8th annual Sparkle Awards Gala celebrates women in business

Written By BRIAN LOCKHART

 About 80 businesswomen from Dufferin County attended the eighth annual Sparkle Awards Gala, held at the Monora Park Pavilion on Wednesday, November 20. 

Hosted by Dufferin Women in Business, the event is one of several hosted by the group each year. It allows women in business in the region to connect with each other.

“Dufferin Women in Business is a committee under the Dufferin Board of Trade and our purpose is to facilitate networking events for women to build, connect, and grow their business,” explained committee chair, Liz Skorski. 

“We have nine events each year and they are all different. It's really about making connections with each other. That's the real focus. Some women know each but you never know who you're going to meet. 

“The connections you make just having a conversation is amazing. One thing this committee is good at is helping to make people feel at ease. In this community the more people you know, the more we can recommend and you can find those collaborative business partnerships. Tonight we just want to show appreciation. Especially with women - woman are often juggling children, households, and businesses.”

Many of the women a the Gala are business owners while some are independent business people. Others attend as representatives of local businesses.

The Sparkle Awards Gala is an opportunity to recognize individuals for achievement in different areas involving the business community.

“We have four Sparkle Awards,” explained committee member Teena Avery. “We invented the award eight years ago as a way to recognize women in business and to show appreciation. 

“There's four awards. There's Networker of the Year, Volunteer of the Year, Mentor of the Year, and the 2019 Woman of Influence. We also have different speakers at the events. Sometimes it's a round table discussion and we have topics and specific questions where we discuss and get other people's perspective. Or we will have people come in and speak on a specific topic. 

“Our focus really is about building those relationships. You can build that relationship and there's a level of trust.”

Recipients of the Sparkle Awards were chosen by attendees at the awards night. Several people were nominated in each category.

This year's award winners are, Charlotte Graham, Networker of the Year, Carly Ferris, Volunteer of the Year, Melissa Vinden, Mentor of the Year, and Lucy Gallagher, Woman of Influence.