Women of Westman: Rebranded conference taps ‘wow’ factor

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This article was published 28/02/2024 (941 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Catherine Wreford’s name may not be recognizable to many, but people who are fans of the TV show “The Amazing Race Canada” will know that she and her best friend won Season 8 in 2022.

The race is a test of skill and endurance, Wreford said, but the real achievement was winning while dealing with the challenges of terminal brain cancer.

“I like to be called a warrior. Some people like being called a survivor, but I like to be called a warrior,” 43-year-old Wreford told the Sun in a phone interview from her home city of Winnipeg.

In 2013, Wreford was diagnosed with anaplastic astrocytoma, a malignant brain tumor, and was told that her life expectancy was another two to six years.

Since then, she has acted in two Rainbow Stage productions, including “Mamma Mia!” and “A Chorus Line,” had a role in the play “Fun Home,” and last week she was Lady Capulet in the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s production of “Romeo and Juliet.”

“I feel so much stronger today than I was even a year ago, and a year before that,” Wreford said. “I’m just getting stronger and stronger. My oncologist thinks that dancing did keep me alive, and my passion for that did keep me alive.

“But it’s something that could just come up, and I could be gone tomorrow. I’m not expecting that to happen, but we sort of have to realize that it’s not a guarantee that I will be here tomorrow.”

Wreford is bringing her story and power of positive thinking to the Wheat City. She will deliver the keynote address on March 6 during the Women of Westman conference, previously called the Superwoman conference, which is presented by the Brandon Chamber of Commerce.

Wreford said her best friend of 28 years, Craig Ramsay, also helped save her life. They met during ballet school when they were teenagers. He was her partner in “The Amazing Race Canada” and played Lord to her Lady Capulet.

“I’m totally open about my life. Craig helped save my life through dancing and by taking the toxic people out,” Wreford said.

“So, what I’m going to be bringing to the Women of Westman conference is how I want people to find trust in others, and to love people. It’s a matter of finding the people that you can love with no judgment and feeling the power of being together and of inclusivity.

“Those words — human and kindness? Be both.”

The renaming of the one-day women’s conference was a way for chamber staff to enhance the event and take it to the next level, said chamber president Lois Ruston.

What won’t change, Ruston added, is how the day will provide a space of empowerment and celebration. It was created for women in Westman, particularly women in business, to provide topics and issues that are relevant to them.

“When it’s an event by women, for women, I think it just sits a bit different,” Ruston said. “And maybe people are able to just relax a little bit more, let their guard down, and share some stories or perspectives that they may not feel comfortable doing in a typical chamber event that has both men and women.”

Time will also be set aside for women to take part in a workshop presented by two leadership and development professionals.

Jane Helbrecht is founder and consultant with Winnipeg’s Uplift Engagement, and Westman’s Lyndsay Gillon-Seafoot is owner and consultant with Curbridge Consulting.

The topic of their workshop is called “Screw it, Just do it,” said Gillon-Seafoot.

Women are notorious for waiting until things are perfect, she said. And because life gets in the way, years go by and that day never comes.

“So, in our workshop we talk about the obstacles that are in our way. We’re going to have our participants pick what it is that they want — just one thing. And we’ll identify the obstacles and then we’ll talk through and ask, what’s your jumping off point? What’s one thing you can do today that might lead you down the road towards the things that you want?

“We’ll also have vulnerability from our perspective, where we made mistakes and how we’re still human and capable,” Gillon-Seafoot said.

Additional topics will include encouraging women to face the fear and do it anyway, which includes being afraid of other people’s opinions, she said.

“We feel so much more capable of what we want when we are supported by other women, when we feel like other women truly have our back. There are other people out there who feel scared but are doing it anyway. And when we get to be in rooms where we can feel that vibe, it changes how capable we feel.”

For more information about the Women of Westman conference, or to purchase tickets, call 204-571-5340 or visit https://bitly.ws/3entB

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