Dr. Richard Bruskiewich – Academic Achievement

Richard is an accomplished scientist in his own right having worked on the human genome project (amongst other things) and when David Baillie introduced him, he emphasized the significance of the achievements that Richard has made over the years. I was very, very impressed. What I was more impressed though when pushing for him to receive an award at the committee level was his own personal sacrifices to work overseas for the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines. I believe that he passed on more lucrative positions her in North America or the EU to do work that he felt was important for the world. It’s obvious that he cares deeply about his family too. I had a chance to speak with him briefly after the awards and his family was one of the things that we talked about. The presenter that introduced him was obviously very emotional about him winning the award and I was a bit choked up myself.

Ms. Evaleen Jaager Roy – Professional Achievement

As I mentioned, I got to escort Evaleen and her family throughout the event and what a delight it was. Evaleen’s son, Steffan, was a lot of fun and a good sport throughout the event despite having just come out of a major volleyball competition that day. Everyone speaks very highly of Evaleen. Her professional achievements are clearly superior. However, I was thrilled to learn that she also has a serious philanthropic streak as well. Dr. Gerri Sinclair (a very well known player in BC’s science and technology community) introduced her and spent a lot of time talking about the contributions that Evaleen made to the formation of the Master of Digital Media program at the Great Northern Way campus in Vancouver [link].

In addition to helping push through the development of this program and this campus, Evaleen also ensured that young women and the disadvantaged would have the opportunity to learn at this new high tech centre. In one case, they gave a scholarship to a young homeless person who was living under a bridge and that person now has a budding career as a digital art director here in Vancouver. This earned her the unofficial title “VP of Angels”. She’s a great person and I was honoured to have met her.

Dr. Gabor Mate – Service to the Community

Dr. Mate is an intimidating, sharp-witting and sharp-tongued guy. He’s authored many books on the topic of the psychology of addiction and is currently working on a new book. I most appreciated his comments about his experience at SFU in the late 1960s (when the school was brand new) and how radical it was. In an age where I fear a dilution of that raw spirit that gives SFU its distinct character, it was nice to harken back to what makes SFU special. While SFU President Michael Stevenson seemed apologetic about our new Fine Arts campus going into the old Woodwards site [link], Dr. Mate – a long-standing champion of the Downtown East Side – applauded the project which will include 200 units of social housing for the impoverished residents of the area. I wish I’d had a chance to talk with Gabor but he was surrounded by a throng of admirers after the event.

Dr. Jennifer Allen Simons – Service to the Community

Jennifer Simons was introduced as a “kickboxer”, a patron of the arts and a passionate advocate for nuclear disarmament. My good friend Shauna Sylvester from Canada’s World [link] gave a lovely, glowing introduction and emphasized the kind of magnetism that Dr. Simons has when she attends these international summits to discuss nuclear weapon proliferation. Dr. Simons was clearly moved by receiving the award and took time to talk about the progress of her fight against nuclear proliferation. She also mentioned that she has a new initiative under way. You can check it out at at globalzero.org. I wish, like Shuana, that I’d had the benefit of knowing Dr. Simons all these years. It’s also reminded me that I need to spend more time with Shauna since I’ve always valued her friendship and advice.

Click here to read the award profiles of all the winners last night.