have gone on to accomplish.
“Jim and Dianne exemplify the meaning behind mentoring, not only within Big Brothers Big Sisters with the kids that they’ve mentored, but also with people within their personal and professional lives. They exemplify kindness, commitment and encouragement of other people,” said Laurie Collins, Executive Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Saint John.
“The core of what mentoring is all about is really helping people discover their own potential. As a mentor you can’t do that for people, but you can certainly light a spark that helps people develop and learn and grow.”
The 2025 Spark Mentoring Awards, held on January 30, aim to raise the profile of mentoring in the community by recognizing local mentors and the work that they do to help children reach their full potential.