Save the Date - Escape to Clear Lake
Save the date for our new event, Escape to Clear Lake, which will be taking place on September 19 & 20 in Riding Mountain National Park.
The event will feature an opening dinner, learning sessions, as well as opportunities to connect with other attendees and take in the beautiful area of Riding Mountain National Park.
Registration for Escape to Clear Lake will launch in June!
Event Speakers
Learn more about two of the inspiring speakers we have lined up!
Catherine Wreford
Catherine Wreford is a professional dancer and actress who was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. In 2013, a little over a month after giving birth to her second child, Catherine was diagnosed with incurable aplastic astrocytoma (a malignant brain tumour). She was given 2-6 years to live and her treatment consisted of a craniotomy, radiation and four kinds of chemo. Almost 10 years later she has outlived her initial prognosis and she wants to live longer! Catherine with her best friend Craig were the most recent winners of the Amazing Race Canada.
Their goal was to show Catherine’s children how strong, determined, and courageous their mother was during her cancer battle. Her passion for performing was recognized at the age of 3 when she learned how to roll out of a handstand with professional flair! Catherine trained from then on at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School. She performed at the Stratford Festival at the age of 18 then on Broadway in numerous shows for many years, danced on the Tony Awards twice and filmed movies in Los Angeles. Catherine is a woman of many talents, having also run a mortgage company in Los Angeles and trained as a nurse.
Lieutenant-Colonel (Retired) Maryse Carmichael
At a young age, Lieutenant-Colonel (Retired) Maryse Carmichael was introduced to aviation by her family. As soon as she was of age, she followed in her three brothers’ footsteps and joined the Royal Canadian Air Cadets with 630 Squadron, in Quebec City, where she obtained both her glider and private pilot licenses.
She started her adventure as a military pilot in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) in 1990. Over her 22-year career with the CAF, she accumulated nearly 3,500 hours on three main aircraft types; the CT-114 Tutor, the CE- & CC-144 Challenger and the CC-130 Hercules and was posted to ten different Canadian Armed Forces bases throughout Canada.
In November 2000, Maryse made international history when she was selected, to fly with 431 Air Demonstration Squadron, the Canadian Armed Forces’ Snowbirds, becoming the Team’s first woman pilot with the RCAF Snowbirds, as well as the first woman to fly on any Jet Demonstration Team in the world.
Maryse also served as a Qualified Flying Instructor with 2CFFTS, as the Operations Officer on 436 Transport Squadron, and as the Deputy Wing Operations Officer at 3 Wing Bagotville. The highlight of her career was to lead the men and women of 431 (Air Demonstration) Squadron, the Canadian Armed Forces Snowbirds, as their Commanding Officer from May 2010 to July 2013.
The recipient of many awards and an Honourary Diploma, Maryse was recognized in 2005 as one of the Top 100 “Most Powerful Women” in Canada, by the Women’s Executive Network and in 2013 she was the recipient of the Elsie MacGill Northern Lights Award (recognizing “outstanding women in aviation and aerospace in Canada”). She is a graduate of the Aerospace and Aviation Global Executive MBA from the Toulouse Business School in France. LCol (Ret’d) Carmichael is a member of Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame and the Quebec Air and Space Hall of Fame.
She is currently the City Manager for the City of Moose Jaw where she is raising her two teenage daughters.