The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

www.carstaroakville.com dentistoakville.com den 547 Tr T afalgar Rd. 905-8457579 2212 Wyecroft Rd. 905-842-6030 90 AVA I L A B L E Real Estate Broker 905-847 -2595 JOHN VAIL TRANS NSMISSION Business JohnVail.com BROKERAGE HALTON SNA NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR 2010 ONTARIO'S TOP NEWSPAPER - 2005-2008 905.842.8690 (905) 559 SPEERS R ROAD, UNIT #3 842 2-0 072 25 A member of Metroland Media Group Ltd. Vol. 49 No. 134 "USING COMMUNICATION TO BUILD BETTER COMMUNITIES" THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2011 40 Pages $1.00 (plus tax) In a league of her own in the navy By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Don't be afraid to try new things because you never know where they will take you. Adhering to this simple philosophy saw Oakville native Leanne Crowe fall into a career that would span nearly 30 years, see her become the first female Canadian Forces clearance diver and perform lifesaving actions in Afghanistan. Crowe, a commander with the Royal Canadian Navy, was recognized for her long list of accomplishments during a Canadian Forces women's appreciation event in Stellarton, Nova Scotia Oct. 30. The event, presided over by Defence Minister Peter MacKay, paid tribute to a female Canadian Forces member from each of the three services: Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Canadian Air Force and Canadian Army. "I'm really happy about this," said Crowe. "I'm not the type of person who toots my own horn too much and I try to keep it low key when it comes to this stuff, but obviously I am very proud and honoured to be recognized." Crowed moved to Oakville when she was in Grade 3 and attended Falgarwood Public School and White Oaks Secondary School. It was in her final year of high school that she started down the path that would take her to the navy. "What happened was the government used to run what they called a Summer Youth Employment Program where you could join the reserves for eight weeks in the summertime. It was basically a summer job," said Crowe. "A couple of fellows from my high school went down and joined the naval reserve unit in Toronto for this program. They did eight weeks of marching around and sailing and getting paid for it. So, when they came back in Grade 13, they See Don't page 4 PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CANADIAN ARMED FORCES HONOURED: Leanne Crowe, who grew up in Oakville, was recently honoured after nearly 30 years in the Royal Canadian Navy. She was the first female Canadian Forces clearance diver and is an Afghanistan veteran. Despite her career taking her far afield, Crowe still considers Oakville her hometown. Crowe received her award from Defence Minister Peter MacKay.