If you know an extraordinary woman in the City of Kawartha Lakes, you have less than a week to submit a nomination to Women’s Resources of Kawartha Lakes.
The nomination deadline is Monday, August 31st, for the Extraordinary Women of Kawartha Lakes Awards, which recognize women in the City of Kawartha Lakes who have made an extraordinary contribution to the improvement of the quality of life in the community.
If you know a woman who deserves recognition, you can nominate her in one of six categories:
- Extraordinary Volunteer, for a woman who has participated in volunteer activities that support an improved quality of life for individuals, organizations, or the community at large.
- Extraordinary Woman in Business, for a woman who has demonstrated entrepreneurship, contribution to local economic development, and support for the community.
- Extraordinary Mentor, for a woman who has provided education, training or mentoring for individuals, organizations, or the community to improve the quality of life.
- Extraordinary Communicator, for a woman who has raised public awareness or improved communications about, issues and needs for individuals, organizations or the community initiatives.
- Extraordinary Determination, for a woman who has overcome difficult circumstances or hardships such as economic, emotional, or physical challenges to achieve independence and fulfillment.
- Extraordinary Woman, for a woman who has demonstrated commitment to addressing social issues in the community.
Any individual or organization can nominate an extraordinary woman. However, nominees must be 18 years old or older, live within the City of Kawartha Lakes, and must agree to be nominated.
The awards presentation, along with a celebratory dinner, will take place during Women’s History Month, at 6 p.m. on Thursday, October 22nd, 2015, at the Lakeview Art Barn in Bobcaygeon. Tickets for the awards dinner will be $75 per person (including a charitable receipt for $45) and go on sale on Tuesday, September 1st.
For a nomination form, call Kathleen at 705-878-4285. You can find out more about the awards at www.womensresources.ca.
Women’s Resources of Kawartha Lakes is a not-for-profit charitable organization that helps women and children in the City of Kawartha Lakes live free from abuse and violence. The Extraordinary Women of Kawartha Lakes Awards celebrate the achievements of local women, both now and in the past.
One extraordinary woman of the past is Lindsay native Moretta “Molly” Reilly (1922 – 1980), who played a tremendous role in opening up the aviation field for women.
Reilly, whose older brother was a pilot, learned to fly at an early age. When the Second World War was declared, she tried to sign up with the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), but they didn’t accept women until 1941 when the RCAF formed its “Women’s Division”. She joined the Women’s Division as its first recruit, where she did photographic work from airplanes until 1946.
After the war, Reilly earned licenses to fly several types of aircraft and worked as a flying instructor. In 1954, she became chief instructor with Canadian Aircraft Renters in Toronto and earned a captain’s promotion with Southern Provincial Airlines — the first woman in Canada to hold this position — and she helped develop the airline’s air ambulance service that operated in eastern Canada.
In 1959, Reilly was hired by Peter Bawden Drilling Services in Calgary, where she became co-captain of a DC-3 operating in northern Canada. She became the first person to pilot the aircraft in extensive periods of darkness and extreme weather conditions, often without radio communications and navigation aids.
Later, she became the first woman to be a corporate pilot in Canada, as Chief Pilot for the Canadian Utilities Company. During her career, Reilly logged over 10,000 hours of flight time, and was inducted into the the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame in 1973.
You can find out more about other past extraordinary women of the Kawartha Lakes at www.womensresources.ca.
