Hear them roar

Thirteen years ago Northern Ontario Business magazine started the Influential Women of Northern Ontario Awards and Tradeshow as a way to seek out, profile and honour women who have created economic wealth in Northern Ontario.

"We all knew who the mover-and-shakers were in the natural resource based economies we had," said publisher Patricia Mills. "We didn’t know who the women were who were starting up all the small businesses."

More than 300 people attended the awards ceremony and tradeshow Thursday at the Victoria Inn by a mixture of business women, entrepreneurs, public sector employees, economic developers and about 50 female high school students.

Mills said you can fund and appreciate businesses but sometimes you need to thank and encourage them because they’re the bedrock of the economy.

"It’s not the big businesses we rely on as much as we rely on the small businesses," she said. "When you have a global recession, it’s still the small businesses that are still here. They’re the ones that are creating jobs and wealth at a faster rate than the bigger businesses are."

The awards are also a way to show women examples of how they can contribute and it gives role models to younger generations.

Cindy Maki, owner of True Vision Coaching – a life coaching business – won the Influential Women award for the private sector and said it was wonderful to see the high school students at the event.

"They can get a chance to see what actually goes on after high school and really turn their lives into something that’s really incredible for them to move forward into," she said.

Thrilled and surprised with her win, Maki has been working as a life coach for five years now.

"I’m always trying to spread the news about ‘be who you are; do what’s important to you, make a difference in the world,’" she said. "So when you have a room full of people who are just open to hearing what you have to say –t o be able to share a positive message like that and help to spread good will and good thinking among people is a fantastic opportunity."

Other winners included Lindsey Beaulne as the Young Entrepreneur Award winner and St. Patrick High School student Brittney Marshall took the title of Aspiring Achiever Scholarship winner.