The Quota Club’s Women of the Year Awards provide a welcome opportunity to recognize women for their accomplishments and contributions to the community, said a past winner of an award.
Susan Fleck won an award in 2017 in the exceptional entrepreneur category, recognizing her work in establishing her new business, Centered Physiotherapy and Yoga.
“I was fortunate in my first year of business to be nominated and to win the award, which was kind of awesome,” said Fleck.
“When I found out I was being nominated, I felt incredibly honoured and was very surprised,” she added, noting her nominators were Shari Obst and Sheryl Ehman, who had both attended her yoga classes.
Fleck said she was particularly proud that she was able to provide a physiotherapy service that has been missing in Weyburn, namely for pelvic floor therapy.
“I found it really validating after I took a chance on myself to start up this business. It was nice to know I wasn’t alone in that endeavour,” said Fleck, adding it was “a little overwhelming” to not only be nominated for this award, but to go on and win it that category.
“I was very emotional, and I found the experience to be really amazing. To see the other nominees from the community and the volunteers nominated in the community, to see all these things are going on in the background was incredible,” she said, explaining that it was a very eye-opening experience to be a part of that whole awards process.
Asked if the award helped to raise awareness of her services and name in the community, Fleck said this was definitely one of the benefits of the honour the awards process gave her.
“I have been a physiotherapist in Weyburn for over 12 years, and then I went out on my own,” she added.
Fleck said being a part of the awards as a nominee and winner definitely had a high value for her, and feels these awards are valuable for the women of the community as a way to have their accomplishments recognized.
“As women, we tend to shy away from accepting acknowledgement of our accomplishments. This is one way to do that. We should be proud of these accomplishments and of volunteers. We should be proud of what our women in the community are able to do,” she said.
Nominations for this year’s Women of the Year Awards are open, with a deadline of Friday, March 6. The awards will be presented at a luncheon gala on Wednesday, April 8, at McKenna Hall, and Weyburn’s own Tenille Arts will be the guest speaker.
Nominations are open in four categories: the Weyburn Credit Union Workplace Excellence award; the M. Isabelle Butters Quota International of Weyburn Community Service award; the Access Communications Exceptional Entrepreneur award; and the Harbourfront Wealth Management Young Woman of Distinction award.
Nomination forms are available on the Weyburn Review website, at www.weyburnreview.com, or hard copies of the forms are available at the retail reception desk at Weyburn Credit Union.
