Industry stars shine at Northern Lights gala

“Remember, ladies: Well-behaved women rarely make history!”

So said Nachelle White when she collected her Elsie MacGill Northern Lights award on Sept. 26. White was one of six women in Canadian aviation and aerospace who were recognized for their professional achievements at the 6th annual dinner and awards presentation, held in Vaughan, Ont. 

The event was organized by the Northern Lights Award Foundation and attracted a crowd of 265 attendees. Named in honour of MacGill—the world’s first female aircraft designer who was dubbed “Queen of the Hurricanes” for her role in overseeing their mass production in Fort William, Ont.,  during the Second World War—the awards recognize outstanding female accomplishment in aviation and aerospace.

The keynote speaker and the evening’s pioneer award recipient was Dr. Roberta Bondar, who in 1992 became the first neurologist in space as well as Canada’s first female astronaut. Growing up in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., Bondar told the audience she had no female role models to emulate. “Women weren’t allowed to fly in the Air Force, but I wanted to go into space,” she said, noting that she was fascinated by plastic model rockets from an early age. She also shared a number of entertaining stories and anecdotes from her years in the space program and on the speaking circuit. Bondar added that, as Canadians, we don’t honour individuals enough, and she commended the Foundation for recognizing female industry achievement.

Other honorees included education award winner Lynne McMullen, who is chair of the Seneca College School of Aviation. McMullen holds an airline transport pilot licence and a Class I flight instructor rating, and has taught flying for more than 18 years. In her current role, she focuses on overseeing Seneca’s aviation-related diploma programs.

Nachelle White received the flight ops/maintenance award in recognition of her 15-year aviation career, which has included such unique experiences as flying a Dash 8 in Africa and Asia for a humanitarian organization. An avid traveller, White has also worked as a flight instructor, a cargo pilot, and in Northern Canada supporting aerial firefighting operations. 

The government award went to Sandra McDonald, whose 20-year military career included such highlights as being the first female avionics technician on the CP-140 Aurora. After her retirement from the Canadian Armed Forces in 1999, McDonald remained tied to the Aurora aircraft, working as a contractor for the Maritime Proving and Evaluation Unit in Greenwood, N.S., followed by U.S. Air Force training as a suitability coordinator. 

Eva Martinez was on hand to collect this year’s business award. An aeronautical engineer in the Royal Canadian Air Force for 13 years, Martinez was the country’s first woman to serve as an official military observer to a U.N. mission, while overseeing the Guatemalan ceasefire in 1997. She is currently a director at UTC Aerospace and volunteers with several aviation-related organizations. 

The final award of the evening was the rising star award, presented to author Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail in recognition of her achievements in preserving Canada’s rich flying heritage. Through her books, website and presentations, Metcalfe-Chenail is passionate about telling the tale of Canadian aviation. In fact, she was the first female president of the Canadian Aviation Historical Society in its 50-year history. In recognition of her efforts, she was presented with $1,500 in grants to continue her work, as well as two tickets to fly anywhere in the Porter Airlines network. 

The Northern Lights Award Foundation invites readers to nominate other outstanding Canadian women in aviation and aerospace. Plans are already underway for next year’s awards. Visit www.northernlightsaward.ca for nomination information.