Airdrie has amazing women living here.  

Evidence of that was in the number that were nominated for the Amazing Airdrie Women Awards that were presented on Friday (May 11) by airdrielife magazine at a sold-out luncheon at The Woods Restaurant at the Woodside Golf Course in Airdrie.

Sherry Shaw-Froggatt is the Publisher of airdrielife and the originator of the Amazing Women Awards and says it was a wonderful event.

"This was actually the 8th year and we've now featured 260 women in the magazine.  We had a fantastic day with great, gourmet food, Fitzsimmons (Brewing Company) created a perfect beer cocktail for us at the reception, Ally Lane a fabulous speaker was fantastic.  It was just a really great, heartwarming day with lots of laughter, lots of tears, lots of hugs and it was a really empowering day for women in the community."

Kara Fulton the founder of Thumbprint Craft Beer Market was given the Cream Body and Bath Amazing Determination Award.  Shaw-Froggatt says Fulton didn't let personal grief stop her from pursuing her dream.

"Her starting Thumbprint Craft Beer Market was a dream of hers and she did it out of a loss of losing her father and she moved forward and put a lot of heart and soul into what she was doing and people recognized her for that and that's why she was nominated."

The McKee Homes Amazing Leadership Award went to Marie Lauer.  Shaw-Froggatt says all of the nominees were worthy but Lauer's years of leadership made her a deserving winner.

"Just because Marie's exemplified so much leadership in our community, from the Food Bank to the Primary Health Care Network and now to the Chamber of Commerce so it's a very well deserved award for her.

Crystal Boys who is the driving force behind Airdrie getting a women's shelter as the leader of Airdrie P.O.W.E.R was presented with the Pharmasave Amazing Heart Award.

"She has a big heart so she fit the category perfectly.  This is always the category where we get the most entries and we had such a great, deserving group of women in there but Crystal really showed the impact she's having on the community by having such a big heart."

Katherine Funk was named the winner of the TD Bank Amazing Promise Award.  Although she just graduated from high school last year, Shaw-Froggatt says she's already having an impact on the fashion world and has a great career ahead of her.

"She's already a fashion designer doing amazing things.  She's just picked up a couple of awards in the arts community but she just demonstrates a lot of potential, which is what the award is about."

Mental health advocate Victoria Scattergood was named as the Amazing Courage Award winner in a category announced earlier.

Not resting on her laurels, Shaw-Froggatt says nominations for the 2019 Amazing Airdrie Women Awards will be open next week.  You can nominate a woman in your life that you feel deserves any of the awards at airdrielife.com.  In big ways or small, Shaw-Froggatt says, they'd like to hear how women are impacting Airdrie.  

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