On the afternoon of May 14th, 2012, as the ice was loosening its grip on the float homes in the bay, Yellowknife, the world’s Most Female Pilot Friendly aviation community in 2012, held a ceremony to celebrate its multiple awards.
In the arrival area of the airport terminal, members of the community, representatives of the Canadian military, many young women, and journalists were waiting impatiently to congratulate all those involved in making the “The Sky’s No Limit – Girls Fly Too!” event, an award winning success.
Delia Chesworth, Director of the Northwest Territories Airports, presided over the ceremony with opening remarks by Gordon Van Tighem, mayor of Yellowknife, David Ramsay, Minister of Transportation of the Northwest Territories, and the honorable Bob McLeod, Premier of the Northwest Territories.
“We are very proud that our airport and Yellowknife have received this recognition (“2012 Most Female-Pilot-Friendly Airport Worldwide”),” said McLeod before acknowledging the hard work and dedication of bush pilot, Kirsten Brazier, who organized the event, and congratulating the participating Trinity Helicopters pilots, the sponsors, and the volunteers who worked together to introduce 421 girls and women to aviation on March 10, 2012.
Mireille Goyer, founder of the Women Of Aviation Worldwide Week and the Fly It Forward® Challenge initiatives, noted that the Yellowknife Airport aviation community and its local pilots took top positions in all the categories in which it competed. She congratulated Kirsten Brazier for organizing such a successful event on her first try, noting mentoring Kirsten to success was a pleasure.
Girls and women interested in an aviation career were encouraged to apply for the fifteen $5,000 scholarships available to Northwest Territories and Nuvanut residents through the Aviation Career Development Program.
After accepting the “Most Female-Pilot-Friendly Airport Worldwide” title winner certificate on behalf of the Yellowknife Airport aviation community, Ramsay gave the signal to reveal a stunning 15×7 feet photographic display depicting the award winning event and housing the trophies won on that ground breaking day.
Congratulations to everyone in Yellowknife.