10th Annual Champions of Mental Health Awards Gala: A Great Success!

The Champions of Mental Health Awards Gala, held on May 7, 2012 at the Chateau Laurier, was once again an overwhelming success! This year marked the 10th anniversary of Champions and the event was met with an outpouring of support and recognition. The Gala brought together prominent political figures, business leaders, members of the national media, and sponsors to recognize and celebrate the outstanding efforts of individuals and organizations who have made significant contributions to the advancement of the mental health agenda in Canada.

Several public figures attended the Gala this year in support of Canada’s mental health community, with 32 Parliamentarians in attendance including Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, Minister of Labour the Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Finance the Honourable Jim Flaherty, and House Leader the Honourable Peter Van Loan. The Gala also included a few new elements from previous years, including a red carpet arrival for guests and the addition of a reception room where guests could mingle and pose for photographs. Photographs from the evening are available for viewing at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/miawcanada/

We were please to recognize five exceptional Champions this year, each of them having worked tirelessly to increase awareness surrounding the importance of mental health and to create positive changes in their own mental health community. This year’s winners in each of the five categories were:

Community Individual: Michael Landsberg, TSN Broadcaster
Community Organization: Cardinal Newman Peer Mentors, Stoney Creek,
Ontario Public Sector Individual: Senator W. David Angus, Q.C., Ad E.
Private Sector Individual: Scott Chisholm, Founder of the Collateral Damage Project
Researcher: Dr. Trang Dao, Psychiatric Researcher and Advocate for the Mentally Ill

We would like to offer our most sincere congratulations to this year’s winners, and a heartfelt thank you to all nominees for their support, dedication and commitment to Canada’s mental health!

The Champions of Mental Health Awards Gala would not have been possible without the generous support of our sponsors – Bell as our presenting sponsor and the generous contributions of RBC, Janssen, Rx&D and Eli Lilly.