Kristine Bugayong, chief executive officer of the Red Deer & District Community Foundation was excited to announce this year’s 56 Women of Excellence Award nominees. Carlie Connolly/Red Deer Express

Kristine Bugayong, chief executive officer of the Red Deer & District Community Foundation was excited to announce this year’s 56 Women of Excellence Award nominees. Carlie Connolly/Red Deer Express

Women of Excellence Awards introduces ‘Women of Excellence in Construction’

Gala will take place June 19th at the Sheraton Red Deer

The Women of Excellence nominees have been revealed and there is yet another record breaking number of nominees.

“We surpassed last year’s record. We have 56 nominees and so it gets better and better and more and more women are being recognized every year, which is a good thing because it’s about time to start recognizing the work of women in our community and our region,” said Kristine Bugayong, chief executive officer of the Red Deer & District Community Foundation.

“They’re not celebrities, they’re not rock stars, they’re women who are like you and I just doing their day to day work but with the intent of making the lives of people around them better,” she added.

And this year there is a new category – the Women of Excellence in Construction.

In a partnership with the Red Deer Construction Association, they wanted to make sure that women know that construction is a career option.

“It’s perceived to be a male-dominated field which it is, but women like the nominees that we have, have excelled in this field for a very long time. They’re trailblazers because no one has ever been in that profession before and so it’s really neat.”

Last year there were 51 nominees.

Nominees per category are as follows:

Agriculture

Judy Andres, Stettler County

Shelley Brandshaw, Red Deer County

Donna Trottier, Red Deer

Arts & Culture

Doreen Bergum, Olds

Erin Boake, Red Deer

Randi Boulton, Lacombe

Stephanie Grue, Red Deer

Lorna Johnson, Red Deer County

Heidy Panameno, Red Deer

Athletics, Recreation and Fitness

Rachel Andres, Olds

Tammy Cunnington, Red Deer

Kari Elliott, Red Deer

Suzan King, Red Deer

Riana Luck, Red Deer

Business and the Professions

Suzanne Alexander-Smith, Red Deer

Ryan McDougall, Red Deer

Nancy Paish, Red Deer

Tammy Schlamp, Red Deer

Community Building

Shauna Bossert, Red Deer

Shelley Hanlan, Red Deer

Danielle Klooster, Penhold

Teresa Kutynec, Blackfalds

Theresa ‘Corky’ Larsen Jonasson, Red Deer

Christina Ray, Olds

Sherri Smith, Red Deer

Women of Excellence in Construction

Treena Dixon, Red Deer

Martine Francis, Red Deer

Sue Neufeld, Red Deer County

Education and Training: Red Deer College

Bev Manning, Red Deer

Entrepreneurship

Autumn Dyck, Red Deer

Denise Harty, Lacombe

Travis Mills, Red Deer

Diana Rude, Red Deer

Estie Vandervelden, Red Deer

Environment

Erin Findlay, Red Deer

Sarah Grass, Red Deer

Sharina Kennedy, Red Deer

Nancy McAteer, Red Deer

Health and Wellness: Warren Sinclair LLP

Velma Karpa, Red Deer

Vanessa Higgens-Nogareda, Red Deer

Nicole Schmitt, Red Deer County

Human Services

Christine Harris, Red Deer

Karyn Kay, Red Deer

Amy Komarniski, Sylvan Lake

Elsie Machell, Olds

Yvonne Peebles, Red Deer

Tabitha Phiri, Lacombe

Heather Reynolds, Red Deer

Dana Rondeau, Red Deer

Jessica Schurman, Red Deer

Gillian Wallis, Blackfalds

Linda Yargeau, Penhold

Alvina Zaidi, Red Deer

Crystal Zens, Lacombe

Young Woman of Excellence

Tatyanna Stoesz, Sylvan Lake

Ola Zein Alabdin, Red Deer

A Lifetime Achievement Award will also be presented to an exemplary woman, who for many years of her life, has been a role model for the community.

The annual Women of Excellence Awards Gala will be held on June 19th at the Sheraton Red Deer starting at 6:00 p.m. Award recipients will be announced that evening. Tickets are now on sale for $125 each or $1,000 for a reserved table of eight. Tickets can be purchased online at www.ticketsalberta.com.