Vanguard Magazine

www.vanguardcanada.com DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017 33 "The type of person she was and her leadership is making a difference, simply doing your job and doing it to the best that you can, listening and not just talking, questioning but not second guessing." dr. tim goddard, Professor and coordinator of graduate programs at the University of PEI and father of Nichola Goddard "While there is much work to be done over the coming months to finalize the nomi- nation process and selection criteria, there is no doubt that at the next Graduate Student Symposium, to be held on October 12, 2017, we will present the first CDA and CDA Institute Captain Nichola Goddard Game Changer Award, in partnership with Vanguard, to a Canadian Game Changer" tony Battista, Chief Executive Officer of the CDA and the CDA Institute the selection of Captain Nichola Goddard was for her bravery and for being a game changer on the battlefield. Steps were tak- en to obtain approval from the Goddard family, leading to the announcement dur- ing the dinner. Goddard was the first Canadian woman to be killed in combat operations during a military operation against the Taliban forces near Kandahar in Afghanistan in May 2006. She was on active duty during a joint two-day operation between the Ca- nadian and Afghan troops, to secure Kan- dahar's outskirts. During the operation as they were drawing close to a mosque to capture Taliban members, several dozen hidden militants began firing from neigh- bouring houses. Goddard, who was crew commander, was standing half-exposed in her LAV III when the armoured vehicle was hit by two rocket-propelled grenades early in the battle. The Captain Nichola Goddard Game Changer Award is about the recognition and remembrance of Goddard's vibrant spirit and bravery and the celebration of other "game changers" like her who as- pire to live by Canadian values of leader- ship, innovation, perseverance and cour- age. Also, this award aims to bring to light outstanding work in the fields of research, academia, business, the security industry, as well as not-for-profit, and charitable ac- tivities that impact the defence and security community. "The type of person she was and her leadership is making a difference," said Dr. Tim Goddard, professor and coordinator of graduate programs at the University of PEI and father of Nichola, during his keynote address at the CDA Institute 19th Graduate Student Symposium dinner ceremony. Dr. Goddard went on to add that what we can learn from his daughter is, "simply doing your job and doing it to the best that you can, listening and not just talking, question- ing but not second guessing." "This project will truly move what was once an editorial recognition program into something that has become much bigger and certainly more relevant to the security and defence community and to all Canadi- ans," Jones said. "It's something that we at Vanguard are very proud to be part of, an award in the honour of Captain Nichola Goddard who bravely served our country and was killed in battle in 2006 in Afghani- stan." As part of the CDA, the CDA Institute and Vanguard's respective mandates to serve the security and defence community, "we will be announcing more programs and content support over the next few months. We'd like to acknowledge and thank the CDA and the CDA Institute for all of their hard work and efforts in expanding the game changer program and in bringing it to a higher level of recognition." "On behalf of all members, staff, sup- porters, contributors and volunteers of the Conference of Defence Associations and the CDA Institute, I wish to congratu- late Vanguard Magazine in conceiving the original Game Changer program and for partnering with us, as we elevate the program to the annually awarded pinnacle recognition in the name of the Captain Nichola Goddard Game Changer Award. This is a testament to real collaboration in recognizing younger Canadians who truly make a difference in the realm of security and defence," said Tony Battista, CEO of CDA and the CDA Institute during the dinner. "While there is much work to be done over the coming months to finalize the nomination process and selection criteria, there is no doubt that at the next Graduate Student Symposium, to be held on Octo- ber 12, 2017, we will present the first CDA and CDA Institute Captain Nichola God- dard Game Changer Award, in partner- ship with Vanguard, to a Canadian Game Changer," Battista added.

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