YWCA Muskoka honours its 21 founders with annual Maggie Ringling Award

YWCA Muskoka will be presenting the Maggie Ringling Award to 21 founding women at its 21st Annual General Meeting on Thursday, April 19.

The Board of Directors has unanimously chosen to present the 2018 Maggie Ringling Award to the 21 founders of the Community YWCA of Muskoka. These women represent the members of the YWCA’s interim board of directors who were elected at the YWCA’s first AGM held on March 8, 1997 at Browning Hall in Bracebridge.

We would like to honour and celebrate the following incredible people at this time in our herstory: Sheryl Manolakos; Kim Olsson Susan Biehn Smith, Maria Duncalf Barber, Eleanor Gleeson, Anita Fieguth, Angelika Clubb, Cathy Kuntz, Kathy Gordon, Gayle Dempsey, Diane Wettlaufer, Sheilah Forward, Kate Douglas, Suzanne Gilbert, Marnie Hestand, Catherine Dry, Donna Brock, Carey-Ann Sprout, Lynn Kameka, Barb Leek, Suzie Philips, and Jan McDonnell.

Maggie Ringling was dearly loved and was renowned for her passion and commitment to the development of support services for women and children. The Maggie Ringling Award has been awarded annually since 2009 by the YWCA Board of Directors to an individual, woman or man, or organization for breaking down barriers and advancing opportunities for greater social and/or economic equity for women and girls, and in recognition of the cumulative impact of their many years of contributing to the well-being our Muskoka communities.

YWCA Muskoka’s Board of Directors welcomes community and YWCA members alike to the YWCA Muskoka Gathering Space, at 440 Ecclestone Drive, for a short and lively business meeting followed by a special presentation to recognize the spirit, vision, and dedication of its founders to the wellbeing of women in Muskoka communities.

Refreshments and desserts courtesy of Cottage Cravings will be provided. Community guests and YW members are welcome!

Please RSVP by email to [email protected] or phone 705-645-9827.

“These women were organizers, activists, and educators and they created something with great love,” says Hannah Lin, Executive Director of YWCA Muskoka. “Several were Maggie Ringling’s close circle of friends around her when she died in 1994; all of them believed in the legacy she gave us.”

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