Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Women of Distinction Awards recognize a record number of nominees, from artists to entrepreneurs
WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
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Anna-Celestrya Carr, with The Men's Banner, says she's 'humbled and pleasantly surprised' to be nominated.This was at a time when it was considered unacceptable for women to pursue religious studies, but the Winnipegger dove right in.
Outstanding in their fields
Here are this year's award nominees:Arts
Sheila Spence
Gaetanne Sylvester
Catharine Teichroew
Jacqueline Traverse
Culture
Tina Chen
Shelley Chochinov
Felicia Olarewaju
Education, Training & Mentorship
Karen Botting
Linda Campbell
Cathy Denby
Susana Hawryshko
Cheryl Hoffman
Zana Lutfiyya
Usha Mittoo
Melanie Penner
Colleen Plumton
Lori Schellekens
Leadership & Management
Diane Carriere
Nicole Chammartin
Julie Donaldson
Daryl Dumanski
Majda Ficko
Shelly Glover
Valerie Harper
Linda Lafontaine
Dr. Jeannette Montufar
Annette Osted
Jennifer Rattray
Dr. Jerry Shrom
Dr. Lorna Turnbull
Public Awareness & Communications
Ruth Bonneville
Anna-Celestrya Carr
Science, Technology & the Environment
Judy Chipperfield
Maureen Heaman
Cheryl Rockman-Greenberg
Voluntarism, Advocacy & Community Enhancement
Kenny Daodu
Rena Molinari
Chau Pham
Claudette St. Pierre
Sally Thomas
Wellness, Healthy Living & Recreation
Nadia El-Gabalawy
Janice Lukes
Beth McKechnie
Melinda Mohammed
Jan Schmalenberg
Circle of Inspiration
Soroptimist International of Winnipeg
Diane Redsky, Joy Smith, Dianna Bussey
The UWSA Day-care staff
Young Woman of Distinction
Daniela Conci
Amanda Furst
Candace Maxymowich
Jaysa Nachtigall
Melanie Ngo
Karlee Sapoznik
Gerrie Hammond Memorial Award of Promise
Cherese Matula
Marianne Cortes
Second-class citizens? As if.
The list of nominees for the 36th annual awards, which salute women for their achievements and service in fields ranging from arts and education to business and science, includes a metabolic geneticist working on a treatment for a rare bone disease, the University of Manitoba's first female professor of finance and an engineer whose work has aided the mobility of aging Canadians. There's also the U of M law faculty's first female dean, a couple of members of Parliament and an artist who uses male handprints to raise awareness about domestic violence.
The 12 awards will be handed out at a gala dinner at the Winnipeg Convention Centre on May 2 that's expected to draw up to 950 people.
When the Winnipeg YWCA launched the Women of the Year Awards in 1977, 41 women were nominated and YMCA-YWCA associations across Canada soon followed suit. In 1991, to mark the 15th anniversary, the event was renamed the Women of Distinction Awards.
This year's record 79 nominations represent a nearly 60 per cent increase over last year's total, says Betty Black, chairwoman of the awards committee.
"We've increased our efforts significantly this year to get a higher profile in the community and reach out to more community groups," Black says. "I think that has really paid off, where more organizations and groups are aware of the award and our desire to recognize the accomplishments and achievements of women."
Winnipeg psychologist and U of M professor Judy Chipperfield, whose research on the psychological aspects of healthy aging has been highlighted in the House of Commons, says she has received many professional accolades, but this is different.
"This is the first award that really seems like it recognizes my role beyond just a researcher," says Chipperfield, who is nominated in the science, technology and the environment category.
"As I understand the nomination, it recognizes my contribution to the next generation, to training students and the work I've done to help people in the community and that's really nice."
Unlike Chochinov, she says there were really no gender barriers for her to overcome as gerontology, much like nursing, is a female-dominated field.
"We're interested in babies and we're also interested in what happens at the other end of the age continuum," says Chipperfield, whose current research focuses on the devastating effects on older adults who are sedentary and perceive their world as uncontrollable.
Métis filmmaker and artist Anna-Celestrya Carr, 26, says she's "humbled and pleasantly surprised" to be nominated in the public awareness and communications category for her performance art project.
The Men's Banner, which she started in 2007, involves asking male strangers to add their palm print and signature to a long (her longest is 25 feet) banner, essentially promising to never use their hands in an act of violence against women. She takes her banners to rallies, marches, festivals and, recently, Central Canada Comic Con, where Star Trek actors William Shatner and Jonathan Frakes lent a hand to the cause.
"Awards and recognition isn't my sole focus when I work on my projects, so it's quite lovely to be recognized," Carr, who started making banners in reaction to the hundreds of missing and murdered aboriginal women in Canada. She wears traditional dress when she goes out to collect handprints.
"For me, it's more that I want to spread the word, and I guess want this to be legitimized. People keep asking me what organization I'm with, but I'm not an organization. I'm an artist and this is part of my body of work. And I plan to do it for the rest of my life."
Tickets for the 36th annual Women of Distinction Awards gala are $160 (with a tax-deductible receipt for the donation portion) and available at www.ywi
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