INSPIRING WOMEN'S CONFERENCE

The 6th Annual Wetaskiwin FCSS Women's Conference was held with the theme “Celebrate You,” and was both inspiring and practical.  It was well attended by women who, at the end of the day, were so very glad that they had come.

The biggest impact was made by the first speaker, Spencer Beach.  At one time he was following the family tradition as a craftsman laying floor tile.  Today he is an author, an inspirational speaker travelling the continent, a National Construction Safety Officer, a W.H.M.I.S. Instructor, and has graduated with distinction from the Occupational Health and Safety program at the University of Alberta, Faculty of Extension.  In between was the fire and 3rd and 4th degree burns over 90% of his body which led to the Workers Compensation Board deeming him 100% disabled and unable to ever work again.  With only a 5% chance of survival, he fought to live and then fought to recover and to build the life he has today.  His story is one of tremendous courage, hope and inspiration, and he tells it in a way that inspires those who hear him to live daily with hope, determination and safety-consciousness.  He makes a tremendous positive impact on all who hear him.

Reena Nerbas provided a different type of inspiration as she gave tip after tip for using common household items for more effective cleaning and later described how to easily produce the special effects chefs use to dress up their culinary creations.  She had with her the three books in which she has compiled thousands of tips for these situations as well as solutions to many other kinds of problems encountered in kitchen, home or garden, and ideas for conserving and recycling.  As an example, she suggested ways to make decorating with chocolate easier.  A pattern can be drawn on paper, then covered with wax paper.  Melted chocolate can be piped along the lines, then frozen.  The frozen chocolate is easy to remove from the wax paper and place where it's wanted, as on a cake.  Melted chocolate can also be put into a plastic bag, the corner of the bag cut to make a tip through which the chocolate may be piped onto icing, cookies etc.  To make chocolate curls, cover the underside of a baking sheet with parchment paper and pour a thin layer of melted chocolate over it.  Refrigerate until cool, then take it out, cut the chocolate into wide strips and and push a spatula along the length of each strip.  If the chocolate cracks instead of curls, a few seconds of a blow drier waved over it will warm it enough to curl.  To make chocolate leaves, wash and dry real leaves and paint the underside with melted chocolate.  After cooling on a baking sheet for an hour in the refrigerator, the leaves can be pealed away.  This beautiful lady was fascinating as she told of ways to make the tasks of everyday life easier, more attractive, or possible with substitutions.

Erika Tompkins emphasized the importance of breathing deeply with concepts she learned through Yoga, holistic healing, Reiki, and Shanti Wellness.

Andrea Cleland demonstrated how the same pot which was used to grow decorative live flower arrangements during the summer can also be used as a base for decorative arrangements for fall and winter, too.  She put together arrangements for autumn and for Christmas.

Both lunch and dessert were delicious.  At the end of the day, many received door prizes and everyone took home one of the roses in a water pick from the table centrepieces.  It was a most interesting day of learning that our potential is greater than we realize, that in little and big ways we can be more positive, more creative, can accomplish more than we may have thought possible.