MOST Profile: Women of the year

A She-ro is the perfect way to describe this year’s Kitchener Waterloo Oktoberfest Rogers Women of the Year, which recognizes outstanding women in Waterloo Region. They are all She-roes in their own right – from enriching the community through arts and culture to advocating for social change, mentoring, or having a lifetime or experience and wisdom to share.  

Women of the Year Committee Chair Margo Jones, loves that fact that Waterloo Region recognizes these fabulous women.
“The women that are nominated are actually doing so much in this community that nobody ever knows,” she says.  
Jones, in her fifth year as committee chair, says that The K-W Oktoberfest Rogers Women of the Year, now 37 years old, has different criteria and requirements for each category and candidates can be nominated either through an individual or a committee. Jones cites the candidate for the Arts and Culture Category is someone “who enriches the culture of the community through creation or promotion of the arts on a volunteer or professional basis”, whereas the lifetime achievement award is given to someone who has “been a role model in the community for over 35 years and is a mentor or advocate for positive or social change.”   
The committee keeps track of a potential nominee throughout the year using different means including local magazine clippings and other resources.
“Then we go through the list and the criteria of doing the nominations,” she explains.  
Jones says that most of the legwork is done by the committee and each nominee submission can only be five pages. The committee then contacts the ladies and congratulates them asking them to find 3 to 5 people they would feel comfortable with to provide letters of support. Then the committee also contacts those same people who willingly write letters to help the nominee.    
Jones says the ceremony involves approximately 65 candidates with over 500 people coming out to support these local “She-roes” for their outstanding talents, commitments, and achievements.
“It is great when the young adults are there in the audience and they are hearing about these other women in all different categories,” remarks Jones. “I recently talked to one youth and she said 'Oh my gosh that is so inspiring!' These ladies make this community such a good place to live.”

The Women of the Year for 2011
Diane Eastham  – Arts And Culture  
Upon life's rich canvas, Diane Eastham constantly weaves her own cultural tapestry of creativity  sewing innovative threads as she moves from one arts discipline to another.   
This multi-talented visual artist, author, teacher and (former vice principal!) has never stopped learning, honing her craft regardless of what artistic medium she is working in from mastering a musical instrument to her latest passion – art quilting.
Eastham says art quilting has been on her list of things to do for years, and she is now studying with  Canadian artist Dwayne F. Wanner who has exhibited his contemporary art quilts across the country. These beautiful abstract non representational colour and texture fibre art pieces cater perfectly to Eastham's “broad panoply” of the visual arts, where she says her creativity currently lies these days.
Also an avid photographer, Eastham has travelled around the world, and exhibits her photography and artwork in private collections both regionally and nationally. She also teaches workshops continuing to mentor many in the arts. She says the Women of the Year experience, was a complete surprise from nominee's start to winner's finish.    
“But it is tremendously validating,” she admits. “A lot of us who are artists feel like we work away in our own studios often in isolation,” she says. “We are not sure if anybody ever knows or appreciates what we do and all of the sudden there is this huge recognition and it says 'oh, all that work was noticed and did count for something,”she notes, adding this award is nice because it also validates interaction with her artistic peers and their creative works.  
Eastham is also an inspiration to her peers because, mid-life, she made a significant career change from vice principal to full-time artist. She cautions that she did not make this change blindly and says she spent a lot of time looking at her finances and working them out to see if she could survive on just one job. Eastham explains while she had her venerable job at the school board, she spent a decade simultaneously building her arts career path, creating a solid base through her skills and contacts before she left school board for good.  
Now, five years later, the award-winning artist says sometimes she has to pull herself out of everything and go into “retreat mode” by puttering around the house or doing physical exercise – both key elements in recharging her creative batteries. Eastham plans to continue to explore new avenues of  work by finding more artistic threads to sew into her vast canvas of lifelong passion and cultural creativity.

