Women are a force to be reckoned with, and a local event is putting female contributions in the spotlight.
The Cold Lake Women of Influence (WOI) award nominations are officially open for those who make a positive impact on the community. The deadline to get submissions in is Jan. 17, 2020.
Hosted in conjunction with International Women’s Day, which falls on March 8 this year, the awards will be presented Friday, March 6. Doors open at the Agriplex at 7 p.m.
When filling out a nomination form, committee member Candice Sutterfield said “the more information, the better.”
“We’ve had nominations before that said, ‘this woman should win because she’s great,’” recalled Sutterfield. “The choosing committee doesn’t know these individuals, so you need to put in the information on how wonderful they are, or what they’re doing that makes them so wonderful, because there may be 30 other nominations put forward.”
The categories Cold Lake women will be honoured in this year include arts and culture, business and professional, community and volunteer, health and wellness, younger woman, older woman, and science and technology.
Sutterfield noted this is the second year they’ve included the older woman and science and technology recognition.
“I think the committee just thought there was a gap. There are so many women in our area in science and technology that didn’t really fit into any other category, and there was actually a number of other nominations that came in that we realize there was a gap,” she detailed. “Especially with older women, too. We have some pretty remarkable women in our area that are over the age of 65, and they’re movers and shakers. I think there was just an opportunity to not only highlight the lifetime achievements, but they’re achieving excellence as of now as an older woman. You don’t need to stop just because you’re over the age of 65.”
During her time on the committee, Sutterfield has seen the event grow. Last year, over 100 names were put forward.
“That’s huge,” she exclaimed. “That shows that over 100 women in our community have other women recognizing them for the great work they’re doing.”
Attendees have the opportunity to rub elbows with nominees and keynote speakers during the event, all while coming together to celebrate each other for their contributions to Cold Lake.
“I think it’s a one-of-a-kind event in our area that brings women together to celebrate women. I think sometimes we struggle to acknowledge some of that.”
Sutterfield continued, “Individuals don’t necessarily know who nominated them. A majority of them are so humbled to even just be nominated, and that’s really nice to see.”
There’s also a call out for a local woman to design the awards presented during the ceremony.
“This is an opportunity for a local woman artist to submit her idea for the award. They can all be the same, or they can all be different,” Sutterfield said.
Applications can be sent to Sutterfield at [email protected].
Anyone interested in nominating someone can visit WOI on their website at womenofinluencecoldlake.org.
