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Local Residents Gather to Honour Women who are Making a Difference

Melissa Beedle, Features Editor

ocal residents joined the Burns
UE Bog Conservation Society to hon-

our both cranes and women at
their fourth-annual Celebrating Women
and the Spirit of the Cranes event on
Saturday, March 5, 2005, at the Kennedy
House Senior Centre in Delta, BC.

This year, the guest speaker was Dr.
Julia Levy. She is an internationally
renowned scientist and co-founder of
QLT, a global biopharmaceutical compa-
ny specializing in developing treatments
for cancer, eye diseases, and dermatologi-
cal and urological conditions. Dr. Levy
gave a presentation about her company,
QLT, and the technologies she has helped
develop, including treatments for wet age-
Her
presentation, though highly scientific, was

related macular degeneration.
very informative with regards to the bio-
pharmaceutical industry and the good
fortune QLT has had in becoming a major
international company.

“We lucked out,” said Levy. “A lot of
biotechnology companies worked just as
hard as we did. We were just lucky.” In
1981, as a UBC student with little knowl-
edge of the biopharmaceutical industry,
Dr. Levy and a few friends decided to
start a company.

“We had no idea what we were doing,”
said Levy. “We just thought it was a good
idea.” A few years later, an American
company offered to invest $15 million in
QLT, putting them on the Toronto Stock
Exchange and allowing them to join the
ranks of major international biopharma-
ceutical players.

On Saturday, March 5, more than 140
people gathered to honour 15 women
who have impacted the environment

around them in one ort more of the fol-
lowing categories: Arts, Business,
Community Spirit, Education, Science &
Technology, and Young Women Under
25.

The following women received Gold
awards for their community contribu-
tions:

Community Spirit Award for her involve-
ment with the environment. At 70 years
of age, Murray climbed the Chilkoot Trail.
She is a lifetime member of the Canadian
Parks & Wilderness Society and past
Secretary/Treasurer of the Friends of the
Stikine Society for approximately 20 years.
She has been a mentor and role model for

 

Dorothy Beach, now in her 90s, won
the Gold Community Spirit Award for her

work in raising environmental issues in

her community. Her influence goes
beyond her community. As Local and
Women’s
Environmental Chair of the National

Provincial Council of
Council of Women, she helped women
from 78 countries to pass resolutions
against the use of phenoxy herbicide.

May Murray also won a Gold

many women with whom she has come
into contact.

Lisa Baile won the Gold Education
Award for her involvement with the
Wilderness Education Program (WEP).
Since its founding in 1996, over 35,000
young people in the Lower Mainland have
benefitted from the program. She is also a
research scientist in the UBC Faculty of
Medicine. Her area of expertise is the
study of pulmonary circulation, but her

passion is environmental education.

Amanda Smith won the Gold Science
& Technology Award for her active
involvement in science and technology.
She is a scientist who owns and operates
her own company, Smith Biotech. She is
VP for both the Wired Women Society
and the Society for Women in Science and
Technology, and is on the Board of
Directors of the Science Fair Foundation.

Debbie Gebert, a resident of Surrey,
won the Gold Young Women Under 25
Award for her active role in fundraising.
She attends school full-time, runs her own
online magazine for young people
(popYOUlarity.com), and works at two
additional jobs. She also fits volunteer
work into her busy schedule.

Nina Raginsky won the Gold Art
Award for her community work. She is a
member of the Royal Academy of Arts
and she Simon Fraser
University’s Kees Vermeer Award for
Conservation and Education.

Chief Kim Baird won the Gold
Business Award for her work bringing
forth a treaty that will let her people live in
harmony with the rest of the community

received

and build a strong economic base for
future generations that honours their his-
tory and traditions.

The Society thanks all volunteers and
corporate sponsors who made this event
possible. Special thanks to Starbucks,
Lehigh Heidelberg Cement Group, G&F
Financial, Atkinson & Terry Insurance
Brokers, Century Group, Roddick’s Feed
& Supply, Delta Cable, The Now, and Coffee
News. Their support made Celebrating
Women and the Spirit of the Cranes a
success.

 

 
 
      

 

 

 

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