A renowned writer and scientist who has been named one of National Geographic Society’s Explorers of the Millennium, will be the keynote speaker at the annual Dr. Bob Ewert Memorial Lecture and Dinner next month. National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Wade Davis, author of The Sacred Headwaters: the Fight to save the Stikine, Skeena, and Nass, and numerous other books, will headline the event, held annually to honour Dr. Bob Ewert, the first medical specialist in Prince George. The event will also raise funds for the Northern Medical Programs Trust, which helps train and retain future health care professionals in the North.

“It is a tremendous opportunity to have Wade Davis at this year’s Ewert Dinner,” says Dr. David Nelson, president of Northern Medical Society. “Wade is a visionary ethnographer, writer, and photographer who has captured hearts and minds with his work around the world, particularly here in northern BC, with Sacred Headwaters. The organizing committee felt he would be thought-provoking at a time when communities across the region are engaged in intensive discussions about the future of our economy and environment.”

This is the ninth annual Ewert Dinner. Each year, the event features a celebrated lecture and inductions into the Northern Medical Society Hall of Fame. In addition, the Rising Star Award will recognize a current student planning to pursue a professional career in northern health care.

The event is a fundraiser for the Northern Medical Programs Trust, a partnership involving more than two-dozen local governments and UNBC, supporting students today who will improve the quality of health care in Prince George and northern communities tomorrow. To date more than 300 grants have been provided to students, and there is an ongoing need to grow the Trust to support training of physicians, nurse practitioners, and other health care professionals.

The Dr. Bob Ewert Memorial Lecture and Dinner is presented by UNBC, the Northern Medical Society, and the Prince George Community Foundation.

The Ewert Dinner will be held on Saturday April 6, 2013 at the Prince George Civic Centre. Tickets are $100 each and are available individually or in tables of ten from the Office of External Relations at UNBC – 250.960.5750, or at development@unbc.ca.