Women of Note Sept

Norva Riddell, senior vice-president of sales and marketing for True North Sports and Entertainment and the Manitoba Moose, has been honoured with the American Hockey League’s 2008 Ken McKenzie Award.

Each year the award is given to an AHL team executive who most successfully promotes his or her own club. The award also recognizes team management’s role in building a successful franchise.

Riddell was key in the Moose ranking number one in the league in ticket sales during the 2007-08 regular season and ranking second in ticket sales during the 2008 Calder Cup Playoffs.

Well known for her work as an arts advocate and fundraiser, as well as business and community leader, Gail Asper has been appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Governor General Michaëlle Jean named Asper, who was awarded the Order of Manitoba only last year, during an announcement on July 1.

Asper’s leadership and vision has benefited cultural, community and charitable associations on local, provincial and national levels.

A long-time Prairie Theatre Exchange (PTE) contributor was awarded a national arts award in Vancouver on June 16. Cherry Karpyshin, PTE’s general manager, received the Mallory Gilbert Leadership Award for 2008 at the Professional Association of Canadian Theatre’s annual meeting.

The award recognizes and celebrates outstanding leadership within the Canadian theatre community.

Karpyshin has been the general manager at PTE since 1992 and has been a mentor to arts administrators locally and nationally.

Former national volleyball champion and current Winnipeg Wesmen volleyball coach, Diane Scott, was inducted into the Manitoba Volleyball Hall of Fame this past spring.

Scott received the honour during an annual awards gala hosted by the Manitoba Volleyball Association.

Scott graduated from St. James Collegiate in 1983 and went on to win three national championships with the Wesmen. As an athlete Scott was named Female Athlete of the Year, All-Canadian and CIAU Player of the Year to name only a few of her accomplishments.

This fall will be Scott’s fourteenth season as head of the University of Winnipeg’s volleyball program.

Alison Calder was honoured with the Aqua Books Lansdowne Prize for Poetry and the Eileen McTavish Sykes Award for best first book by a Manitoba author.

The awards recognized her collection of poems, Wolf Tree, which features work themed with Calder’s reflections on natural occurrences that stand alone in their uniqueness.

Calder currently teaches Canadian literature and creative writing at the University of Manitoba.

Also receiving an award that night was Carolyn Gray.

Gray received the John Hirsch Award for most promising Manitoba writer for her play, The Elmwood Visitation. The writer is also well known in the Winnipeg arts community as an actor, director and puppeteer.

The Elmwood Visitation was produced and performed in Winnipeg last year by local group, Theatre Projects Manitoba.