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Royal Bank of Canada
November 21, 2006
Congratulations to 2006
RBC
Canadian Woman Entrepreneur Award Winners
Close to 1,000 people gathered to celebrate and support the
winners of this year's prestigious RBC Canadian Woman Entrepreneur
Awards (CWEA), sponsored by RBC Financial Group, at an inspiring
ceremony in Toronto on November 21. The preeminent awards provide
national recognition to Canada's women entrepreneurs, whose successful
businesses and achievements contribute so much to Canadian and
global economies as well as to their communities. Here are the
seven outstanding women selected from a record 875 nominations
received from across Canada this year – a 55% increase
over 2005:
- RBC Momentum Award – to Susan
Niczowski, Summer Fresh
Salads Inc., Woodbridge, ON – Since starting her business
from the kitchen of her parent's house in 1991, Susan
has grown her food company into a $41 million business and
a recognized brand in Canada and the U.S. She and her team
of employees - who share her passion for quality food, her
belief in excellent customer relations and her vision of aggressive
growth - have set a target of 15% annual revenue growth.
- Deloitte Start-Up
Award – to Tracy Gray and
Suzanne Mick, Discover Wines Ltd.,
Kelowna, BC – Tracy and Suzanne have created the most
successful, privately-owned specialty VQA Wine and Gift Store
in British Columbia since establishing it in 2003. Believing
that the excellent wine of Central BC was being overlooked,
they saw an opportunity to make the winery experience accessible
by opening a store that provides excellent service through its knowledgeable
staff and that acts as an information centre for BC wineries.
- BDC Exporter
Award – to Kyle MacDonald, Phoenix Interactive Design
Inc., London, ON - With the intent of improving the technology behind financial
institutions' self-service products such as ATM machines, Kyle created
the only company in Canada, and one of only three worldwide, that competes
on a global level in the ATM software solution market. She revolutionized
the industry and has travelled millions of miles over the years to develop
solid client relationships and turn Phoenix into a global leader. Its talented
professionals routinely raise the bar in retail banking with software solutions.
- Intel Innovation
Award – to Yvonne Tollens, ComputerAid Professional Services Ltd., Okotoks,
AB – Raised on a cattle ranch, Yvonne turned her passion
and knowledge into creating the first company to provide technology and
software solutions for the cattle industry. Since 1986, ComputerAid has
improved the lives of cattlemen by reducing paperwork, simplifying industry
processes, and making it easier to manage over $1.5 billion of cattle
and commodity inventory annually. It is now one of Canada's most
successful agricultural software companies.
- Bell Trailblazer Award – to Lola
Rasminsky, Avenue
Road Arts School, Toronto, ON – In 1993, Lola founded the school to
fill a gap left by the dissolution of arts programming in the public
school system, becoming the first entrepreneur in Toronto to run an
arts school as an independent business without government support or
an arts institution's
backing. Today, more than 1,200 students between the ages of nine months
and 90 years, ranging from inner city children to corporate executives,
attend.
- Energy Savings Group Lifetime Achievement
Award – to Lisette
(Lee) McDonald, Southmedic Inc., Barrie, ON – Lee began
her career as a critical care nurse who saw an opportunity
to improve existing medical equipment to prevent inadvertent
administration of more than one anesthetic agent at a time.
Within six months of operating her business out of her home,
Lee's products
were being sold to hospitals around the world. Today, 23 years later,
the company has three divisions and over 100 employees, sells to more
than 62 countries and holds numerous patents.
"These winners all share a strong vision and a relentless
passion in pursuing their dreams," says Jim Westlake, Group
Head, Canadian Personal and Business Clients, RBC Financial Group. "They
have influenced and benefited our economy through hard work and
resolve; but more importantly I believe, they have become positive
role models for the young women of today."
Since the awards were launched in the early '90s, over 5,000
women have been nominated, including many RBC clients. "There
was a huge increase in the number of applications, particularly
from Western Canada," says Pat Pape, President of the Powerpoint
Group Inc., producers of the awards. "And the addition of
a new award this year to recognize an outstanding exporter also
allowed us to expand the tribute to remarkable Canadian women."
Watch for more on the winners and their secrets to success.
To learn more about the Awards, visit www.theawards.ca,
e-mail:
info@powerpointgroup.com or tel: 416-923-1688, toll-free at 1-800-354-3303.
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