President’s Award - Mary Tidlund















Mary A. Tidlund was adopted at the age of seven by a loving Calgary family along with three other adopted children. Over the years, Mary shared her childhood with at least fourty foster children that her parents nurtured and loved; leading her to study at the university level.

After completing a science degree in Geography from the University of Calgary, Mary began a 15-year career in the oil industry; later becoming President and CEO of a publicly traded oil exploration and service company. She located the head office for the company in Saskatchewan where she was committed to the community through her entrepreneurial work. Her activities expanded to include drilling and trucking companies, a clothing store, an art gallery, and a restaurant based in Arcola. Mary's businesses employed more than two-hundred and fifty people. Mary's commitment to her community was recognized nationally in 1993, where she was a finalist in the Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards. In addition, Mary received an In Award for having the most impact on the local community.

While business had been strong, an industry downturn led Mary from the oil business and she turned her energy to traveling internationally where she discovered and actualized her desire to serve others. On October 14, 1998 she founded the Mary A. Tidlund Charitable Foundation which is designated as a public foundation. The foundation financially supports and participates in medical, dental and educational programs in Canada and overseas. It started with medical teams in Peru and Ecuador, but activities quickly expanded to India, Haiti, and Kenya among many other nations. Other key initiatives include providing meals for the homeless, educational programs for children and promoting complimentary medicine.

Not only does the foundation have its’ own programs, but it collaborates with organizations nationwide in facilitating programs to improve living conditions. The mission statement of the foundation states:

Our vision is to grow and work together as a creative part of the world community with respect, compassion, understanding and openness to empowering each other. Our objectives, through a combination of volunteers and financial funding, are to share and exchange knowledge of health, education and the alleviation of poverty.

Essentially, this mission is the definition of a life dedicated to improving the lives of other.

Leadership Award – Tolulope (Tolu) Taiwo Shannon Quadri

The first step in leadership is overcoming the challenges on your own path, and this is why Tolulope Quadrihas been able to become a leader in the many environments that she has been a part of over the years.

Her passion for helping others flourished at the age of ten through volunteer efforts and active participation within the community, which continued while attending high school at Mother Theresa Secondary School in Malvern.

During this period, Tolu committed her time to volunteering at the Malvern Public library and Recreation Centre as a tutor for a children’s after school homework club and a Leading to Reading program. She had also started to write and perform spoken word poetry focused on uplifting those around her.

In 2002, Tolu and her twin sister were selected as part of a group of ten students chosen by the principal of Mother Teresa high school to attend the Harry Jerome Awards Ceremony; a ceremony honoring leadership in the black community. In Tolu’s final year of high school, 2002-2003, it was a year of the escalating violence in Toronto; as a response, she co-founded a singing and spoken word trio with her twin sister and friend. In addition to this group, she had poems and essays published that encouraged positive attitudes and thinking.
Tolu graduated from Mother Teresa Secondary School with honors in June 2003, receiving an Ontario Scholar Medal for Academic Excellence and for maintaining honor roll standing all throughout her four years of high school.

Following high school graduation, Tolu completed a year of studies at York University before enrolling into a collaborative program between Ryerson and George Brown, studying Early Childhood Education (ECE).

Tolu was later selected as one of twelve students to participate in the Jamaica Project-an international educational outreach project with the centre of Early Childhood Development at George Brown College which did fundraisers for children in Jamaica and led to Tolu actually going to the country to teach.

She currently works with One80 Youth Newspaper, as the Youth Advice Columnist

Tolu’s educational goals are to complete a Masters in Education and a Masters in Social Work. She firmly believes that her future aspirations will reflect a combination of her interests and she will create a non-profit Christian organization that will serve all levels of society.

Trailblazer Award - Commander Dr. Alvin Curling











The first black Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, a position to which he was elected in November, 2003; Dr. Alvin F. Dr. Curling was first elected to the Ontario legislature in 1985, representing the former riding of Scarborough North, now Scarborough-Rouge River. Upon winning the riding he amassed the highest vote total in Canadian history. He was re-elected in five subsequent elections ending in October 2003 and in August 2005 was appointed Canada’s ambassador to the Dominican Republic.

