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I recently had the pleasure of attending the 5th Annual Telecom Laureate Awards Gala Dinner and Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, held by Canada’s Telecommunications Hall of Fame at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa. Maravedis served as Media Sponsor for the event, which brought together a veritable who’s-who of the Canadian broadband wireless, cable, satellite, telephone and mobile industries to honour and celebrate Laureates based on nominations received from the public, and selected by the Laureate Nominations Committee and the Laureate Selections Committee. Canada’s Telecommunications Hall of Fame is a national, non-profit charitable organization with a mission to safeguard and promote the past, present and future excellence of Canadian telecommunications. Besides the Laureates Program, it’s mission is also fulfilled through an Education Program and a Promotion and Outreach Program. The Telecom Laureate Program is well advertised through news releases, print and website-based nomination forms and processes, direct-mail letters and emails, at industry conferences and seminars, at Canadian universities and colleges. There are 4 categories of Awards each year: Inventors and Innovators; Icons of Business; Servants of the Public; Advocates and Academics. Last year’s inductees included Jim Balsillie (RIM), Mike Lazaridis (RIM), and David Golden (Telesat Canada). This year, the Awards went to the following: Inventors and Innovators: The late Donald Alexander Chisholm, a well-known Canadian telecommunication innovator who has been referred to as the “Father of the Digital World.” He served as President of Bell Northern Research (BNR), and then as President of Northern Telecom. He also was a Founding President of the Bell Northern Research Centre, which under his leadership became Nortel’s innovation engine. Icons of Business: Andre Chagnon, an entrepreneur who has contributed to television broadcasting, cable television and telecommunications as the founder of Le Groupe Videotron, one of Canada’s largest telecommunications companies. In 1994 he was named to the Government of Canada’s advisory council on the information highway, and in 1997 was one of four business leaders to represent Canada at the G7 conference on the information society. Servants of the Public (1): Colin A. Franklin, an engineer and physicist and a leading pioneer in Canada’s space program. He played a leading role in the engineering design, construction and application of Canada’s first satellite. Servants of the Public (2): The Honourable Francis Fox, who was the Federal Minister of Communications who introduced cellular wireless telephony into Canada when he made the historic decision in 1983 to license Rogers Cantel and the provincial telephone companies. He built the regulatory framework for cellular service in Canada that continues to this day. He currently serves within the Senate of Canada as a member of the Transport and Communications Committee. Advocates and Academics: Israel Switzer, who began as an engineer and went on to build major cable systems around the world. He also was a founder of CityTV, the first local, urban TV station in North America, operating with a UHF license. It is reported that an accidental meeting between Mr. Switzer and Ted Rogers led the latter to intensify his focus on cellular telephone, and to enter that market. The towns of Heart’s Content Newfoundland and Bamfield, British Columbia, Canada’s original cable landing sites, were awarded the 2009 Special Recognition Award. You can take a virtual tour of the Hall of Fame by visiting the website: http://www.telecomhall.ca/index.php Join our LinkedIn Group and follow us on Twitter. We look forward to connecting with you! For more information you can contact the author at emma@maravedis-bwa.com |
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