Nominations in for 2013 Amazing Airdrie Women

There are some truly incredible women in Airdrie. From volunteers to executive directors, students to counsellors, from single mothers to Army Cadet commanding officers.

Local businesses will recognize 27 outstanding individuals with the third annual Amazing Airdrie Women awards nominations. A luncheon will be held on May 3rd The Woods restaurant at Woodside Golf Course to honour finalists and announce the winners.

Laurin Levick has been nominated for the Amazing Heart award, which recognizes a woman whose humanity has touched the lives of others.

Levick, 24, has been volunteering with Airdrie and District Victim Assistance Society (ADVAS) for about a year-and-a-half. Before that she gave her time to the human society, participated in charity marathons and helped with the Festival of Lights. She is working towards her bachelor of criminal justice degree.

“Honestly, some days you start to feel like it takes up a lot of your time,” Levick said of her work with ADVAS, adding she was considering cutting back her commitment to the society before her nomination. “When I got nominated, it made me feel so, so nice and now I’m not going to cut my hours.”

Levick is an On Call Victim Advocate for the society, which requires more than a year of training.

“It’s difficult, you leave feeling sad but really good as well because you helped someone through something,” she said.

She is also excited that her nomination will bring attention to ADVAS.

“(It will) let people know the service is available and that volunteers are needed,” she said.

Other nominees for the Amazing Heart Award include Sharon George, Nicole Horvath, Nicole Kamke, Tara Kearney, Dorothy Martin, Lori Rehill, Courtney Rose, Amanda Tozser and Ellen Turek.

Denisa Sanness from the Boys and Girls Club of Airdrie (BGC) has been nominated in two of the award’s categories: Amazing Leadership and Amazing Determination.

Amazing Leadership recognizes a woman whose integrity, vision and discipline have proved an inspiration to others, while Amazing Determination is for a woman who has confronted challenges with perseverance and resolve.

“It’s extremely flattering,” Sanness said of the double nomination. “I can’t take all the credit because I have amazing people I work with.”

Sanness has been the executive director for BGC since November 2011. Prior to that she worked with the Calgary women’s shelter Discovery House, a detoxification centre and shelter also located in Calgary called Alpha House, and in programs focused on helping children involved in prostitution.

“It has been fantastic,” she said of working at the BGC. “I absolutely love working with youth.”

The mother of three is largely credited for BGC’s AIRscares, which transformed the old RCMP building into a spooktacular haunted house last Halloween. The event raised approximately $6,000 for the club.

Sanness said she would be honoured if she won one of the awards.

“It would be a nice affirmation that I’m doing a good job,” she said.

Other nominees for the Amazing Leadership award include Crystal Adamo, Shelley Bitz, Lise Blanchette, Jaqui Jepsen, Janine Jevne, Tanya Mark, Jayne Steffler and Amanda Tozser. Additional nominees for the Amazing Determination award are Angela Pitt, Sasha Thaxter, Samreen Junaid, Alicia Laurin and Michelle Neustaedter.

Voting for the awards is now open at www.airdrielife.com Public votes will account for 50 per cent of the final decision in selecting finalists with the other 50 per cent coming from previous recipients and community businesses.

Nominees for the Amazing Promise award, which is for young women 21 and under and recognizes initiative and enthusiasm that promises a bright future, include Taryn McKeage, Caitlyn Ratcliffe and Erin Rissling.

The Tracy Work Award for Amazing Courage recipient had already been selected and will go to Terri Amey for her strength when dealing with the devastating effects of a motor-vehicle collision. The award is dedicated to a woman who has faced adversity with grace, dignity and spirit and was named in memory of 2011 award finalist Tracy Work who died of breast cancer in 2011.