Photo: From left: Rose Angiuano Hurst (WEST Executive Director); Jacqueline Lyanga (AFI Fest Director and Keynote Speaker) and Gemma Grey-Hall (WEST President Board of Directors) pose for a photo during last year’s “International Women’s Day Gala.” Photo courtesy of Mitzi Designs.
EVENT PROFILE: WEST’s International Women’s Day Gala
Hundreds will once again come together to honour outstanding women at the annual International Women’s Day Gala.
Held on March 8 at St. Clair College Centre for the Arts and hosted by Women’s Enterprise Skills Training of Windsor Inc. (WEST), the event features a keynote address, entertainment, gourmet dinner, awards, and a silent auction.
“Over 400 guests who support the pursuit of equality and the value of diversity will attend the gala,” describes WEST Executive Director Rose Anguiano Hurst.
This is the 13th year WEST is hosting the annual gala, which has a different theme that focuses on gender equity, empowering girls and women and the strong leadership that women bring to a community. For 2018, the theme is “Bringing Together Our Voices To Press For Progress.”
“It is important that as a community, we continue to unite and use our voices as a means to motivate change for gender parity,” states Anguiano Hurst. “Together, let’s take action and ‘Press for Progress.’”
She continues by commenting: “The main purpose of the event is to celebrate with women around the world on International Women’s Day and reflect on the achievements of women locally and internationally, as well as to be cognizant of the work that still needs to be done for women and equality. It is a platform to empower and encourage our community to continue to work towards changing the gender disparity and promoting the value of diversity in our communities.”
Another highlight of each gala is the “Journey Towards Success Awards,” where WEST recognizes individuals, organizations and business that support their mission to assist women on their journey toward success.
This year’s awards are: the “Innovation” Award, to honour a forward thinking youth; the “Visionary” Award, to honour an individual who strives for gender equality; the “Phenomenal Woman” Award, to honour a remarkable WEST participant; the “Sisterhood” Award, to honour a strong female leader in the local community; two “Trailblazer” Awards — one for corporate and one for small/mid business — to honour partners who support WEST’s clients’ success; and the “VIP” Award to honour a new partner who supports clients’ success.
For more than 30 years, WEST has been working to improve conditions for severely disadvantaged women through training to secure employment.
“WEST is continuously thankful for the ongoing generous support from the individuals, organizations and business that have been working with us throughout the years,” states Anguiano Hurst. “Many community members have been mentors, provided work placement opportunities and training, facilitated workshops plus volunteered their time and expertise to support WEST and our clients.”
The “International Women’s Day Gala” is open to the public with tickets sold for $85 and available at: WESTofWindsor.com.
