S p r i n g
E d i t i o n
2 0 1 5
F R E E
WEST KOOTENAY
A passion for people
Volunteer extrordinaire Eleanor Gattafoni Robinson
Robusters
Dragon boat team making great strides for breast cancer
Wonder Women Female mayors take the lead in the West Kootenay and more
Shelley Adams
Whitewater author shares scrumtious recipe from her latest book
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PROUD TO SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESSES AND SUPPLIERS Ariah's Edibles ~ Nelson Awassi Products Inc. ~ Nelson Back To Earth ~ Coldstream Black Forest Noodle Company ~ Vernon Carmelis ~ Kelowna Chinook Condiments ~ Kelowna Daksha Gourmet ~ Sannicton Feast West Soups ~ Nelson Fieldstone Organics ~ Armstrong Food First Enterprises Ltd. ~ Kelowna Foods Alive ~ Grindrod Fresh is Best ~ Kamloops Gather Foods ~ West Vancouver Glade Mountain Farms ~ Glade Gourmet Chef ~ Langley Hills Foods ~ Coquitlam Honey Candles ~ Kaslo In Your Face Foods ~ Nelson Interior Vegetable Marketing ~ Vernon Jersyland Organics ~ Grand Forks Kaslo Bakery ~ Kaslo Kelly's Borscht ~ Winlaw Kootenay Coffee ~ Nelson Kootenay Meadow Cheese ~ Creston Little Miss Gelato ~ Nelson Made With Love ~ Kamloops
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Content 7
Dragon boating for breast cancer
10 A different perspective 12 Raising Payton 15 Stock a wardrobe that has staying power this season 16 Fashion trends 19 Green Curry Chicken with Roasted Eggplant and Red Peppers 21 Ladies first 25 A passion for people 29 What is clean eating all about? West Kootenay Women magazine is published twice a year by Black Press.
publications@westkootenayadvertiser.com
514 Hall Street Nelson BC V1L 1Z2 250-352-1890
This material, written or artistic, may not be reprinted or electronically reproduced in any way without the written consent of the publisher. The opinions and statements in articles, columns and advertising are not necessarily those of the publisher or staff of Black Press. It is agreed by any display advertiser requesting space that the owner’s responsibility, if any, for errors or omissions of any kind, is limited to the amount paid by the advertiser for that portion of the space as occupied by the incorrect item and there shall be no liability in any event greater than the amount paid for the advertisement.
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By Valerie Rossi
Physical fitness doesn’t stop at 50; in fact, paddling can take off at 60, 70 or even 80, just ask the Kootenay Robusters Dragon Boat Team. These women are committed to propelling a 40-foot long dragon boat across Christina Lake three times a week in preparation for competition season. They do it for breast cancer awareness, to stay fit or, better yet, to share the love for the sport with a great group of women.
Their passion has not gone unnoticed and will now be featured in a TELUS Optik on-demand TV series called “On the Rivet: Girls who Rip”. The series looks to highlight women in B.C. and Alberta who are breaking female athlete stereotypes, facing unique challenges and kicking butt while at it. A team of videographers will be in the Christina Lake area filming May 2528 with a mix of DSLRs, GoPros, and a drone camera to get the full picture. Cancer survivor Kathryn Tremblay, 56, of Trail has been a team member for six years and though the commitment is a lot she said it’s worth it. “I have been on the boat and thought I’m done, I cannot move my arms anymore, but then I’d see Peggy Phillips
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from Christina Lake, I think she was 78 the last year she paddled with us and maybe even older, and she’s still going or there is another lady in her late 70s that paddles from Castlegar so I’m thinking if they can keep paddling surely to goodness I can.” And she has. Tremblay wasn’t one to seek out support when she was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000 at 41 years old. Without a family medical history, she considered her case a “one-off.” Nearly a decade past before she joined the team for its social aspect. But she didn’t know the tremendous commitment would leave her fitter than ever and with a boat full of sisters.
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“I a l ways say the best and cheapest therapy I could ever get is riding in a car with these people,” she laughed. When you factor in commuting to practice three times a week, members from Trail and its neighbouring communities spend about 15 hours a week together. Practice can be intense under the leadership of Rosslander Trish Ostland, who in the 1990s paddled with the world champion False Creek women’s team. Her determination has brought the team together as a fierce competitor with an average of 72 strokes per minute when competing in an average 500-metre race. A dragon boat team consists of 20 paddlers sitting two abreast, plus a cox who steers the boat from the rear and a drummer who sits at the front. The team paddles in unison to move the boat forward, engaging their cores with a Unique stroke that Tremblay likens to “twisting your body into a pretzel.” “It’s not as zen as you may think,”
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It’s not as zen as you think,
she explplained. “Sometimes you can really get into the rhythm where there’s just a splash, splash, splash sort of thing, and it feels really good. “But other times the waves are two feet high, the wind is blowing or there’s rain and or motorboats going and almost swamping us.” The Kootenay Robusters began in early 2001 as the brainchild of a Trail nurse and breast cancer survivor. After hearing about the ‘Abreast in A Boat’ teams, she and several other women whose lives had been touched by breast cancer decided to start a local team. Nowadays, many members find the team as a means to stay fit and join a community of inspiring women. On the Rivet producer Vanessa Ratjen said the Robusters are unique to the series because they are a team that does it for a cause. The other women selected include a dog sled racer, mountain bike pioneer, and endurance runner to name a few. Though these athletes can’t be compared, the one common thread is their passion for a sport. “Often they tend to overlook themselves as mentors and role models but that’s what we really want to do is show that female athletes don’t have to have a definition or standard,” said Ratjen. “It’s profiling these eight women (the team included) but not through the lens that they are just athletes or that they are just female athletes, either,” said Ratjen. “When we think of women and sport we tend to group that as a label and then kind of judge whether she’s too feminine, not feminine enough or too attractive . . . we want to break away from that.”
