Top Women in Defence 2021: The Award Ceremony That Once Again Wasn’t
IN OUR MARCH EDITION we published the profiles of twenty five incredible women who had been peer nominated and then selected by our judging committee to be recognized as the Top Women in Defence in 2021. In previous years it had become a tradition for us to host a large award reception wherein we presented commemorative plaques to all of the winners, followed by a gala cocktail party. Last year, the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the country just days before we were to host that event and as a result we had to find creative ways in which to get these plaques into the hands of the recipients. We were fortunate that DND ably assisted our efforts by ensuring that those serving personnel were presented the plaques by members of their chain of command. No one would have foreseen that COVID-19 would once again preclude us from gathering for an in-person award night in the Spring of 2021. However that regrettably turned out to be the case. So once again we enlisted the aid of DND to assist us with distribution and photography. Recipients received their plaques in a customized, red cloth loot bag courtesy of the Commissionaires. It was unfortunate that the pandemic once again shut down the cocktail reception, however what is important is that the incredible accomplishments of these top women do not go unheralded.
Editor’s note: The deadline for Top Women in Defence nominations for 2022 is January 1st, 2022.