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Independent & Free Press, Wednesday, May 31, 2006 7 Rylett named ATHENA winner STEPHANIE THIESSEN Special to The IFP At the end of an evening spent celebrating the achievements of 10 North Halton women, the recipient of the 2006 ATHENA North Halton award was announced to loud cheers. And the winner was a surprised-looking Grace Rylett of Georgetown who took to the podium, with no prepared acceptance speech. "I'm short of words, which amazes me," she said, to laughter from her apparent fan club. Collecting her thoughts, Rylett accepted her award and echoed the sentiments expressed by numerous women throughout the night. "It's outstanding to see the community come together," she said, noting the hard work the nominees poured into their communities. The second annual award celebration was held Thursday at Glencairn Golf Club. The ATHENA awards recognize individuals-- men or women, although only women have been nominated so far in north Halton-- who display professional excellence and valuable service to their communities and assist women in realizing their full leadership potential. Rylett does just that, said ATHENA committee member Dawn Falls. "In all aspects she's a leader, mentor and enabler, and is constantly championing women's issues," she said. Rylett's accomplishments are as varied as they are impressive. Since 2001, Rylett has been director of communicable diseases with the Region of Peel, and manages a staff of more than 100. As well as being a senior manager, she's also been appointed to the Regional Task Force on Homelessness, the CUPE negotiating team and the Personal Health Information Protection Act Implementation Committee. Find out how they come together for you at our June 13th Open House Grace Rylett of Georgetown was named the second annual ATHENA award winner last week. Photo by Graham Paine She's very active in her community, having volunteered with Boy Scouts of Canada as a leader. She's also served as a local executive member and two-term president of the Georgetown Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW). Under Rylett's leadership, the CFUW campaigned for changes to Halton Hills' smoking bylaw, which led to the Town of Halton Hills passing a progressive bylaw that restricted second-hand smoke in public places. Later, Rylett acted on the provincial executive of the CFUW. She's also founded the North Halton Twisters Girls' Hockey Association and four years ago became president of the league, which eventually became the North Halton Girls' Hockey Association. The other nominees were Sheena Cameron, Janet Campbell, Ruth-Ann Gray, Blanche Hinton, Kelly MacIntyre, Carole Murray, Kristine Cieslok, Kathy Gastle and Kimm Kent. HALTON HILLS CULTURAL CENTRE ­ 7 PM 9 CHURCH STREET, GEORGETOWN 60 PLUS PREMIUM LIVING VISIT OUR SALES CENTRE GEORGETOWN MARKETPLACE MALL DON'T MISS YOUR LAST CHANCE FOR PRE-CONSTRUCTION PRICING! 905.702.1247 bennettvillage.ca WAREHOUSE CLEARANCE! · Scratch & Dent · One-of-a-Kinds · Discontinued 50-70% OFF (some items up to 80% off) 265 GUELPH ST., GEORGETOWN 905-873-2753 HOME DECOR 400 MAIN ST. E., MILTON 905-693-9948