THE FOUNDER
I am Tony Hassini, founder of the Global Orion Award.
The idea didn’t just pop into my mind — it was a thought for over twenty years. Let me explain.
In 1964, I created the Merlin Award as a recognition award for magicians. In 1968, I founded the International Magicians Society so we could present the Merlin Award to magicians for their achievements.
Over the past forty years, traveling the world and presenting Merlin Awards, I encountered many non-magicians — genuinely good people — whose contributions to humanity deserved recognition. But the Merlin Award was a magic award. There was no way I could present it to non-magicians.
Then, in 2019, the idea came to me. Since I owned the rights and design of the Merlin Award, I realized I could modify the statue — keeping the well-dressed gentleman, but removing the rabbit and top hat and replacing them with a globe — to create a new award for non-magicians.
In 2024, I incorporated the Global Service Excellence Society in New York State through which to present the Global Orion Award.
Over the years, the Merlin Award became known as the Oscar of Magic, received by some of the world’s greatest magicians, including David Copperfield, Siegfried & Roy, Penn & Teller, and Criss Angel.
While presenting the Merlin Award, I made some mistakes, and I wanted to make sure I wouldn’t repeat them with the Global Orion Award. I reached out to three of my most trusted friends and asked them to serve on my advisory board to help guide me through the process. Each is highly respected in their own field. You can learn more about them on this website on the page “Magnificent 3”.
The purpose of the Global Orion Award is to recognize high achievers who have made the world a better place.
I believe there is a definite need for the Global Orion Award. The Nobel Prize is presented each year to only six people, and with a world population of over eight billion, many people whose contributions to humanity are indisputable will never receive the Nobel Prize. By no means am I disrespecting the Nobel Prize or am I trying to compete with it.
I feel that the Global Orion Award will recognize those who deserve recognition for making the world a better place.