As a member of the Nominations Committee, I was pleased to see Canada’s Telecom Hall of Fame release its list of Laureates for 2006. This year’s award dinner will honour 6 individuals who made significant contributions to the telecommunications industry in Canada.
A special award will recognize Nortel’s Digital World initiative from the 1970’s – a program that gave Canada a two-year head-start in digital switching technology and revolutionized telecommunications around the globe.
The individual Laureates are:
- Edward S. “Ted” Rogers (CEO, Rogers Communications Inc.),
- Edward S. Rogers, Sr. (Communications Inventor),
- Donald L. Hings (Inventor of the Walkie Talkie),
- Leila Wightman (Rural Telephone Pioneer),
- Francis Dagger (Public Ownership Advocate for the Prairies), and
- Ernest E. “Ernie” Saunders (Bell Canada)
There are many more worthy individuals and institutions that have been considered and continue to be considered for recognition in the future.
An objective of the Telecom Hall of Fame is
to foster a greater national awareness and appreciation among all Canadians of the outstanding global reputation our country enjoys as a historic leader and innovator in the field of telecommunications.
I’d like to think that among the educational benefits of the Telecom Hall of Fame is to inspire youth to contribute to Canada’s future leadership and innovation in the field.
We need to ensure that the Telecom Hall of Fame isn’t a museum that simply celebrates the greatness of the past.
Over the next few weeks, I’m participating in a number of meetings that promise to examine policies to accelerate Canada’s telecommunications leadership in the future. Stay tuned.
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Telecom Hall of Fame, Mark Goldberg