Recognized for her work
Krista Devoe honoured with national women’s award
Krista Devoe doesn’t do her job for awards, but she admits it’s always nice to get recognition.
Devoe was recently named one of Canada’s most influential women in sport and physical activity for 2016 by the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity .
She was recognized for her role in helping build sport and physical activity in her home community of Membertou.
“It’s truly an honour, I don’t feel like I should be on that list because there
Devoe are many great women who are in the categories, along with myself,” said Devoe, the co-ordinator of the Mi’kmaw Physical Activity Leadership Program in Membertou.
Wayne McKay, Cape Breton Regional Physical Activity Consultant for the province’s Department of Communities, Culture and Heritage, nominated Devoe for the award.
“She has really stepped up as a leader across the province, so I thought she was a perfect candidate for the honour,” said McKay.
Devoe said there were a few tears when she received the email saying she had won the award in the builder’s category.
“I don’t really think the gravity of it all has really, truly hit,” she said. “What I feel is my job is to stay behind the scenes, but to be recognized is a great honour and I wasn’t expecting it.”
As the physical activity leadership co-ordinator for Membertou, Devoe is in charge of drafting a physical activity strategy for the community.
“When I started three-and-ahalf years ago, we did a citizens survey, so we polled the community and asked what their physical activity levels were, where they saw themselves in five years and what programs they wanted to see to better improve physical activity,” said Devoe.
Devoe took the data received from the poll and built it into goals and action items and created a physical activity strategy, which was approved by council in October 2015.
“I’m working towards those goals and creating partnerships between the community, outside organizations and departments inside the community itself,” said Devoe. “Creating those relationships are opening doors for our community.”
The innovative strategy currently has three programs including a snowboard program, a swimming program as well as a surf program, aimed for fun and benefitting the health of the community through physical activity. The programs are open to anyone in the community.
“We’re working to defeat barriers to participation,” said Devoe. “My priority is to build youth leaders, so of course we want programming, but we want them run by our own community members, and who better to start with then our youth.”
The Most Influential Women award list is designed to celebrate remarkable Canadian women and their impact upon sport and physical activity in Canada.
Joining Devoe in the builder’s category for the award are Sandra Gage, chief marketing officer for Canada Soccer; The Honourable Lois Mitchell, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta; and Thérèse Quigley, former athletic director of the University of Western Ontario in London, Ont.
“This year’s Most Influential Women list once again shines a spotlight on the incredible leadership that women bring to sport and physical activity in Canada,” said CAAWS CEO Allison Sandmeyer-Graves, in a news release. “Changes to the program this year broadened the scope, showcasing even more areas where women are making a difference.”
Devoe will travel to Ontario later this month where she will participate in a luncheon with fellow award winners on March 30 in Toronto.
Anyone wanting to participate in programs, or have ideas for new programs, are encouraged to contact Devoe at 902-564-6466 ext., 2560, or by email at kristadevoe@- membertou.ca.