Between 1985 and 1990, Dr. Curling served as Minister of Housing introducing a comprehensive housing strategy and Ontario’s first province wide rent control legislation. Dr. Curling also served as Minister of Skills Development and was a member of the Premier's Council on Science and Technology and chaired the Standing Committee on Estimates from November 1995 to January 1997.
Educated at CAST/ University of Technology, Kingston Jamaica, Seneca College and Atkinson College at York University in Toronto, before entering politics, Dr. Curling was the Director of Student Affairs for Seneca College from 1972 to 1985.

Strongly committed to promoting literacy, Dr. Curling was President of World Literacy of Canada from 1981 to 1984. He is actively involved in many community organizations and was Chair of the Advisory Board to the Caribana Cultural Committee from 1997 to 1998. He was also a member of the Board of Directors of the World Hunger Project.

For his strong community involvement, Curling was honoured by the Government of Jamaica with the Order of Distinction, and carries the rank of Commander and was most recently awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree, Doctor of Letters from the University of Technology in Jamaica. Throughout his career Dr. Curling has displayed a strong commitment to public service and continues to do so.

Staff Superintendent Peter Sloly – Toronto Police Service

Peter Sloly was born in Kingston, Jamaica and immigrated to Canada in 1976.

After arriving in Canada, he obtained a BA in Sociology from McMaster University and a Masters in Business Administration from York University’s Schulich School of Business.

Staff Superintendent Peter Sloly is in his nineteenth year as a police officer with the Toronto Police Service (TPS). In 1999, Peter Sloly became the youngest officer to be promoted to a senior officer rank in TPS history and is the highest-ranking Jamaican born police officer in Canada. He is presently in charge of the following units: Employment, Training, Staff Planning, Community Mobilization and Diversity Management.

Peter Sloly has also been the Unit Commander of the 55 Division, 53 Division and Corporate Communications. He has represented the TPS on numerous local, national and international peace making and community building initiatives including: Mayor Miller’s “City Safety Plan”, the Toronto City Summit Alliance “Income Security Task Force”, the Jamaica Diaspora Conference, and the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Kosovo.

Among his career highlights are: outreach programs specific to the Black community, the Jamaican Canadian Diaspora and new immigrants that has improved the quality of life, he has championed a new innovative recruiting and hiring system for the TPS that has significantly increased the proportion of women and visible minorities in the Service, and he has organized youth specific programs including the Police/Youth Basket Ball League, Police/Youth Soccer League, Police/Youth Mentorship Program and the Newcomer Outreach Program.

Peter Sloly is a member of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers and has been on the Board of Directors for the following organizations: Harry Jerome Scholarship Fund, Covenant House and Spirit of the People Aboriginal Centre.

Throughout his career he has received the numerous awards including The Bob Marley Day Award, United Nations Peacekeeping Medal & Canadian Peacekeeping Medal, and the Certificate of Recognition – Minister of State, Multiculturalism & Status of Women.
Prior to his policing career, Peter Sloly was a professional soccer player with the Toronto Blizzard and he was a member of the Canadian National Soccer Team.

Arts, Media and Entertainment Award - Farley Flex










Farley Flex is of an elite breed of icons in the history of the Canadian music industry. His career in the business began more than twenty-five years ago as a young event promoter, but was truly launched through his role as the manager of Maestro (Fresh Wes), Canada’s most successful urban artist.

As a founding member of FLOW 93.5 FM (Milestone Radio), Canada’s first urban radio station, Flex became a part of another major step forward in the nation’s urban industry

In 2003, Flex was named as one of the four judges of Canadian Idol, CTV's national hit talent search program. Through the combination of his musical insight and the strength of his on-camera personality, he was able to help make Canadian Idol the most viewed television series in Canadian history for four consecutive seasons.

While he is quite known for the previously mentioned roles, Flex is also a Board member of VideoFACT, he served on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Independent Record Production Association (CIRPA), and as a juror for the Foundation to Assist Canadian Talent on Records (FACTOR). He has also served as a consultant to companies looking to understand the nation’s urban market and has played the lead role in presentations to the CRTC for two other urban stations in Canada.

