Women of Note Summer 2009

The winners of the 2009 YMCA-YWCA Women of Distinction Awards.

The 2009 YMCA-YWCA Women of Distinction Awards were held May 6, recognizing Manitoban women who are leading the community through their work and volunteer efforts.

Carmen Infante won in the Arts and Culture category for her role mentoring young girls through a world of dance. Infante founded the Sol de Espana folk dancers and co-founded the Spanish Club of Winnipeg.

Noélle DePape, executive director of the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba, won in the Business and Professions category. Elaine Bishop won in Community Voluntarism for her work with several organizations including Mount Carmel Clinic and Sage House. Bishop is the executive director of the North Point Douglas Women’s Centre.

Lisa Meeches, well-known for her career in television production, won in the Creative Communications category. Dr. Wanda Wuttunee won in Education and Training for her internationally recognized work in the field of Aboriginal economic development.

The Gerrie Hammond Memorial Award of Promise winner was Jacqueline Proctor, a youth from Warren, Manitoba, who represented her school at the Global Youth Leaders Conference in Washington, D.C.

Leslie Galloway, who has nursed at Children’s Hospital for the past 34 years, won in Health and Wellness. In the category of Research and Innovation, Dr. Elissavet Kardami won for her work and efforts as principal investigator at the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences at the University of Manitoba.

Jo-Anne Clark-Gillespie, a physical education teacher at Portage Collegiate Institute, won for Sport and Recreation and Kim Le won the Young Woman of Distinction award. Congratulations to all these amazing Manitoban women.

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Winnipeg can now call itself home to the female World Boxing Council super featherweight champion. Olivia “The Predator” Gerula picked up the title with a unanimous decision win during April 9’s fight against Jelena Mrdjenovich. The bout took place in Edmonton.

Sam Katz presented the Mayor’s Award for Sports Excellence to Gerula and wheelchair curler Chris Sobkowicz during a ceremony May 14 at city hall. Katz honoured Gerula and Sobkowicz for winning recognized world championship sporting events.

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Jill Mathez is set to be the first woman inducted into the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame. The longtime women’s hockey player and coach is a former MVP of the Winnipeg Women’s Hockey League and has coached midget, senior and college level hockey. Mathez will be officially inducted during a dinner on Oct. 3.