An historic $2 million pledge to Thompson Rivers University Thompson Rivers University was announced at Saturday’s 18^th Annual TRU Foundation Gala.

Mark and Ellen Brown made the largest private pledge ever to the TRU Foundation  to support the construction of the House of Learning and for the continued growth of the university and for the support of students.

Mark Brown, president of Northern Trailer and the Kamloops company's former owner, offers a friendly challenge to the other business leaders gathered at the 2010 TRU Foundation Gala. On stage with him is his wife Ellen and TRU Board chair Karl deBruijn. The event was held on the TRU Campus Activity Centre rotunda and in the adjoining Grand Hall. The theme for the night was China's Forbidden City.

In making the announcement to the 350 guests at the Gala, Mark Brown noted that his company Northern Trailer had achieved a tremendous amount of success since the company’s Kamloops inception in 1981. “It is our hope that this gift to TRU will make a difference through education to many people in this community and in our region,” Brown said. “We have never lost sight of the employees and the community of Kamloops that have helped to make our business successful, and this is our way of thanking the people of this community and the province for their role in our success.” [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVxatKHGUtI[/youtube]

The Brown’s donation to the House of Learning consists of shares currently worth $750,000, with a further donation of $1.25 million within the next five years that will support other initiatives to be determined by the Browns and TRU.

“All combined this pledge of two million dollars by the Brown family will be the largest private gift ever received by the TRU Foundation,” said Dr. Roger Barnsley, TRU President and Vice-Chancellor. “Clearly, this generous gift will make a monumental difference to our students, our university and our community.”

Brown is the President of Northern Trailer. Since 2007 Northern Trailer has been a division of Horizon North Logistics Inc. of Calgary.  Northern Trailer’s strength serving the mining, forestry, construction and service industries earned it the honour of the Best Manufacturer of the Year by the Kamloops Chamber of Commerce for two consecutive years.  As part of this publicly-traded group of companies, Northern Trailer continues to strengthen its competitive position.

The House of Learning project was first announced in April 2008 and is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2010.  The 78,000 square-foot space is the campus’s first LEED gold certified building and will provide a significant addition to library and learning space for all students on campus, and also incorporate features and facilities to enhance the learning needs of Aboriginal students.