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Last call to nominate outstanding women in aviation

March 8, 2012, Toronto – The nomination deadline for the fourth annual
Elsie MacGill Northern Lights (EMNL) awards is fast approaching. Named
after Elsie MacGill, the first Canadian female aircraft designer, the
award’s mission is to recognize excellence and to inspire women to enter
the aviation and aerospace industries in Canada. The EMNL awards honour
outstanding women in aviation and aerospace who have demonstrated
determination, perseverance, leadership and courage throughout their
careers.

MacGill graduated from the University of Toronto’s engineering program
in 1927, becoming the first Canadian woman to earn a degree in
electrical engineering, and eventually became the first woman in North
America with an advanced degree in aeronautics. Dubbed the “Queen of the
Hurricanes,” she was pivotal in the design and production of the Hawker
Hurricane in Canada during the Second World War.

The EMNL award has experienced overwhelming success in its first three
years, and the upcoming year of 2012 marks an important milestone: the
award has expanded and will now honour women in four separate
categories: Flight Operations/Maintenance, Business, Government, and
Rising Star. Honorees will be presented with their awards at the 2012
gala ceremony and dinner in September 2012.

Past winners of this prestigious award include Heather Sifton, former
president and CEO of the Buttonville Municipal Airport; Kathy Fox,
retired vice-president operations for Nav Canada and currently an
appointed member of the Transportation Safety Board; and Roberta Taylor,
an aviation trailblazer and social activist who now teaches at the
University of Victoria.

For more information about the award, sponsorship opportunities, and to
nominate a woman in aviation and aerospace for the Award, please visit www.northernlightsaward.ca. The nomination deadline is March 31, 2012.