Lifelong Achievement

Randy Fowler

In 1982, Randy Fowler suffered a traumatic brain injury in a horrific car crash that killed his best friend. The promising young football player spent months in a coma and was expected to remain in a vegetative state for the rest of his life. After years of intensive rehabilitation, Mr. Fowler has battled back to become a prolific and passionate motivational speaker. 

Mr. Fowler has shared his devastating experience with more than 30,000 students over his 25-year involvement with the PARTY (Prevent Alcohol and Risk Related Trauma in Youth) program. In frank speeches and a moving video circulated to schools across Canada and the United States, Mr. Fowler delivers a compelling message that is equally cautionary and hopeful. At the Association for the Rehabilitation and the Brain Injured (ARBI), Mr. Fowler is a role model for providing mentorship and hope. As a member of ARBI's Board of Directors, he provides a survivor's perspective. An energetic fundraiser, he has given many corporate presentations during the annual  United Way Campaign and raised roughly $50,000 for the Southern Alberta Brain Injury Society's annual Walk N' Roll campaign. 

Mr. Fowler's candour and courage lend depth and power to his message. He hopes to influence listeners, especially young people, to make smart choices, such as using designated drivers and wearing helmets and other protective gear. Mr. Fowler's success is immeasurable, much like his generosity of spirit.

Emerging Leader

Timea Nagy

Timea Nagy arrived in Canada from her native Hungary more than 10 years ago, hoping to find work as a nanny or housekeeper. Instead, she was abducted and forced to work in the sex trade for months before she managed to escape her captors. Now Ms. Nagy devotes her life to raising awareness about human trafficking and providing crucial support to survivors.

Ms. Nagy operates Ontario's only dedicated safe house for victims of human trafficking. In cooperation with law enforcement, she has rescued more than 155 victims of human trafficking, offering invaluable compassion and genuine empathy. Her mentorship has changed lives, making victims into survivors, advocates and allies. In the wider public sphere, Ms. Nagy is just as influential and passionate a leader. She speaks frankly to law enforcement, justice officials, government and the public about a criminal practice that people often thinks happens "elsewhere," but that happens with shocking frequency in Canada. Ms. Nagy has also been recognized for her efforts in helping pass Bill C-268 and Bill C-310, which instituted minimum sentences for human trafficking of children under the Criminal Code of Canada. Ms. Nagy is the first Canadian Citizen to receive a Fredric Douglas Award by the International Organization: Free The Slaves.
 
Ms. Nagy has published an account of her ordeal, called Memoirs of a Sex Slave Survivor. In 2009, she created walk-with-me.org, an organization combating human trafficking in Canada and throughout the world. With impressive courage and fierce determination, Ms. Nagy has turned her tragedy into triumph and is helping other victims to do the same.