Women Business Owners of Manitoba
Category: International Trade
The great Canadian feminist and two time servicing mayor of Ottawa, Charlotte Whitton, wrote in June, '63 - "whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult." What a great truth that is. As a woman first, and an entrepreneur second, I attribute the majority of my success to the fact that I am a woman in a man's world. And yes, the business world has changed, but not fast enough to be truly fair or just, nor extensively enough to right the wrongs. But there is change. And we as women, here tonight, are all an integral part of this great movement to full citizenship, and the men here tonight, both recognize and benefit each day from supporting our pursuit of our enfranchisement.
When starting my business almost thirteen years ago I had the support of my then partner, Tom Winkel who is here tonight. Thank you Tom. But even before that time, I learned a great deal about risk taking, dreaming big, planning, organizing, leading and controlling - all the elements of being both an entrepreneur and a good manager, from both of my parents, but especially from the most influential woman in my life, my mother, Marlene Devine. She is here with us tonight, and is a woman of 76 years, and for the past 40 of those years, has been completely blind. And throughout her career first as a figure skater, then an accounts manager at a bakery in Regina, and then as a farm wife and mother, and in the past 20 years, a professional farmer's market entrepreneur, selling her baking and preserves for five months each year at Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan, she has taught me about courage, tenacity and labour. Lots of labour. Labour that starts at 5:00 am. She was somewhat unwilling to attend tonight because it was interrupting her pastry making schedule. And in this regard, I am my mother's daughter - and for that, I am thankful beyond measure. Thank you Mom.
There are so many others here tonight that deserve this honour as much as I, and that is certainly, Richard Lennon, the Vice President of kisquared, who I have been supported and inspired by for 10 years of my business success at kisquared, to my husband George Andrich who knows when to cuddle me and when to step out of the way, and the rest of the ki-squares here tonight, some of whom I have worked with for several years like Margaret McKenty, Susan Smiel, Chad Wiebe, Shiyan Jin, Erin Kimelman, Emily Roscoe and Rachel Loewen, and to some of our relatively new folks like Tim Smith, Tara Waldie and Rychele Cole.
And finally, to all of the woman entrepreneurs here tonight, I congratulate you, and to all the women who are yet to be - never forget - our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do. So get on with it gals!