Editor's note: This is part two of a three part series profiling the nominees for the inaugural Awards of Excellence for Sunshine Coast Women.
Ginny Blattler believes that you are never too old to exercise. Its benefit is measured not only in increased movement, but in confidence and self esteem. As well as teaching yoga and Pilates, Blattler has various fitness groups on the go - one for women aged 50 to 70, some of whom are new to exercise.
After receiving training on the importance of an osteo fitness program, Blattler undertook a class for the frail elderly at Christenson Village care home in Gibsons with the goal of helping residents feel stronger and more flexible. In that case, a few of her participants are in their 80s, some over 90, and have a range of problems including diseases, hearing and visual impairments.
"I keep the environment light and fun," she said. "Humour and laughter are so important." The residents enjoy the one hour that's totally for them, when they can breathe and move more easily. "It really humbles me that they take the time to thank me," Blattler said. She firmly believes that both classes pay off for the women involved by building more confidence and self esteem.She has been instrumental in encouraging more women into soccer, also teaching at a summer soccer clinics for women and coaching kids' soccer. The women's team has developed a real camaraderie and it includes everyone from young moms to 50 year olds. Blattler gives her time and enthusiasm to many volunteer fundraising projects, for example, as an organizer of the Hip Hip Hooray event, a charitable organization that raises funds for joint and hip replacement.
Her older women's group is very dear to her heart. "Regular attendance has seen big payoffs for them. The transformation has been amazing," she said.
Linda Curtiss, RN, is not one for relaxation in her retirement. She moved to the Coast 35 years ago when she and her husband bought Lowe's Resort in Madeira Park and she worked at St. Mary's Hospital. "It's in my nature," said the former Vancouver General Hospital emergency nurse. "I've never been afraid to jump in."
Her nominators say that her job did not end at 4 p.m. - her door was always open to people in need. She would cheerfully show up at work the next morning having spent an evening on ambulance duty.
Her first aid training has made her an important volunteer at the Girl Guides for the past 21 years, accompanying the young women on many weekends away. As a nurse with a volunteer firefighter husband, she quickly became involved with the provincial ambulance service establishment in Madeira Park, serving as unit chief for many years. She also served a stint on the board of the Pender Harbour Credit Union. Curtiss said that it gave her a background in finances that was later to prove useful in setting up a clinic. She is most proud of her role in developing the Pender Harbour Health Centre.
"It was so very underfunded for so many years," she recalls, and yet was so necessary a service for the upper Coast. It remained undervalued by the medical administration until the last year of her involvement, when a successful negotiation was struck with Vancouver Health.
"I've always had really strong support from others," she said. "They were always there to help me." Currently, Curtiss is volunteering again, this time on the Area A Seniors' Housing project, Abbeyfield House, and she also works with others on an innovative project, Outreach Healthy Meals, in which volunteers cook meals and deliver them to shut-ins.
Like the other nine nominees, Loraine Proctor is modest about her achievements as a positive role model, inspiring trainer and mentor to youth and adults.
"I don't feel worthy; I do feel honoured," she said, knowing that many of her nominators are the same people she has previously trained in mountain biking. "All the women who nominated me, I could say the same about them." But it is Proctor's influence that has introduced many women to the popular sport, particularly older women who had never tried it before.
Proctor's belief is that mountain biking is a good skill to learn at any age.
"It's an overall workout, like cross country skiing, but you're out in the forest most of the year," she said. "You fall, get bruised, get muddy, but the women love it and they really do support one another."
Proctor became associated with cycling on the Coast when she and her husband owned On The Edge bike shop in Sechelt. (They have since sold it and now run The Happy Traveller.) She had competed in the cycling circuit for 30 years, but tried her first mountain bike at the age of 50. She has since been a winner in her category of 50 plus at several major races, such as the Test of Metal in Squamish. In addition to encouraging women, she volunteered on behalf of youth who want to race. In order to compete in provincial races, they need help with training, workshops and encouragement from a club of like-minded adults and youth, and she has given much of her time to make that happen. In addition, she volunteered through the community school to start a teen riding group for girls, and has also set up a Thursday women's only ride that would involve the teens' moms.
