ESTEVAN — As the community celebrated the outstanding women of the region during the Southeast Women of Distinctions Awards ceremony in Estevan on May 2, Michelle Gilchrist inspired the audience through her speech.
Brooke Spagrud with Southern Plains Co-op introduced Gilchrist as someone whose dedication to leadership and community service exemplifies the spirit of empowerment.
"Michelle's journey as a leader, professional coach and community volunteer embodies authenticity, resilience and a deep commitment. With over 30 years of experience spanning the public and private sectors, Michelle has cultivated a reputation as a transformative force both in professional endeavours and volunteering," Spagrud said.
Gilchrist spoke about self-awareness, people's values and their role in defining who we are and what we really want.
She started her speech by reflecting on the times when she was an eight-year-old marking the first moments of self-awareness.
"It was my first season of self-awareness. Self-awareness around intuition, our built-in mechanism that protects us and guides us if we dare to listen. Self-awareness around connections to grander complexities, the wonder of new discoveries and being part of something much bigger than myself," she said.
"Self-awareness around courage and self-confidence and the sheer jubilation of surviving risk. Self-awareness around trust, recognition that in the unyielding patience and encouragement of my big sister, and her ability to hold the fruits of the trust between us, literally in my hand, was the only factor for my willingness to try what seemed to me a certain death.
"Self-awareness is the process that moves us from doing to being. As a human being, self-awareness is crucial. It is the foundation for all relationships. The relationship to self, relationship to community, relationship to others, and relationship to society as a whole."
She noted that self-awareness is needed to understand our core wishes and needs.
"By its very existence, life, and all the messiness and wonder that it presents, offers us a considerable amount of data to sift through and reflect upon to identify what each of us really wants," she added.
The importance of identifying and honouring personal values was also stressed.
"In every choice we make, every action we take there are values in play that we are honouring or not. We may not be able to articulate those values, but they are there, and we reap the benefits or pay the price every time we are in or out of alignment with them."
Gilchrist provided some determinants to identifying our real values, such as paying more attention to things that surround us, including our routine, our shopping habits and more.
"When you identify your core values and align them with your daily activities, you will be able to bring your authentic self to everything you be and do," Gilchrist said.
The event also saw an insightful presentation by Estevan's Stacey Wempe, who is releasing her book this fall. Wempe's Support You Life Coaching and Consulting was the presenting sponsor of the event.
"As people live, bad things happen to good people. And Stacy certainly has had her share. Sudden loss of her 22-year-old brother Clinton. Her mother Margaret died after a short illness in 2009, and her dad passed away in 2016. But even with all that, Stacey makes the choice to live every day, believes in personal development and seeks to heal and make herself a good and better person," said Mary Anne Veroba, who MCed the event, when introducing Wempe.
Wempe spoke about tragedies she experienced in life, pointing out that every person has difficult events that shape our lives. She noted that there is no right way to happiness, and no matter which way we choose, we often face roadblocks, which are essentially fear.
She spoke about her transformative educational experience, which helped her overcome fear and then pursue a career, in which she now helps others. Wempe also encouraged the guests to live life today and celebrate achievements.
Wempe's book A Million Times We Cry is available through Amazon and will see an official release on Sept. 10, on the day when her brother Clint would have turned 50 years old.
