For former Weyburn resident Jackie Lind (nee Clelland), she had reached a pinnacle of achievement in her 11-year career as a casting director when she was nominated for an Emmy Award - but then she heard her name announced as a winner, and she couldn't believe it.

Sitting in the fancy ballroom with her best friend from Weyburn, Cheryl (Watts) Easton, Lind came a long ways from when she grew up in Weyburn and attended St. Dominic Savio and St. Michael Schools.

Lind won her Emmy for Outstanding Casting in a Mini-Series, for her work on the Western mini-series Broken Trail, which starred Robert Duvall.

The award was presented earlier than the televised Emmies, as it was part of the Primetime Emmy Creative Arts Awards, but the ceremonies were held at the same location with the same walk on the red carpet, and the Governor's Ball and the heavy presence of the media.

After 11 years working as a casting director, this was Lind's first nomination.

"Just being nominated meant everything to me, but I never thought I would win. When I did, it was pretty surreal," said Lind in an interview from Calgary.

She and her friend "did the whole thing" for the Emmies, including getting gowns and getting their hair done up, being picked up by a limo and walking down the red carpet into the hotel where the Emmies were held. After she won her award, she was escorted back-stage where the media were waiting to do interviews, including TV, newspapers and People magazine.

Lind had gone down to L.A. three or four days prior to the ceremonies to meet industry people in Hollywood, which included a meeting with the head of casting for Paramount Pictures.

How did a former student of St. Dominic end up casting actors for TV and feature films?

The daughter of Peggy Clelland, Lind graduated from the Comprehensive School in 1979, and left Weyburn. Her introduction to the film industry didn't arise until her daughter decided at the age of nine she wanted to be an actress.

"I decided to get into the business side of it by being an agent, but I didn't care for it very much. I looked at doing casting, starting with independent projects," Lind said. She worked on a series that was shot in Regina, and then got on to the TV series from the movie, Honey I Shrunk the Kids with actor Peter Scolari, which was shot in Calgary, and she was on her way.

She eventually branched out on her own, starting her own company in Calgary, and has accumulated a number of credits on well-known TV movies and feature films. Lind now lives in Vancouver but maintains her company in Calgary.

Lind worked on the TV movie Open Range with Robert Duvall, and last year did the Canadian casting for the action thriller Shooter, starring Mark Wahlberg. More recently, she did the Canadian casting for the movie, The Assassination of Jesse James, which opens this week, starring Brad Pitt.

"A producer will call me to see if I want to do a show or a project. If I agree, I read the script and break down the characters of the movie, and come up with a synopsis of the movie story, and I send that out to agents across Canada," she said, adding she then chooses who she wants to see audition for given parts; after that, she sends her list to the producer and director, and they in turn get the okay from the studio.

Mostly Lind does American projects, providing the principal and supporting cast of Canadian actors and actresses; the American actors (such as Brad Pitt in the Jesse James movie) are cast in Los Angeles before the project is sent to Canada.

Coming up, Lind just finished casting for a movie that is just about to begin shooting in Regina, called 45 RPM, starring August Schellenberg and Kim Coates, and currently she is doing work on a mini-series, Burn Up, which is a co-production between Canadian and British producers.

Asked if having an Emmy will make a difference in her work as a casting director, Lind said, "Absolutely. It's the highest pinnacle you can be honoured with in television. That's why it was such an honour to be nominated."