Canadian broadcaster and music industry executive Carrie Mullings is on cloud nine. Her programme Rebel Vibez , won the Top Reggae Radio Program award at the Caribbean Music and Entertainment Awards (CMEA) last Sunday at the Rose Theatre, Brampton, Ontario.

Rebel Vibez airs Mondays from 10 am to 1 pm on VIBE105 FM (formerly CHRY 105 FM), Toronto’s only urban alternative radio station.

“The award signifies that I am functioning in a way that is benefitting and raising up my community. It also signifies that women can do anything, especially in a male-dominated industry, and I want all women to really penetrate that,” Mullings said in an interview with the Jamaica Observer on Friday.

Mullings and the show have won several awards during their 15-year run. She spoke about Rebel Vibez’s influence on Canada’s reggae and dancehall community.

“The show has been the main outlet that Canadian and Jamaican entertainers have looked to over the years to promote their music. Rebel Vibez is a platform which artistes have consistently turned to for the premiering of their songs; mentorship and distribution, among other things. The programme continues to be very influential in the Canadian music industry because of its rich history, the calibre of talent it brings to the table, its expertise, and merit.”

Mullings, who got into broadcasting 15 years ago, is producer and host of Rebel Vibez. Positions on its weekly Top 10 chart, which airs during the programme, are determined by listener requests and online voting.

Carrie Mullings’ family has strong ties to Canadian reggae. Her father, Karl Mullings, a Jamaican, was a major force in Toronto show promotion and radio; her younger sister Tanya is a singer.

She hailed her father’s contribution to the development of Jamaican culture in Canada.

“He is the one who set the music trend for our family. He co-founded the original Caribana Festival and managed artistes and bands like Jackie Mittoo, The Cavaliers and came to Canada through working with The Sheiks,” she disclosed. “More importantly, he created the musical bridge between Jamaica and Canada, and pioneered the vision of Jamaica and Canada holding hands musically and having artistes move to and fro between countries for music.”

Karl Mullings died in 2005.

His older daughter is also chairperson for the reggae category of the annual Juno Awards, Canada’s equivalent to the Grammys.

“My role is to outreach to the genre’s community — whether that be artistes, labels, managers for music submissions — and unify other industry personnel and facilitate a committee of industry professionals to review our genre’s submissions,” she said.