Twenty Guelph women were honoured Thursday at this year’s Women of Distinction ceremony at the River Run Centre.
Women of Distinction is an annual fundraiser put on by the YMCA-YWCA of Guelph, supporting programs for girls and women at all stages of life.
The theme of this year’s celebration was ‘My Journey.’
Keynote speaker Lisa Lisson recounted her own journey of raising her four children while working toward her goal of becoming FedEx Canada’s first woman president.
“I believed I should not have to sacrifice my family for my career,” said Lisson.
“You can have as many children as you want and a successful career, one should never have to come at the expense of another, and that’s what I did” she said, to applause.
While she was still vice president, Lisson’s husband Patrick collapsed and went into a coma. Doctors gave her very little hope that he would come out of it.
“I spent the next two years, while Patrick was in a vegetative state, trying to raise my children, keep my job at FedEx going and research everything I possibly could to wake up his brain, which had been so deprived of oxygen,”
Finally, at the age of 42, Patrick died.
Lisson said she learned a valuable lesson about resilience from her own mother, who told her, ‘life is not about what happens to us, it’s about what you choose to do with what happens.’
“Just remember you are in control and you do have a choice — that choice is how you respond to what just happened,” said Lisson. “Although I couldn’t control this hard life force that just punched me in the gut, I realized I could control how I responded to it.”
“I realized by listening to my mom and those words, that I had the power to change the story I was telling myself. I had the power to change how I was framing my future in my mind,” said Lisson.
Dr. Dorothy Bakker, student health physician at the University of Guelph, was a recipient of a lifetime achievement award at Thursday’s ceremony.
“My parents were immigrants who came to Canada after the Second World War. With hard work and strong principles and love they raised six children on a farm just south of Guelph,” said Bakker. “They were a great example for me.”
Bakker was recognized, in part, for her contributions to the conversation around the opioid crisis after the 2017 death of her son Stephen by overdose.
“True to form, Dorothy took her grief and turned it into action, speaking frankly about addiction, mental illness and the opioid crisis at events like Stop the Stigma Day and Overdose Awareness Day,” said the description of Bakker in the program for the event.
During the ceremony, Bakker shared some words of wisdom, passed down from her parents — including her mother’s common adage of making hay while the sun shines.
“Obviously, this is a reference to farm life, but what it is really talking about is seizing opportunities,” said Bakker. “In life, just like a farmer, you must sow your seeds, nurture their growth and when the sun shines and the opportunity reveals itself, seize the day and reap the rewards.”
This year’s YWCA Women of Distinction:
- Anita Luu, PhD student, Ontario Veterinary College
- Dr. Beth Parker, professor, School of Engineering, University of Guelph
- Brenda Whiteside, former secretary of Senate and vice-provost of Student Affairs, University of Guelph (now retired)
- Dolly Kambo, volunteer with numerous multicultural organizations
- Dr. Dorothy Bakker, student health physician, University of Guelph and clinical professor, Department of Family Medicine, DeGroote School of Medicine
- Indu Arora, super-volunteer
- Dr. Jess Haines, associate professor in Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition, University of Guelph
- Jill Gill, instructor of Costume Design at University of Guelph and volunteer extraordinaire
- Joanne Morant, one-to-one coordinator with Action Read Community Literacy Centre
- Johanna Thachwray, sports massage therapist and advocate for transgendered people
- Kathy Tschirhart, vice president of Clincal Services and Chief Nursing Executive at St. Joseph’s Health Centre
- Kelly Legge, developed Speed River Bicycle Womens Group and Up and Running Guelph
- Dr. Lynne McCurdy, doctor of Audiology
- Dr. Manjusri Misra, professor, joint appointment with School of Engineering and Department of Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph
- Melanie Dolmer, mother, student and role model
- Misty Taylor, human resources advisor, City of Guelph
- Raechelle Devereaux, executive director, Guelph Community Health Centre
- Sara Sayyed, director of volunteers for the Guelph Refugee Consortium
- Sequoia Kim, young woman of distinction
- Shelley Krieger, owner, Red Brick Café
