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20 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, November 14, 1989 Women of Distinction awards Four Durham Region women were honored for the contribu- tions they have made to their communities at the 8th Annual Women of Distinction awards Thursday night. The awards, sponsored by the Young Women's Christian As- sociation (YWCA), are given out annually to women who excel in the arts, the workforce, and community service work. An award is also presented to a young woman who is not yet in the workforce. Twenty-five women were nominated for the four awards. The women came from all walks of life, including teachers, social workers, single mothers, and mayors. Winner of the Woman of Dis- tinction for the Arts award was Jeannine Butler. She was nom- inated by the Oshawa District Council for the Arts. Ms. Butler has been involved in theater work as an actor, di- rector, producer and adjudica- tor for over 20 years. yo She has been linked with the Bowmanville Drama Festival, Central Collegiate Drama Fes- tival, Whitby Arts, the United Way, and was founder of the Durham Shoestring Perform- ers. "Jeannine's special under- standing of community theatre with all its varied experience and talent has been developed by her willingness to assume re- sponsibility in all aspects of theatre work," said Elizabeth Peacock, director of publicity The YWCA held the 8th Annual Women of Distinction Awards Thursday. Winners were (from left) Sandra Sweet (workforce), vice) and Tracey Welsh (young woman was the guest speaker. See stories for detalls. BEBE + (oy RH RR Pu on. a smile it's a time to share uen as that night draws near Remember why this Christmas cheer #0 long ago in days of old Dre child was born in humble abode 1 Nearby the shepherds kept their sheep And angels sang their songs so sweet Po a Saviour is born for gon and me Dherefore let us not forget ®s tales of old when shepherds slept Wnder the heavens as angels sang (I brist the Lord is born today 's Hosanna in the highest! *1 May the blessing of Christmas be yours. Join us for our Christmas Open House November 17 & 18 -- Sto 8 and 9 to 5 -- at The Personal Touch 209 Mary Street -- Fort Perry 10% Savings on All Purchases 07h 4 Cog A Jeannine Butler (arts), Robin Jones (community ser- ). Renowned journalist Ann Medina (not pictured) A RRB -- OPEN HOUSE -- The jogous Christmas geason is here Mearts join together this time of year Excited laughter fills the air 22 = EN for the YWCA. "Her careful organization clears the way for enthusiastic and co-operative creativity among the actors." Winner of the Woman of Dis- tinction for Community Service award went to Robin Jones. She was nominated by the Denise House/SEDNA Women's Shel- ter and Support Services. Among . Jones' accom- plishments are president of De- nise House (a shelter for abused women), treasurer of the Tour- ist Association of Durham Re- gion, executive member of the Oshawa Folk Arts Council and community relations represen- tative for the McDonald's Fami- ly Restaurants. : She was also one of the found- ing members of the Durham In- dustry Education Council. The council brings together the Dur- ham Separate School Board, the Durham Board of Educa- tion, and concerned businesses to improve the quality of educa- tion and to better prepare stu- dents for the business world. Ms. Jones, a single mother, was named Parent of the Year at her son's school this year. She also volunteers her time at many local organizations. YWCA honors Durham's best "Robin enthusiastically com- bines her professional skills with her personal beliefs and in- tegrates them into a lifestyle that is enriching for her and at the same time, benefiting our community as a whole," a sup- porter said. Sandra Sweet was the winner of the Woman of Distinction for Women in the Workforce award. She was nominated by Simcoe Hall Settlement House Board where she has worked for 11 years as a pre-school diag- -nostic group and day camp co- ordinator. Ms. Sweet, another single mother, co-ordinated a success- ful sole-support mother's pro- gram and women's resource centre program. She teaches self esteem and " assertiveness at the Durham Housing Authority and Denise House. Ms. Sweet has established a toy lending library for special needs children, as well as illus- trating "Safe and Happy", a book for pre-school children which won a Canadian Chil- dren's Choice Award. : * She also acts as secretary for the International Karate Asso- ciation of Canada and holds a (Turn to page 22) Renowned journalist guest speaker at awards dinner | Renowned journalist Ann Medina believes everybody can accomplish what they want to, if they really try. That was her message to over 400 Durham Region residents attending the 8th Annual YWCA Women of Distinction Awards Thursday. Ms. Medina, who worked as a foreign correspondent for CBC's The Journal news program, told the guests that the 26 women nominated for the prestigious awards had accomplished many special achievements. "The women here tonight are really quite specials Ms. Medi- na said. "I feel a bitin awe, a bit intimidated and definitely amazed at the kind of things they've done." She told the audience that some of the nominees were teachers, theater directors, mayors and young women who are "juggling and achieving a lot of things." "Do not be intimidated," she said. "The women who are nom- inated are probably a lot like youandL." : "What makes them special is they say T'm goingtodoit.'" She said most people believe they have to be an expert or have a lot of energy to accom- plish such tasks. "I don't have the energy...I'm not bright enough, I can't speak vocally, I don't have the exper- tise," she quotes many women as saying. "I guess what I want to say to- night is a lot of that is hog- wash." : She said all anyone needs to succeed is a degree of preserver- ance. "A lot of things that we think are unreachable are not." She used Doreen Wicks as an example. "Doreen Wicks used to be called Ben Wicks' wife," Ms. Me- dinajoked. 2 While travelling in Haiti, Mrs. Wicks saw many children die because of a parasite in their drinking water. Ms. Medina said Mrs. Wicks decided to try to rectify the problem even though she had no experience or background training. Mrs. Wicks eventually developed a siphoning tool that removed the parasite from the water. . Ms. Medina said people often asked her how she was able to achieve so much as a foriegn correspondent and national journalist. Her secret, she said, was to find the human aspect in peo- ple. To illustrate her secret, she told the audience about an as- signment she had in China and her love for birds. "Where ever I went, I had to buy a bird," Ms. Medina said. It was a bird she bought in China that broke down the bar- riers between her and the Chi- nese officials. She said the government was very rigid and by the book , but when she arrived at her inter- view, she was ushered right in- side the building before other reporters because she had a bird in her purse. "They (the Chinese) were no longer the officials from this community and that communi- ty, and I was no longer Ann Me- dina, foreign correspondant. We were people," Ms. Medina said. "What enabled me to get the information in China was not special training." "All you have to do is say you're going to do it," she re- peated. "Yes, the individuals (nomi- nated tonight) are special but what that individual has done, we all can do, or get close to it, if wetry."