The 2012 Inspire Awards
TORONTO NEWS / Photo gallery of awards honouring queer leadership at Casa Loma
Andrea Houston / Toronto / Monday, June 18, 2012
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The 2012 Inspire Awards were handed out on June 16 at a party at Casa Loma.

Hosted by the Pink Pages, the awards honour “leadership in the LGBTQ community.”

“Congratulations, and as well, congratulations to everyone who was nominated. You all inspire our community and make us a better one with all your hard work, love and dedication,” said president and founder Antoine Elhashem. “Keep up the great work for many years to come.”
Queer Idol 2011 winner Amy Lewis performed.
(Andrea Houston)


The winners:

LGBTQ Person of the Year --- Trans and sex worker activist Monica Forrester

LGBTQ Youth of the Year --- Jacques St Pierre, the Etobicoke School of the Arts student who contacted Lady Gaga about an anti-bullying rally at his school

LGBTQ Positive Business of the Year --- Northbound Leather

Inspiring Community Organization of the Year --- Heterosexuals for Same Sex Equality


See Xtra's photo gallery here.


 
 


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Reader Comments


 
Awards renounced and returned in support of QuAIA?
It’s interesting that the 2012 Inspire Awards were hosted by the Pink Pages. On page 63 of the current Pink Pages, QuAIA supporter El-Farouk Khaki has an advertisement for his business in which he lists, as community recognition, the awards he received from Pride Toronto in 2006 (for the Pride Toronto Excellence in Spirituality Award) and in 2009 (for Toronto Pride Grand Marshall). See: http://thepinkpagesdirectory.ca/downloads/ThePinkPagesDirectory-2011.pdf Yet, in a highly publicized move on June 7, 2010, El-Farouk Khaki renounced and returned those awards as part of a series of protests organized by QuAIA against Pride Toronto. See: http://www.xtra.ca/public/National/Pride_Toronto_in_hiding_after_spirited_denunciation_from_queer_leaders-8747.aspx Here’s a video that shows El-Farouk Khaki leaving his awards at the front door of Pride Toronto’s offices (at around time 1:30 in the video): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBjfIAeFGnw&feature=player_embedded If El-Farouk Khaki renounced and returned his Pride Toronto awards on June 7, 2010 in support of QuAIA’s protest, isn’t it insincere and hypocritical for him to continue to promote himself in the Pink Pages as the winner of two awards from Pride Toronto? It shows that the returning of the awards on QuAIA’s day of protest on June 7, 2010 was really just a publicity stunt.
Mark, Toronto ON
06/19/12 1:40 AM EST
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Unrelated
Dear Mark, Whoever you may be, your comment is the most unrelated post to the topic of the winners of the 2012 INSPIRE Awards that one could ever imagine. I usually ignore any negative comments that don't serve to make our community a better one, but your post is almost laughable. How does the advertisement of a client of The Pink Pages Directory who once paid for his ad has the right to list what he deems relative to his ad message have anything to do with the INSPIRE Awards. "It’s interesting that the 2012 Inspire Awards were hosted by the Pink Pages"! How is that interesting? The INSPIRE Awards is not hosted by The Pink Pages Directory, but is founded by myself personally, and is presented as a partnership by Pink Play Mags & The Pink Pages Directory, PFLAG Canada (with Black Friends & Families, PFLAG Durham Region and PFLAG York Region), Church Wellesley Village BIA, Ontario Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, AIDS Committee of Toronto, Rainbow High Vacations, Pride Durham, Club 717, and Deb Pearce from Rogers TV foQus with Deb Pearce. How are you going to relate all the above organizations to QuAIA? Instead of throwing a comment that is tinged with negativity on a post about wonderful honourees of the awards who work hard for their community you may have wanted to congratualte the winners, think of ways you can inspire others, or merely say a nice word for the months and months of hard work by many people it takes to put an event that was called "magical", "inspiring", and "memorable" for our community. Let's be a community and work a little harder at lifting each other up and promoting positive vibes. Respectfully, Antoine Elhashem Publisher The Pink Pages Directory & PinkPlayMags
Antoine, Toronto Ontario
06/19/12 11:46 AM EST
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Congratulations
What a spectacular event, great work to Antoine and all of the terrifc people involved in making this happen. Congratulations to all of the nominees and thank you for amazing contributions to the well being of our community.
Boyd Kodak, Toronto Ontario
06/19/12 11:02 PM EST
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Leave El-Farouk alone
Mr. Khaki has done more for the queer community than anyone of you who make racist and bigoted comments about him will ever do in your life time. Go educate yourself in what's going on in the world before you condemn something you know absolutely nothing about.
S, Vancouver BC
07/01/12 8:07 PM EST
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