Black Business and Professional Association celebrates Canadian Black Excellence at the 40th Annual Harry Jerome Awards

BY PAUL JUNOR

It was truly a remarkable and prestigious occasion at the 40^th Harry Jerome Awards, which was held on Saturday, April 30^th, 2022, at the Beanfield Centre in Toronto. This is the BBPA’s signature event which has come to define it over the years.

The 2022 event marked the first in-person Gala Awards since the COVID-19 pandemic. In the press release on Friday, April 15^th, 2022, Nadine Spencer, CEO of the BBPA stated, “We are thrilled that our gala will return to an in-person format so that we can continue this inspiring tradition in the Black business community. Due to the impact of COVID-19, we desperately need financial support to assist people facing business challenges, The BBPA Harry Jerome Awards Gala is a huge community fundraising effort and we are grateful for the unwavering support of our donors, corporate sponsors, and many volunteers.”

The announcement of the recipients was made on Tuesday, April 12^th, 2022. BBPA Interim President Ross Cadastre is excited about the award to Barbabos’s P.M . He states, “The addition of the International Leader Award is an exciting moment for the BBPA, as it makes the Harry Jerome Awards a truly global endeavor. We are proud to honour Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados as our first  recipient of the HJA International Leader Award and look forward to celebrating international excellence on an ongoing basis in the future.”

The list of 22 award honorees includes the following:

• RBC Young Entrepreneur Award – Trent Out Loud (Award Sponsor RBC)
• Professional Excellence Award- Eleanor Beaton (Award Sponsor Zoosh Service Enterprise)
• Leadership Award- David Simmonds (Award Sponsor TD Bank Group)
• Arts Award – Siphe November (Award Sponsor TD Bank Group)
• Business Award – Mark Harrison (Award Sponsor Ball)
• Lifetime Award – Joe Halstead (Award Sponsor BBPA)
• President’s Award – Amaka Umah (Award Sponsor BBPA)
• Jerome Family Athletics Award -Cynthia Appiah (Award Sponsor Apothic Wines)
• Decade Leader Award – David Mitchell (Award Sponsor Diversity Institute)
• Technology Award – Jonah Chininga (Award Sponsor PepsiCo)
• International Leader Award in Economic Growth – Mia Mottley, P. M. Barbados (Award Sponsor BBPA)

The event was hosted by Jesse Jones, a media personality and Danielle Donaldson. It featured performances by award-winning songstress, Divine Brown, Canadian Juno reggae winner, Steele, violinist Yanet Campbell, vocalist, Michelle Adams  and Ontario’s  First Poet Laureate, Randell Adjei. Harold Eban Brown, world-renowned guitarist, composer, former lead singer by Grammy-nominated group, the Stylistics headlined the evening.

Andrea Horwath, Leader of the official Ontario NDP gave greeting. Mitze Hunter, MPP of Scarborough-Guildwood presented greetings on behalf of the Ontario Liberal Party as well as Mike Schreiner, leader of the Green Party, and the honourable Greg Fergus, of the federal Liberal Party.

HJAA’s recipient, Amaka Umeh states, “I am deeply grateful to receive this honour and support from the BBPA on behalf of the formidable community. What we do is essential and I celebrate this award with pride. It is my hope that this recognition inspired Black artists to press on, contributing the labours of our minds and fruits of our souls to our abundant collective excellence.”  Another winner, David Simmonds states, “It’s an incredible honour to be named 2022 HJA recipient I am both proud of the progress made in advancing diversity throughout my career and acutely aware more work is required to drive equity and inclusion that addresses the stubbornly persistent barriers in society.”

Anyone interested in learning about the BBPA’s programs and workshops can check the following:

Website: www.bbpa.org

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