Flex is the founder of Plasma Management & Productions Inc, and co-founder of Plasma Pictures Entertainment and Plasma Corporation, an integrated media company with a focus on producing and developing music, film and television projects. Artists under his company include Gary Beals, Toya Alexis, Belinda Brady, and Ammoye.

Flex has managed to parlay his celebrity status into what he refers to as “the most rewarding part of his career”, motivational speaking, where he speaks to young audiences across the nation, from the core of Toronto to the periphery of Canada’s Aboriginal Reserves.

Technology and Innovation Award - Dr. Victor E. Gooding

It is only in recent years that the reality of satellite technology has come to enter into the popular consciousness and into everyday life: whether it is satellite radio, satellite television, or satellite surveillance – innovation in this field touch most of our lives daily.

The work and career of Victor E. Gooding is a major contributor to this reality in our nation. Born in Barbados, he attended the Caribbean Meteorological Institute in Barbados, later working as a weather scientist at the Barbados Meteorological Office.

In 1969, he immigrated to Canada to attend Sir George Williams University in Montreal (now Concordia University). Throughout his entire academic career, including the completion of his Masters’ degree and PhD at Queen’s, Dr. Gooding received prestigious scholarships and awards of merit – not to mention innovations on communications technologies (e.g. new insight into the design of optimum communications transmission systems).

In addition to his academic exploits, he also played varsity soccer for four years, garnering MVP honours in 1973 and the Association of Alumni Award in 1973 as the top graduating athlete; he also set a number of national and school records in track and field.

In 1980, Dr. Gooding left Queen’s University to join Telesat Canada as a Senior Engineer. Telesat had been established in 1969 by the Federal Government and was operating its first set of satellites, the Anik A and Anik B series.

Dr. Gooding continued to move through the ranks, receiving numerous promotions and contributing to groundbreaking projects in communications technology.

He currently works as a Broadband Satellite specialist at Telesat Canada, the country’s leading satellite owner, operator and communications services provider.

His successful patent application for an innovative satellite system models was drawn from over twenty-seven years of experience in the telecommunications industry. This achievement was recognized last year by a Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) First Invention Award.

In addition to his academic accolades and his invaluable contributions to satellite technology, Dr. Gooding has also carried on his love for sports. For the last twelve years he has maintained significant community involvement as a soccer coach, and is raising his two teenaged daughters with his wife. Notably, he also participated in the 1976 Olympics as a member of the Barbados National team.

Lifetime Acheivement Award - Dr. Leebert A Wright

Born in Jamaica, West Indies, Dr. Leebert Wright came to Canada in 1951 to study at McGill University.

After graduating, he assumed the position of Clinical Biochemist at the Montreal General Hospital with a cross appointment in the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University. Such arrangements continued after arriving in Toronto, where he held a director level position with a Toronto hospitals and played vital roles in major universities.

Following his M.Sc. in Biochemistry he worked as a biochemist in the Laboratory Centre for Disease Control before going to the University of Toronto to continue his studies in the Department of Pathological Chemistry. His outstanding work won him the Allan Hoffman Memorial Award.

While establishing a enviable career, Dr. Wright became a member of the Canadian Society of Clinical Chemistry (CSCC) where he had the opportunity of his life to work with some of the most outstanding scientists in the country dedicated to improving healthcare in Canada.

In 1971, Dr. Wright became President of the CSCC. His leadership and creative energies were directed towards research and development of a range of reference methods and tests for substances such as cholesterol, testosterone and other chemicals that directly affect the well-being of millions of people across Canada.

He also influenced the standardization of Clinical Chemistry in Canada while Chairman of influential national scientific bodies.

For his contribution to Clinical Chemistry and his advocacy both nationally and internationally the CSCC awarded Dr. Wright its most prestigious award, the Ames Award for outstanding contribution to the field of Clinical Chemistry.
He is also a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Clinical Biochemists and the National Academy of Clinical Biochemists in the United States.

Although retired, Dr. Wright remains actively engaged not only with the CSCC and a range of community organizations.