Ladies in Society

I have just finished reading a contribution to Real Woman magazine by local Danielle Klooster and am again in awe by this woman. I personally know Danielle and she is definitely a beacon of light in my life. She stands for honesty, integrity and fairness in all areas of her life. She is absolutely one of the funniest people I have ever met. She has the most amazing ability to interject humor into any and all conversations and situations.

Prior to moving to Red Deer, I was a resident of Wood Buffalo (Fort McMurray). In the time that I lived there I was given chances and opportunities that I would have never gotten in any other community. I was given the chance to fulfill a lifelong dream to help youth in creating a coffeehouse and youth centre. I was offered a spot in a community leadership program. Through those things I discovered my love for marketing and media. I was given the opportunity to work at a radio station and became a radio talk show host with a weekly talk show. I became a marketing & media machine and loved every minute of it. I developed a HUGE network of people in all sectors and was well known in the non profit sector.

Fast forward to Aug of 2008. We move to Red Deer. Red Deer is not Fort McMurray. The opportunities for informally trained individuals is near non existent. The only employment I could get here was cleaning houses for seniors. Not to downplay the importance of that role. It is in high demand in central Alberta. I wanted to be a community leader again. I wanted to be in the know.. I wanted my network back.. WAAAAA !!! As much as I grieved the loss of friends and family being close by, I grieved the loss of my life as I knew it.

Fast forward to today. I am slowly getting that back. A HUGE reason for that is Mrs. Danielle Klooster. When I struggled with mom / work balance she reminded me that my marketing and leadership abilities are God given. He gave them to me and I have a responsibility to use them. That does not make me a bad mother (something I somehow had convinced myself of) . So thanks Danielle for your in site and encouragement.

We all have the potential to do great things and impact peoples lives. What have you done today to improve the life of another?