b'SPECIAL AWARDSTHE ALEX BARRIS MENTORSHIP AWARDPresented to Matt HuetherAlex Barris was a writer, broadcaster and journalist, a pioneer of Canadian television, and a proud member of the WGC. Throughout his career, Alex always gave his time and talent to help others get a start in the industry he loved. After his death in 2004, his family, friends and the WGC decided to keep his name and spirit alive by sponsoring the Alex Barris Mentorship Award.Granted biennially, the award acknowledges one screenwriter who has made an outstanding commitment to help another screenwriter, or several, get ahead in the business. This year, the Alex Barris Mentorship Award is presented to Matt Huether.Matt was recognized by his nominators as being incredibly generous with his time and energy, always providing the most thoughtful notes to new writers, and giving them the confidence they need to forge their own career paths.As one of his nominators noted, Matt took a chance on some kid hed never even met, and hes become a life changing mentor for me. Eighty percent of what I know about writing for television is thanks to him, and I probably would have given up otherwise. As a screenwriter, Matt is an Emmy-nominated, Humanitas Prizewinning TV writer/producer whos most recently served as supervising producer on Mary Kills People and as executive producer on Degrassi: Next Class. He has been nominated for four WGC Screenwriting Awards, and has won four Canadian Screen Awards.'