CBC News at Six is a proud media sponsor of the 2008 Harry Jerome Awards.

The awards were presented on Saturday, April 26th, 2008 in Toronto by the Black Business and Professional Association.

Meet the Winners!

Academics Award

Vera Manu

Vera Manu was awarded the York University Award of Achievement for Academic Excellence, was on the Dean's List and graduated with distinction. She is now in her second year at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto. This is quite an achievement for a young woman who grew up in Toronto's Jane-Finch community and had to repeat the first grade. She gives back to the community as a mentor.

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Arts Award

Cheryl Foggo

Cheryl Foggo is an author and playwright in Calgary. Her lifelong passion for her ancestors' distinctive history compelled her to research and write her first book Pourin' Down Rain which chronicles her family's journey. She is the author of more than 40 articles on local, national and international topics.

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Athletics Award

Anne Ogundele

Anne Ogundele started playing goal with the Dixie Soccer Club at the age of 8 and never looked back. Scouts noticed her stand out performances with the U17 Provincial Team and Team Ontario at the 2001 Canada Games.
Today she is with the University of Kentucky where she continues to rack up wins, awards and honours.

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Community Service Award

Roger Rowe

Roger Rowe completed his LLB at Osgood Hall Law School in 1987. He is a founding member of the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers and volunteers with several non-profit organizations and charities. He is also the immediate past president of PEACH: Promoting Economic Action and Community Health, a non-profit organization that runs programs for high need youth in the Jane and Finch community.

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Entertainment Award

Anthony Sherwood

Anthony Sherwood is one of Canada's best-known actors and producers. He started his career in musical theatre then moved on to major roles in Canadian and American feature films and television. He played Jason Locke in Airwolf and Dillon Beck on the award-winning CBC program, Street Legal.

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Health Sciences Award

Dr. Stephen Blizzard

As a specialist in aviation medicine and primary eye care, Dr. Stephen Blizzard's career has taken him all over the world. Most of his career has been with the Canadian military as a surgeon, flight instruction, leader and innovator. He is past president of the International Academy of Aviation and Space Medicine.

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Leadership Award

Charles Ofori-Attah

Charles Ofori-Attah is a leader and advocate for children's health at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa. He has excelled despite being diagnosed with sickle cell anemia as a child. Despite spending so much time in the hospital, Charles graduated from high school as the class valedictorian. He is currently attending Carleton University.

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Willie O'Ree

Willie O'Ree was an up and coming hockey player when he was struck in the eye by a puck in a Quebec Junior League game. It left him blind in one eye, a fact that he kept to himself and excelled to become the first black hockey player to join the NHL. He was called up to the Boston Bruins in 1958.

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Media Award

Marci Ien

Marci Ien is News Anchor with the nation's top morning show Canada AM. She started with a children's show called Circle Square, then went on to study Journalism at Ryerson and join CHCH TV in Hamilton. She has been with CTV since 1997. Classroom visits, mentoring and interacting with youth is very important to her.

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President's Award

Dr. Chris Spence

A former football player with the B.C. Lions, Chris Spence earned a doctorate in education. In May 1998, he became principal at Lawrence Heights Middle School in Toronto, a school with a reputation for violence. He turned it around and started Boys 2 Men, a program for young men who lack a father figure. He is director of the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board.

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Professional Excellence

Njoki Nathani Wane

Njoki Nathani Wane was born in a small village in Kenya. Her love of reading grew into academic excellence and a degree in Education from Nairobi University. She went on to earn a PhD and become a Professor at the University of Toronto. In addition, she is Director of the Centre for Integrative Anti-Racist Research Studies.

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Technology and Innovation Award

Warren Salmon

A graduate of Ryerson's Applied Computer Science degree program, Warren Salmon continued to study at UBC and York University. In 1983, he founded Softec Software Services. In 1990, he created Black Board International, an online service and software company tailored to people of African descent. In 1999, he created SmoothDrive Inc to provide real-time information services for wireless customers.

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Trailblazer Award

Dr. Alex MacGregor

What makes Dr. Alex MacGregor a trailblazer is his expertise in translating knowledge into sustainable business and in pharmaceutical research and development. He has contributed to the development of the pharmaceutical sector in China and the Caribbean. As a pharmaceutical innovator, his inventions have lead to ground-breaking therapeutic drugs for the treatment of diabetes, infections, epilepsy and post-operative pain.

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