A milestone has been passed! On Sunday, June 2nd, 2013 the first Awesome Awards was paid forward when Tina Chin presented her award (AA: Elm) to Tony and Darlene Lourenco at the Miracle Weekend Telethon (which raised over $18 million!). We had a conversation with Tina on Saturday, only 3 days after she presented her with one of the original 15 Awesome Awards and we asked her what were her plans were in passing on her award. With only a single moment of remorse as to the short time frame Tina would have to savour the award, unquestioningly she knew that passing on her award the very next day at the Miracle Weekend Telethon would bring immense honour to Tony and Darlene who had recently lost their daughter Lindsey to cancer. Tony and Darlene's daughter, Lindsey and had been in the same teen cancer support group as Tina’s son, Aidan.
One challenge Tina faced in presenting her award was when and how to present it. Making the presentation was tough to coordinate as both Tina and the Lourenco’s were volunteering at the Miracle Weekend Telethon with different tasks, and in different tents. However doing something awesome is rarely simple, so while on a break, Tina enlisted a fellow volunteer photographer to locate the Lourencos in another volunteer tent. It was there where Tina read from her prepared speech about how she had been presented one of the original Awesome Awards for her contributions to the BC Children’s Hospital and her support of the families of patients there. She told Tony and Darlene that they were her inspiration and that they had assisted immensely in how she would learn to cope with a child diagnosed with cancer. Tina also had the opportunity to express how much their friendship meant to her family. It's a great example of how a strong sense of community can help us be stronger individuals.
While Tina’s Awesome Award took the 2nd step of its journey, Tina’s awesomeness will continue to burn bright because once she has been “Certified Awesome”, it’s for life! Thank you for all that you do Tina! You can read more about Tina’s award presentation in her own words at http://theawesomeawards.org/awesomeAwards/233
You can learn all about the Awesome Awards and the entries from the many exchanges of the awards at www.theawesomeawards.org.