Today was a historic day! The Royal Canadian Mint officially unveiled the new Elsie MacGill $1 commemorative circulation coin at the Hangar Flight Museum in Calgary, Alberta. I had a honour to be asked by the Royal Canadian Mint to emcee the event, and assist in the unveiling of the coin. It was a truly moving experience!
It was my pleasure to share some brief reflections on Elsie MacGill, and then to introduce:
- Ms. Phyllis Clark, Chair of the Royal Canadian Mint Board of Directors;
- Mme Marie Lemay, President and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint;
- Hangar Flight Museum Executive Director Brian Desjardins;
- Richard de Boer, President of the Mosquito Society; and
- Elsie MacGill’s grandson, Rohan Soulsby.
The importance of the event drew a full house of representatives from the engineering and feminist worlds, which is in keeping with the connections Elsie made between these two worlds during her lifetime.
The presence of the Honourable Lois E. Mitchell, former Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, and key advocates for women in engineering such as Dr. Mary Wells, Dean of Engineering at Waterloo University and Dr. Laleh Behjat, Professor and NSERC Chair for Women in Science and Engineering (Prairies) at the University of Calgary's Schulich School of Engineering was heartwarming to see.
It was also wonderful to see a range of different generations present, from some who are just starting out in life to those who have been following the stories of aviation for a lifetime. In both cases the passion and excitement for today's event was strong and clear.
In my brief remarks I noted the following:
Throughout my research, I
learned a lot from Elsie, and one of the most important things she contributed
to Canadian society was her vision of change.
She saw a world where equality amongst Canadians was the rule not the exception and where women were fully recognized for the contribution of their “womanpower”. As a pathbreaking practicing engineer, science and technology worked hand-in-hand with this vision as did effective partnerships with men.
Challenges were only
problems to be solved, and her dogged determinism, like that of her mother
Helen Gregory MacGill helped her meet them head on. For Elsie, the sky was not
the limit, because her horizons were unlimited, and she encouraged those around
her to share her vision.
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