Brian Cole and the Award’s Legacy

“I was first inspired to undertake the Award in 1977 as a young adult and youth leader with the St. John Ambulance (SJA) Cadet program in Niagara Falls, Canada. That year, I was afforded the unique opportunity through SJA to attend the Commonwealth Youth Enterprise (Conference) hosted by the Commonwealth Youth Exchange Council in London, England. 

It was at this conference that I learned of the Award and on returning to Canada, I visited our National Award Office (at the time, in Hamilton Ontario) to learn more and eventually to register to begin my own Award journey – but that’s not where it ends. It wasn’t long after registering for the program that I developed a keen interest in establishing the program for other youth in my local SJA Cadet division.

The appetite and interest shown by these young adults in SJA was so profound that in 1978 this original group of SJA–Award participants were selected to demonstrate first aid skills to his HRH The Duke of Edinburgh during his visit to Toronto Canada. A year later I qualified for my own Gold Award, presented to me by the Queen Mother in Toronto Ontario. Over the years, initially as part of the Gold Award Society, then through my SJA-Award collaboration, and to this day following the evolution of the Award, I’ve helped countless others to learn, grow and pursue their own personal achievements, and perhaps more significantly, to selflessly contribute back.

Now, these many years later, the Award is still one of my most cherished accomplishments, because of the way that it inspired, challenged and motivated me to progress to where I am today, personally, and professionally. And, above all, it helped teach me the value of service and “paying it forward”. It is this Award legacy – created and inspired by Prince Philip, and adapted worldwide as a diverse, inclusive, and sustainable initiative – that I can confidently declare, made me and others that followed me, “#WorldReady”.”

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