Alvin Law

Alvin Law (born 1960 in Yorkton, Saskatchewan) is a motivational speaker and former radio broadcaster.^[1]

Alvin Law was born without arms as a consequence of his birth mother's use of the infamous morning sickness medication, Thalidomide, while pregnant. When he was only five days old, his birth parents put him up for adoption, and he was raised by foster parents Hilda and Jack Law.

Law learned to perform routine activities using his feet alone, including eating, dressing and grooming himself, driving, sewing, playing sports, and playing drums, piano, and trombone. He attended regular elementary and high schools, even though at the time handicapped children were usually placed in institutions or special education programs. But his growth in normal schools saw him not only cope but excel, particularly in music. In 1978, he was chosen lead chair trombone for the Canadian National All Star High School Jazz Band. But this was no surprise to his hometown of Yorkton Saskatchewan. In 1976, Alvin was named the 1977 Saskatchewan Easter Seals "Timmy", the designated representative of handicapped children across the Province. That recognition was very special to Alvin but in a great irony, Alvin used the opportunity to not just do photo ops, but give short speeches on the powerful impact positive attitude, his parents, and then of course, his, had on his life. He promoted a simple idea...empathy not sympathy toward handicapped kids. He then got a life changing opportunity when as "Timmy", he was invited to appear on the first annual telethon that is famous in Saskatchewan, "Telemiracle". A Kinsmen/Kinette project, in its first year, raised over a million dollars for the Kin Foundation in aid of special needs people across the Province. When Alvin played the drums on the show,meh became an overnight local celebrity and his public life was launched. He would go on to appear and co-host 24 Telemiracles ending in 2001. The same original producers then invited him to a similar telethon put on by Variety Club of British Columbia in 1982 and he continues to be an integral part of the hosting team now on Global TV every February. Alvin has also been a guest host on the Lion's Telethon in Manitoba in the 1980s, the ACT Telethon in Edmonton during the same era as well as a short run of Easter Seals Telethon in Saskatchewan. In fact, charities like these, the United Way, Boys & Girls Clubs and countless other charities has seen Alvin play a direct role in raising close to $200,000,000 for non-profit organizations.

In 1978, Alvin entered the Radio & Television Broadcasting program at Mount Royal College (now a University) in Calgary, Alberta and graduated with Honours in 1980. After a short stint with CBC Radio Sports he moved to Regina, Saskatchewan where he got a job as a Disc-Jockey at CFMQ-FM radio and he had a plan for a long career behind the microphone. But the universe had a plan for a different microphone. In 1981, The United Nations declared the International Year of Disabled Persons and Alvin was lured away from being a DJ to Wetaskiwin, Alberta of all places to work with longtime friend and speaker, Lee Bussard who lived with Cerebral Palsy as they toured the Province speaking to schools and communities about Disability Awareness. It was a high profile tour that took Alvin to a place he had not considered, but it made sense. Using his musical talents and story-telling prowess, he worked with Lee until the tour ended then found himself looking for a new opportunity but instead of returning to radio, Alvin was offered a position with an old "friend" as the organization responsible for Easter Seals who chose him for "Timmy 1977", were interested in his new role and Alvin created, organized and conducted a tour of close to 600 Saskatchewan schools and communities over the next four years and his reputation as a speaker and fundraiser blossomed. But an even bigger event would yet again steer him to a path that changed his life. In 1985, Alvin's high school in Yorkton were the first hosts of the now annual Canadian Student Leadership Conference and they invited him to be one of the Keynote Speakers and his message of Disability Awareness morphed into one of Leadership through positive attitude. Things didn't change overnight but the stage was set. Schools across Canada and the United States in attendance made sure they connected with Alvin but the idea of being a solo professional speaker seemed beyond logic. Besides, 1985 brought another new path to Alvin's life; he became a Dad to Vance. He also quit his job with the Saskatchewan Abilitiies Council and joined Dome Advertising in Regina as an account executive. And then, another opportunity.

Alvin was nominated by the Progressive Conservatives to run for a seat in the Saskatchewan Legislature for the seat of Regina Northwest but he lost to a seasoned MLA, John Solomon in the 1986 Provincial Election and learned a bigger lesson....politics was not his cup of tea. Alvin was then hired by the Saskatchewan Government to head up the brand new Provincial Disability Directorate coordinating all things related to Disability affairs and while he appreciated the opportunity, something was eating away at Alvin. His marriage was crumbling and his work was unfulfilling so in 1988, Alvin made two huge moves. He left the marriage and quit his lucrative government job to create AJL Communications and became a full-time motivational speaker. He has never looked back.

In 1991, Alvin met Darlene and she moved from Calgary to Regina to share Alvin's life and run his fledgling business. Her background in Human Resources would be just what the doctor ordered and their business flourished. Alvin and Darlene were married in 1993 and Vance came to live with them in 1995. In 1996, Alvin would lose his beloved Mom, Hilda Law which was a big hit for him and his family but oddly, it refocused his work from being "all about Alvin" and before he knew it, his almost exclusive school speaking career expanded to the Corporate world. He started travelling internationally and that led to a move for he and his family to Calgary in 2000, where they all live to this day.

In the same year, Alvin and Darlene joined the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers (CAPS) where Alvin would eventually serve a three-year term on its National Board of Directors. Alvin has also served on the National Boards for the MS Society of Canada and Easter Seals of Canada. In 2005, Alvin earned his Certified Speaking Professional designation (CSP), an honour bestowed on less than 10% of professional speakers in the world. In 2009, Alvin was inducted into the CAPS Hall of Fame (HoF).

Citations

References

• Alvin Law. Alvin's Laws of Life: 5 Steps To Successfully Overcome Anything. ISBN 0-9739450-0-1.
• Lynne Swanson. "Alvin Law: Every Reason to Celebrate Life". Abilities, № 59, pp. 14–15, Summer 2004.
• Alvin, His Best Foot Forward. Television documentary, 1978.
• Broken Promises (later renamed Extraordinary People). Television documentary.

External links

• AJL Communications Ltd
• Alvin Law at the Internet Movie Database