Two Okotoks women were recipients of prestigious awards for their work in the community at the Women of Inspiration Western Canada awards on Oct. 3.
Julie Boake, owner of Awedity Creative, received the Rural Leadership Award and Sydney Cowling, co-founder of SEE Uniqueness, was recognized with the Inclusion and Diversity Award.
“It’s pretty special,” said Boake the morning after receiving her award. “I don’t know that it’s really settled in yet.”
Boake’s nomination mentioned her work with local businesses in helping to brand them and find their voice and online identity. In addition, she was referred to as a “pillar of the community, known for lifting up women in the area,” by managing various social media engagement platforms and working with the Town of Okotoks, Community Future and Bow Valley College to educate business owners on how to learn social media.
The nomination also states, “If there is a female business owner in Okotoks, she will likely know Julie because of the way Julie seeks to lift up others and provide resources and a sense of community for women, and men, in our business community.”
This was the first year the Women of Inspiration awards included the Rural Leadership category. Boake said it’s nice for the organization to realize smaller towns need leadership and people who make an impact, and to recognize those doing the work.
Even so, she was pleasantly surprised to be the one being recognized.
“There are a lot of people doing a lot of great stuff here,” said Boake. “It was pretty incredible that someone had chosen me to represent all of what we think leadership in Okotoks looks like right now.”
She said in a smaller community the downtown can make or break the town, and it’s clear when someone walks down Elizabeth Street, McRae Street and Elma Street that there are a lot of people working incredibly hard to run their business and do some cool things in town.
Winning the award wasn’t just for her.
“I didn’t see myself up there as Julie Boake,” she said. “I saw myself up there as a business owner in a wonderful community that is helping other business owners in a wonderful community.”
She said the evening was made more special by sharing it with Sydney Cowling, whose work with her SEE Uniqueness campaign and general outlook on like had her nominated for the Inclusion and Diversity Award.
According to her nomination, Sydney, who has Down syndrome, has faced adversity head-on and overcome the odds, like beating leukemia at three years old. She has a love for singing and performing and carries a powerful message of “acceptance, kindness, and seeing through the eyes of love.”
Her nomination notes Sydney “encapsulates everything the human race should be…sharing her truth, shining her light and touching the hearts all along her way.”
When asked what she thought about the awards ceremony, where she received a standing ovation from the 400 attendees when her name was announced, 21-year-old Sydney joyfully said, “It was all right. It was beautiful. It’s so beautiful.”
Her mom, Loree Cowling, helped Sydney launch SEE Uniqueness last year and it has grown since then. They have, together with an illustrator, penned a children’s book entitled Sydney’s Vacation, which they hope to see in the hands of all Canadians with Down syndrome.
They have also launched a YouTube video called Sydney’s Million, in which she invited one million people to celebrate and share their uniqueness.
“Sydney’s message is, ‘You are perfect exactly as you are,’” said Loree.
She speaks at events with her mom, providing inspiration and sharing what it means to be Sydney and see the world from a different perspective. The largest audience she’s ever spoken to was 800 people at the opening day for Foothills School Division a few years ago, said Loree.
Hearing about the award was overwhelming for Loree, who said it took the better part of a week to process.
“I’ve always wanted people to see the world how Sydney does,” said Loree.
Seeing her daughter receive a standing ovation was an emotional moment, she said.
“Nobody knew her but they could sense that how she is and how she sees the world is unique and they can feel that joy, just pure joy all the time,” said Loree. “It’s like she understands her role in this world is to remind people of the love they already are.”
