There were four categories but five winners at this year's Women of Today Awards luncheon.
The event that singles out and pays tribute to local women of accomplishment had two winners in the Young Women of Today category this year with Lampman's Elusha Baird and Estevan's Jacqueline Peeace being singled out from among the eight nominees as co-owners of the Shirley Orsted Memorial Award for 2014.
Daryl Story received the SaskPower Outstanding Contribution to the Workplace Award, being selected from a field of seven nominees, and Lynn Tedford received the nod as the recipient of the Ida Petterson Memorial Award as an Outstanding Entrepreneur from a group of three nominated finalists.
Another field of three nominees for the SaskTel Outstanding Contribution to the Community Award, had Brenda Noble emerge as the ultimate selection of the judges who performed their difficult task under the auspices of the Estevan Quota Club, the organization of just a few women who put this highlight event together every year.
As event co-ordinatdor Valerie Hall noted earlier, Quota isn't able to do it without the generous assistance of a background team of volunteers and sponsors.
This year's event attracted close to 300 people to the Wylie-Mitchell Air Cadet Hall on April 23 with Lorelei Lachambre keeping the event rolling as emcee and award traffic control officer.
Holly Pedersen, director of the deaf/hard of hearing education program in the Department of Special Education at Minot State University delivered an inspiring message of hope and measuring success to an attentive audience during her keynote address.
Quota Club president Stacy Boyko extended congratulations to all nominees and outlined some of the many community organizations that benefit from the event's financial success such as the installation of FM sound systems in local and regional schools and extended care facilities, hearing test systems for newborns at St. Joseph's Hospital, the Envision Counselling and Support Centre, the Family Resource Centre, the Hearthstone community campaign that is collecting funds for a new nursing home, and the Estevan Warm Welcome shelter program. These contributions have amounted to more than $180,000 in recent years.
The award presenters included Judy May, vice-president of special projects for SaskPower, Jim Fahlman for SaskTel, Kevin Ross, Ida Petterson's grandson and Michelle Orsted and Bill Orsted, Shirley Orsted's granddaughter and husband.
In her presentation, Pedersen asked the question of the audience as to what they would use to define success, noting that it can come in various shapes and levels.
Using (with permission) examples of three of her current and former clients, Pedersen illustrated some of her interpretations of success beginning with five-year-old Emma who is profoundly deaf but now has language skills that are superior to her hearing peers while Kaylin, 9, who is blind and deaf has reached levels of success that could never have been dreamed up at her premature birth. There was also James autistic and deaf and yet a remarkable achiever in a world where odds are stacked against him.
Pedersen, who grew up on a nearby farm, was introduced by her sister Errin Goettling.
The recipients of the four awards made brief observations while accepting their floral bouquet and plaques.
Story, a commercial account manager at Affinity Credit Union, agreed with Pedersen that opportunities arose every day to influence somebody positively and thanked her friends, family and those who nominated candidates and Tedford thanked her staff and husband for helping her consulting business grow from a fledgling operation to a full-service community force and viable business.
Peeace and Baird later related to The Mercury how they were surprised to be selected, especially of the fact it was a dual award this year and were honoured to be recognized for their volunteer and organizational efforts as they prepare to leave high school and enter the world of post-secondary educational pursuits.
"I'll just keep doing what I can do," said Peeace, while Baird suggested the award served as incentive to become increasingly active in the community.
In accepting her award, Noble thanked her friends and family, especially her mother Joyce for being her regular monitor. She thanked those who worked with her in the various volunteer groups she is involved with, for working with her as they make visions turn into realities.
The other nominees who walked away with floral gifts and huge smiles included Sonja Colbow, Wendy Hersche, Lynn Little, Misty Moneo, Sheena Onrait and Sheila Squires in the SaskPower Contribution to the Workplace category, and Laurel Buck and Dee Dee Chomyk in the Ida Petterson Memorial Award for Outstanding Entrepreneur.
The other nominees in the SaskTel Award for community contributions were Christa Morhart and Susan Colbow, and the six other nominees in the Orsted Memorial Award for Young Women were Caitlyn Friess, Molly Fogarty, Teagan Graham, AnnaRae Gustafson, Tess Rensby and Landra Schlamp.
