One could think, considering the date, that this blog post is about with the brave men and women who have served in the wars and who don’t make the headlines. In truth as I write I am thinking about the recent event, the Women’s Collaborative Hub (WCH) where ‘unsung heroes’ was an appropriate and well used term.
Last Thursday, I attended the 2017 Women Influencers Awards at Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club. The gala honored women in the area who inspire us for who they are, for what they’ve done or even for who they have become. During the nominations, the question to answer was “who is your unsung hero?”. The WCH asked for the names of women in the Tri-Cities, Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge whose accomplishments have had the greatest influence and who for some reason, don’t receive half of the recognition they deserve.
The idea is indeed wonderful and when I heard about the concept, I really bought into it. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of an evening dedicated to people who are doing good, who are inspiring and yet, we haven’t heard about?
I had my doubts about the delivery of the event not because there aren’t enough wonderful women out there, but because we always hear about the same ones e.g. Hazel Postma, Selina Robinson, Carol Cahoon, Barbara Stegemann, Barb Hobson, Anita Wilson, Johanne Dumas, to name just a few. Those women are all accomplished professionals and people I truly respect but I really liked the idea of hearing about other wonderful women; those who have adopted a lower profile to focus on what they do, those who choose a less significant professional role to indulge fully in what they believe in and those who perhaps don’t want or need any recognition.
I was pleasantly surprised when I glimpsed at the full nominees’ list at the TCCOC Business Showcase and realized that I didn’t even know half of the names. How refreshing!
That’s at this exact moment that I regretted my inaction in not thinking of who to nominate, people like Linda Balzer, Andrea Raybould or even Linda Baker should have been on that list. But my lack of time or involvement with this particular community event has failed them and I didn’t take time to nominate them.
I comfort myself with the hope that such a significant and successful inaugural gala will continue into the future and that I’ll have the chance to nominate these strong, caring and committed role models, next year.
For those who are interested in learning more about the 2017 winners, please feel free to click HERE and read their more extensive biography.
The main elements from the winners’ acceptance speeches and what struck me to be their message to us were:
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Don’t judge
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Make sure you encourage people to help
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Never undervalue who you are or what you’ve done
I loved the event and felt privileged to be celebrating the amazing women in our community but every time the MC, Cathy Kuzel, was asking “Who is your hero?”, I could not stop thinking about my dad. Not that I am not inspired by the many wonderful women in my life but only my dad seems to have that special connection of “hero”.
You will see below couple of pictures taken during the evening and should you want to have a true essence of the night, I would recommend to check Butter Studios shots. Simply enter your email address from the page in HERE.