Sharon Bellows – Professional
Constable Sharon Bellows, who always likes to give back and make a difference in the community, says she was flabbergasted when she received her Women of the Year nomination, and amazed for winning an award for doing a job she loves.
Bellows adds she was pleasantly surprised to be recognized in her line of work. She says her mother who could not be there, due to surgery, is very proud.  
“My parents were police officers in Orillia and my mom was the first police officer for Orillia City – which does not exist anymore. So I guess it is just in the blood,” claims Bellows adding she left her 18 -year career in banking to bravely follow her parents’ footsteps.
Bellows has been with the Waterloo Regional Police Service since 2008 and volunteers as Platoon Representative for The United Way in addition to acting as liaison for children and New Canadians at at Kitchener's Chandler Mowat Community Centre.
She explains she visits Chandler Mowat on a regular basis to create more of a positive influence because there are a lot of immigrant children in that area of the community.   
“Many of them are New Canadians and they come from countries that are afraid of police,” explains Bellows. “I take the kids for rides in the park in the cruiser and give them all a chance to play with the siren. I also help out when they are having events there.”
She says if she cannot attend an event, she will send another area officer in her place, adding she keeps the board up to date regarding all the community centre events. That way officers are fully aware of what is going on in the centre at all times.
This community area has had its up and downs over the years, but Bellows says the Chandler Mowat neighbourhood continues to “make headway” and cites the community centre is doing a great job of bringing everybody together, with solid turnouts for family-oriented events.
Because she loves to give back, Bellows has been involved with The United way for years. As platoon rep, she encourages her colleagues to donate through payroll, in addition to suggesting fund raising ideas.
This Professional Woman of the Year is not sure about moving into a specialty police branch, still enjoying the daily rewards of her regular street beat.  
“I am just loving it … especially being out on the road all the time.”  

Lorna van Mossell – Lifetime Achievement
At the age 88, Lorna Van Mossell gets annoyed at civil injustice in the world, and she will call politicians to get their opinion.
“Once you get older and your hair gets grayer, you get braver,” she laughs. “And you just say what you think and what you believe is right. Too bad what other people think. If you are worried about all of that you wouldn’t do anything,” she affirms.
Van Mossell's care of the vulnerable, disenfranchised and especially New Canadians in the region is legendary.
In the 1970s, Van Mossell, a former citizenship judge and her late husband Bert, who was a Presbyterian minister, began Friendship Families pairing refugees with local families. Over the years the Van Mossells often shared their home and much more with those in need.
Looking back, Van Mossell says the nationalities of people immigrating to this area have greatly changed. She recalls when she first started helping New Canadians, they mostly came from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, and now believes many people are immigrating from Iran and Iraq.  
“I was at an annual meeting at the multicultural centre with a new judge,” says Van Mossell. “From talking with her she said they (Immigrants) are coming in from very different parts of the world. That is the way it is and that is the way it continue …” she declares.
Van Mossell also gets very annoyed when people make assumptions about New Canadians based on flimsy hearsay and she continues to defend immigrant's rights like a lioness over her cubs.
“I have done a lot of work with refugees and New Canadians and in my opinion it's all very very important,” she says adding that she still attends lectures at the KW Multicultural Centre, which presented a dinner in van Mossell's honour with over 200 guests.
Committee Chair Margo Jones contacted Van Mossell about her lifetime achievement award.
“Lorna was so sweet,” says Jones. “At first she said 'NO, I do not think so'... but by the time our conversation was over she had three people (for letters of support) that she suggested we call,” said Jones laughing.  
Van Mossell, “embarrassed” by this prestigious award figures many people do good things. “You just do what you do,” she says.
She has weak eyesight due to macular degeneration, bent over from osteoporosis and rheumatic pain, but ever the optimist, Van Mossell says her “disease of aging” is better than most because at her senior's residence she sees everything from Parkinson’s to Alzheimer's. Van Mossell pays strict attention to her health, and is not sure what new challenges lie ahead as she continues to champion New Canadians in 2012.      
“If you are a caring person you just do things, and it all depends what comes across your path,” she says. “There really is lots to do.”  

