The accolades continue to pour in for Coast entrepreneurs Sarah Doherty and Kerith Perreur-Lloyd and their innovative SideStix.
After winning a U.S.-based da Vinci award recently, an award meant to recognize the most innovative developments in the field of assistive and adaptive technologies - helping people overcome physical limitations - the high performance forearm crutches SideStix have been named as one of 33 finalists for the sixth annual Mid-Island Science Technology and Innovation Council (MISTIC) awards.
SideStix is a finalist along with iDUS Controls from Nanaimo and Pixton Comics Inc. from Parksville in the Emerging Product category.
The awards recognize the achievements of businesses and individuals that are pushing boundaries, engaging in technology and developing creative concepts within the region.
Winners will be revealed at an "Oscar-style" awards ceremony on Nov. 2.
Doherty said they are thrilled with the nomination.
"To get this type of recognition is amazing and very rewarding," Doherty said. "I had the need and the initial ideas, but Kerith had the ingenuity to bring the idea forward. His efforts have made my dreams become a reality, and all of our dreams are certainly coming true."
Doherty is no stranger to overcoming physical limitations, having lost her right leg as a young teenager when a drunk driver hit her. She didn't let the physical challenge stop her from being active in a number of sports. She was the first amputee without an artificial limb to climb Mount McKinley, the highest mountain in North America.
The MISTIC awards were created in 2006 to highlight and recognize the many knowledge-based businesses. To help bring these businesses into the limelight, MISTIC created the awards for knowledge-based entrepreneurs and others in the sectors of advanced manufacturing, aquaculture, engineering, environmental technology, food and beverage, health science, information technology, new media and value-added products.
"We are thrilled to see a wide range of innovative businesses from across the Island, the Sunshine Coast and the Gulf Islands represented as finalists for the MISTIC Awards," said Paris Gaudet, executive director of MISTIC. "There is a huge wealth of technology, ideas and creativity in this region, and these finalists demonstrate a diverse mix of businesses pursuing innovation every day."
