Women's Enterprise Centre

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2012 Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Awards

Monday, May 28, 2012

More than a decade ago, I had the great pleasure of wearing the wrist corsage at the VIP Reception and having my photo taken as a nominee for the Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Awards (WEYA). It was truly one of the most exciting days of my life. My business partner at the time had secretly brought my brother to Canada to attend the awards banquet and his sudden appearance at lunch was a tremendous surprise. Having staff, friends and family in attendance at an event where one is honored, even just by being nominated, is breathtaking and unforgettable.

That’s why I know how the 30 nominees felt at the Women Business Owners’ WEYA event last Thursday. It was, for each of them, their night, their moment of recognition and celebration of the hard work and dedication that they bring to their enterprises.

As sponsors of the event, many of the Women’s Enterprise Centre of Manitoba staff attend the evening’s festivities and cheer at the great stories told in the nominee videos. We also weep a bit at the very moving words of the entrepreneurs who are pronounced as winners in their award category.

This year was particularly heady for us. Of the nine main awards, one was won by a good friend to the Centre and three were won by clients with whom we had worked to help to build their business plans or expand their markets. There is something so entirely gratifying for us when that happens. These aren’t the performance target numbers that we report to our board or our funders, these are real women entrepreneurs who have come through our doors and found something of value here that they turned into a success.

That’s why we do what we do and it’s the best return on our investment of time and resources that we could possibly get.

Congratulations to all of the nominees and to all of the winners from the managers, advisors, client service and loan staff and the CEO of the Women’s Enterprise Centre. We want nothing more than your continued success and good fortune!

Majda Ficko, Hair Do Zoo and Olen Cosmetics, Lifetime Achievement Winner