Joan Drouillard-Honig got the Quota International of Weyburn Community Service Award, Carmen Langevin earned the Access Communications Exceptional Entrepreneur Award, Sandra Mryglod received the SaskPower Workplace Excellence Award, and Chelsea Woodard received the Investors Group Young Woman of Distinction Award.

The community came together today to honour women and their contributions during the SaskPower Quota International Women of the Year Awards.

Sandra Mryglod received the SaskPower Workplace Excellence Award; Carmen Langevin earned the Access Communications Exceptional Entrepreneur Award; Joan Drouillard-Honig got the Quota International of Weyburn Community Service Award; and teen-aged Chelsea Woodard received the Investors Group Young Woman of Distinction Award.

"I'm honoured, but many of the women are just as deserving," says Mryglod. "I think as women we do what needs to be done and that's how we get by."

Other nominees for the Workplace Excellence Award were Andria Brady, Arlene Dobson, Carrie Hembroff Murphy, and Gloria Mildenberger.

"It's just really, really nice, like, it's such a nice honour and it's even better just to be with all the people that were nominated and hear their stories," says Langevin. "It just makes you realize how many special and unique people there are in Weyburn, especially women."

Ellen Johnston was the other nominee for Exceptional Entrepreneur.

"I am absolutely surprised and honoured to be nominated, for one thing," says Drouillard-Honig. "To hear all these wonderful speeches and for what everyone has done it is truly remarkable, the women in our community, and it's an honour to be amongst them."

Lorna Bossenberry, Joanne Domes, and Lee McLeod were also nominated for the Community Service Award.

"I am extremely happy," says Woodard. "It's an honour to get this award. I'm so young, that's the thing, I feel like I'm such a baby and I've got so much more learning to do and so much more to go out there and do for our community."

Other nominees for the Young Women of Distinction were Staci Rae Bukowski and Megan Paxman.



The guest speaker at the awards luncheon was Dr. Vianne Timmons, president and vice-chancellor for the University of Regina.

Dr. Timmons was named one of Canada's Most Powerful Women from 2008 to 2011, and was praised by Quota President Karla Kennedy as being a true "Quotarian at heart."

She shared many stories about her life during her presentation, both funny and heart-warming. She also praised Quota of Weyburn and everyone present at the event for celebrating women's accomplishments.

Dr. Timmons shared a story about her grandmother, who had a passion for learning and loved to attend school. She said her grandmother was pulled out of school at an early age to be a house keeper.

"My grandmother's tale doesn't happen in Canada anymore...but it does happen around the world," Dr. Timmons says.

She told the audience that she recently spent time in India and observed that little girls with disabilities had absolutely no access to education.

Dr. Timmons mentioned that in her career, she was definitely in the minority. She said that out of 94 institutions in Canada, only 16 have women presidents.

"So often, women in leadership roles are underestimated."

Dr. Timmons talked about the challenge of raising a family and having a career, a common situation for modern women. She said this can be a great opportunity for the children of working parents, who learn about sacrifice.

"We have come a long way since my grandma got pulled out of that classroom, but there is still a long way to go," says Dr. Timmons.

She spoke about women in Afghanistan who are not permitted to leave their home without the accompaniment of their father, brother or husband and said that equality is not coming fast enough.

"This is a world that should celebrate freedom," says Dr. Timmons. "But it's still not for 50 per cent of our population."

Dr. Timmons closed by encouraging a passion for equality and equal opportunities in our young people, and getting people talking about the accomplishments of the women in our neighbourhood, city, province, country and world.