Olympic Gold Medalist keynote at Women’s Conference
Amy Gregson – Times Reporter
Woman of all ages came out to the 2010: A Conference for Women, to engage in different sessions about things that may be of interest to women.
The one-day conference at the Civic Centre happens every two years.
“We hope that they go home feeling good, inspired and motivated,” said Sharon Tibeau, one of the coordinators.
The conference offers women a number of different sessions throughout the day. The first session was the keynote speaker Lori-Ann Muenzer, who talked about her road to achieving a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens and how others can achieve goals.
She spoke about her journey to the Olympics including numerous injuries, funding trouble and competing against others.
Muenzer said it was three key aspects that contributed to her achieving her goal, the people who made a difference in her life; the strategy she set out for herself; and the action she took to achieve her results.
Muenzer said she was always involved in public speaking throughout grade school and continued on before winning her gold medal, speaking about finding your dream and passions.
“Once I won, I guess officially I became a professional speaker,” said Muenzer.
Muenzer said public speaking is about how you tell the stories and connect to your audience, based on who you’re talking to.
“I don’t do a canned presentation,” said Muenzer. “It’s personal and it changes from one [speech] to another. The stories are the same but it’s how can I identify it and tie it in with the group I’m honoured to speak to.”
Muenzer said the women in Strathmore were amazing and covered every spectrum in one room.
She was busy for over an hour after the presentation answering questions and taking photos with her Olympic medal.
“People tell me their stories afterwards, which inspires me,” Muenzer said.
Other sessions at the conference included a look at Canadian diversity; and what kind of Canadian are you? by Mona Kado; personal safety by RCMP Cst. Marlayne Euler; Tai Chi by Ken Wong; Hula Your Way to Health by Margie Yellowega; and Strategies for Working Women or those who want to be by Catherine Roussel.
Most of these people were brought back by popular demand after the last conference, said Tibeau.
“There’s something for everybody,” said Tibeau.
Lunch was also held, with entertainment by the Gleichen & District Community Choir.