Lisa Morell Kelly – Entrepreneur
Lisa Morell Kelly says she likes being able to create jobs for people. She is the senior partner at Morell Kelly a personal injury law firm which she formed with husband and partner Bruce Kelly in 2004. Morell Kelly mentors her paralegal staff who handle smaller files teaching them to be self sufficient so that one day they can form their own law practices.
Morell Kelly says she was “totally shocked” by the nomination, from former employee Whitney Hall, who worked with her for five years, adding she was happy the committee asked her permission first.
Morell Kelly thinks Women of the Year is very special commendation and is pleased with the fact that Waterloo Region has such a distinctive awards ceremony for women.
“I know that there are lots of awards for men. And there's lots of industries that have awards that are predominantly male like construction and things like that, so I think this is pretty neat,” she states.     
Morell Kelly Law which now has four offices and 35 employees, has recovered thousands of dollars for individuals who have been personally injured. Many clients come to Morell Kelly because they have a hard time finding a lawyer who will take a smaller case.
“We do not have very much competition because there are a lot of lawyers out there that are moving into retirement and many don't have the staff space that we have,”says Morell Kelly. “So they don't want smaller files. And for people who have had a fall or some sort of unexpected medical expenses $10,000 might make quite a difference to them.” she indicates adding she has been able to create jobs for her staff  by opening as many files as she can.
Morell Kelly believes on the business side, in combination with her law practice, it's important for those who have the capacity, to create jobs for other people.  
“Private industry is shrinking and we are becoming more and more reliant on the government to make these jobs,” says Morell Kelly. “We are now in this loop where there are these huge public service pensions that have to be paid and it is becoming increasingly ... well … they are going to be paid with taxes. And that's the only way,” she states. “People are having to work a lot longer because their portfolios have taken a hit. Frankly, I don't know if I believe in RSP anymore because I think when it comes time to draw it out, the tax rate is going to be higher than when we put it in. Because there are no guarantees on that – that is just a theory to get you to invest,” she says. “I believe more in investing in the now and that's why I like creating jobs.”  

Susan Lewis – Health and Wellness
Susan Lewis wisely indicates that most of nominees and winners of Women of the Year have had something happen in their lives that propelled them into an area where they felt work needed to be done.
In Lewis' case, it was her son Mike, and his mental illness issues which spurred her toward many areas of mental health advocacy. Lewis firmly believes the link between mental and physical health is sadly neglected, with mental health awareness and its stigma remaining “in the shadows.”
But in Waterloo Region these shadows are being dispelled due to Lewis' social physical fitness innovation – The Minds in Motion KW Walking Classic.
As Founding Chair of Minds in Motion, Lewis encourages hundreds of people to walk in support of mental health awareness. All the proceeds donated from the walk go to buy good quality walking shoes for the mentally ill so when they are ready, they too, can walk in style.  
Lewis, a certified health professional who has been teaching fitness for years, says she and husband David are avid walkers and the whole family started walking when their son Mike was getting a little better.
Lewis who had been doing high and low impact exercise, realized that walking was a super form of fitness that could take one to any level of athleticism.   
“When you get out walking and you push it a bit, you get a really good workout.” says Lewis adding she and husband Dave (another mental health advocate who also teaches fitness) have been training people to power walk.  
To Lewis, the idea of walking in a running race seemed a little out of step, so she decided to blend mental health advocacy with power walking, including all the “bling, medals, shirts, and chip timers for the big finish.”
Waterloo Regional Homes for Mental Health, where Lewis is also a Board member, became their charitable sponsor and KW Minds in Motion, Walking Classic (now billed as Canada's First Walkers Competitive Event) was born.  
Lewis says 2010 attendance was almost 1000 walkers and that is what spurred fellow committee member Rob Martin to nominate Lewis for Women of the Year.
Lewis says being a nominee was a positive experience, and it was overwhelming when she won the award.
“It highlights the cause that you carry with you,” she notes.
In 2012, as Minds in Motion turns five, Lewis has applied for a Trillium Foundation Grant to create a template for this event so it can hopefully be held across the province, and maybe someday, across Canada.
Says Lewis: “We want to be able to move Minds in Motion forward with good planning because it is a wonderful project, where everyone's mental health can be improved through exercise.”

The Under 40 Women of the Year Winners.
Kelly Meissner, won for Community Service Award, as founder of Kate's Kause, a charitable organization named after her daughter Kate who was diagnosed with Angelman Syndrome.
Special Olympian skater and swimmer Natalie Stevanus won for Sports and Recreation, and Kelly Lovell, who created volunteer youth initiative Passion 4 Progress won for Young Adult.
For these eight fabulous women, Maya Angelou is once again makes the perfect summation.
“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”

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