2023 Rogers IABC Communicator of the Year Award Ceremony

It was such a surreal moment. Imagine you have a room full of people who have played a significant role in your life’s journey - from childhood to present day. Now imagine you are able to thank them for the role they have played in your life. And the final imaginative thought: you are receiving an award in front of them for all of your hard work and you get to recount pivotal points in your career that got you to that point. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that day would be a reality - but it happened to me on March 1st.

I received the distinguished honour of being named the 2023 Rogers IABC-Toronto Communicator of the Year. IABC stands for International Association of Business Communicators. Others who have received this prestigious award include: Ojibwe broadcaster and activist Jesse Wente, Toronto Raptor’s General Manager Masai Ujiri, Toronto Medical Officer of Health Dr. Eileen de Villa and Entrepreneur Wes Hall. Needless to say, I was incredibly honoured to be a part of this esteemed group.

Back in November when I found out that I had been selected by the IABC committee, I thought it was a spam email. But after I verified it with the committee, I was overjoyed. It began to sink in over the next few months, especially when we started planning the event along with Sharon Hinds (she brought it to Rogers Communications to sponsor), I had to pinch myself several times. In the past, recipients of the award decided how they would like their ceremony to unfold. So I decided that I wanted a small audience of family, friends and longtime champions of my career and entrepreneurship. I also wanted it to be a learning opportunity for IABC communicators who would be watching online as well as anyone else who decided to tune in. I was receiving the award for my role in amplifying Black voices in the media landscape and combatting anti-Black racism in Canada. So my next big hurdle was writing my speech.

Every time I started to think about what I was going to say, I got emotional. Thinking about the journey that I had to take to get to this point - the lows (and there were many), the highs, the racism, the sexism, the agism, the struggles - it was a lot. How was I going to put everything in to the right words? How was I going to be able to present this speech without breaking down? I didn’t want to overthink things too much, so I waited until a couple of days before the event to write my acceptance speech. I made one or two additions the morning of, and I shared it with no one. I wanted everyone to hear my thoughts at the same time.

When I stepped up to the podium, I paused for a moment, overwhelmed by the moment. Words of encouragement came from the crowd and I looked up to see smiling faces, eagerly waiting for me to speak. And that’s all I needed. I won’t reveal what was said here. But I did get a standing ovation at the end, so I think I did alright. If you want to hear a bit of what was said, below is a snippet from the award ceremony and a few photos that capture one of the best days of my life that I could ever have imagined.