Alvin Law
Encyclopedia
Alvin Law is a motivational speaker
and former radio
broadcaster
.
Law was born without arms as a consequence of his mother's use of thalidomide
while pregnant. 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.
After graduating from college, Law embarked on a successful career in radio broadcasting. He expressed an interest in moving to television
, but network executives were unsure of how the public would react to an armless news anchor.
Law began dabbling in motivational speaking
in 1981. In 1988 he made this his full-time occupation with the founding of AJL Communications Ltd. He is the subject of two award-winning documentaries, and is the author of a book, Alvin's Laws of Life: 5 Steps To Successfully Overcome Anything. He has also dabbled in acting, his most notable role to date being a preacher in an X-Files episode.
Alvin has a wife, Darlene, and a son, Vance, from a previous relationship. They live in Calgary
, Alberta
.
Alvin served on the national board of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers
,(CAPS).
For many years, Law was a mainstay on the annual telethon Telemiracle
.
Motivational speaker
A motivational speaker or inspirational speaker is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. In a business context, they are employed to communicate company strategy with clarity and help employees to see the future in a positive light and inspire workers to pull...
and former radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
broadcaster
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
.
Law was born without arms as a consequence of his mother's use of thalidomide
Thalidomide
Thalidomide was introduced as a sedative drug in the late 1950s that was typically used to cure morning sickness. In 1961, it was withdrawn due to teratogenicity and neuropathy. There is now a growing clinical interest in thalidomide, and it is introduced as an immunomodulatory agent used...
while pregnant. 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.
After graduating from college, Law embarked on a successful career in radio broadcasting. He expressed an interest in moving to television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, but network executives were unsure of how the public would react to an armless news anchor.
Law began dabbling in motivational speaking
Motivational speaking
A motivational speaker or inspirational speaker is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. In a business context, they are employed to communicate company strategy with clarity and help employees to see the future in a positive light and inspire workers to pull...
in 1981. In 1988 he made this his full-time occupation with the founding of AJL Communications Ltd. He is the subject of two award-winning documentaries, and is the author of a book, Alvin's Laws of Life: 5 Steps To Successfully Overcome Anything. He has also dabbled in acting, his most notable role to date being a preacher in an X-Files episode.
Alvin has a wife, Darlene, and a son, Vance, from a previous relationship. They live in Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
.
Alvin served on the national board of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers
Canadian Association of Professional Speakers
The Canadian Association of Professional Speakers is the Canadian association for experts who speak. Public perception might be to equate “professional speaker” with “motivational speaker”. However CAPS members include keynote speakers, trainers and facilitators...
,(CAPS).
For many years, Law was a mainstay on the annual telethon Telemiracle
Telemiracle
Telemiracle is a telethon organized by the Kinsmen and Kinettes in Saskatchewan, Canada for the benefit of the Kinsmen Telemiracle Foundation. Initially broadcast on both CTV and CBC affiliates in Saskatchewan, it is now broadcast, commercial-free, exclusively on the province's CTV affiliates...
.
External links
- AJL Communications Ltd
- Alvin Law's biography, from AJL Communications Ltd