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WEST KOOTENAY WOMAN | SPRING 2015 | 9
A different perspective When profiling a Photo by Shane Gagnon politician, there is a formula that seems to permeate research.The idea is to get behind the shaking hands and kissing babies saccharine and find the “dirt” if you will, on the actual person, not the politician. For somebody who has been in politics for over a decade it can be difficult to leave the world of ‘politispeak’ long enough to
By Andrea Bell
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give a clear, honest background story. One of the most surprising things about Deb McIntosh was how easily she shared details of her past that some might try to gloss over. The first five minutes of our conversation held a matter-of-fact list of a childhood in a “somewhat broken family,” young single motherhood and then the interesting twist of a family that reunited itself, all of which gave the immediate impression that this woman is not contrived. Deb says her background has created both a firm understanding of solidarity and an ability to “roll with the punches.”
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Born in Trail and living in the Kootenay area for the majority of her life, Deb’s grassroots approach won her Castlegar Citizen of the Year in 2002. With no formal education and becoming a single mother at a young age, Deborah was inspired to open a licensed family daycare in Castlegar. She was eventually hired on at the Castlegar and District Heritage Society which she has managed for 23 years and has seen the acknowledgement of her efforts with a number of tourism awards and accolades. She currently works with the Zuckerberg Island Society and the local museum but what Deb is most recognized for is her work as a city councilor. With over twelve years under her belt she has been helping to shape the landscape of the Castlegar community longer than most can claim credit for. Deb insists she doesn’t feel the need to leave her own community much, and in fact, found one trip to Mexico “heartbreaking” in witnessing the level of poverty that people live with day to day. Many in the community see her as the poster girl for humanitarian issues. While it’s a title that she comes by honestly through years of working with organizations such as the Community Harvest Food Bank, which she was one of the founding members of, and has worked with for eighteen years, she does feel that her ability to work with the business community is often overlooked. In past years, Deb has been on the executive of the Chamber of Commerce and was president of the Downtown Business Association and she would like to connect more with the financial and business sector. One of the most difficult challenges Deb feels she faces on council has less to do with delegating funds or taking labour opposition to task and more to do with being a woman in what some still think of as a male’s sandbox. While feeling more than equipped to handle the pressure, she had interesting insight into where that pressure comes from, and it’s not always the “Good ‘Ol Boys’ Club” one might expect. A great deal of the criticism she receives comes from women. This is something that she is
not completely surprised at as she feels that women tend to be very critical of each other, but also finds it frustrating. “What would be great is if we supported each other to find a more balanced perspective,” says Deb and indeed, a balance is one of the things Deb strives for most in her life. Where she does find support is in her husband of twenty five years, former BC politician, Chris Darcy who is 22 years older and often has experienced something she may be having difficulty with. While she considers him a wealth of information and support, she says he definitely lets her fly her own political flag. As Deb’s vision for the foreseeable future doesn’t stray much from politics, it says a lot about having chosen to follow her passion. When asked about her future plans she quickly confirms that Castlegar is her only real home in her heart. The bucket list for her eventual retirement includes gardening and watching her grandson grow from her Kootenay home after her daughter Natalie’s traumatic pregnancy. After much time in the hospital where doctors repeatedly missed her condition, she went into a surprise early labour and gave birth six months in. Deb is hugely grateful for both the positive outcome and for having the chance at a “redo” at helping to raise a child. She doesn’t intend to walk away from politics anytime soon however. After five terms she says she not only enjoys it more each year, but has no wish to float a different boat.
WEST KOOTENAY WOMAN | SPRING 2015 | 11
Raising Payton Joys and challenges with an extra chromosome By Amy Robillard
Photos by Jodi Courchain
On Christmas day, 2012, a beautiful baby girl with ten fingers and ten toes entered the world and changed the lives of Salmo residents, Selina and Jamie Birk. Like all parents, they were excited to meet their daughter. Yet, they were also faced with the possibility of their baby having Down syndrome. “When your doctor tells you at 17 weeks that there is an 11 per cent chance that your baby will have Down syndrome, there is also an 89 per cent chance that the baby won’t,” explains Selina Birk, the mother of two-year-old Payton Birk who was born with Down syndrome. After an arduous labour and eventual caesarean section on that momentous Christmas day in Nelson’s Kootenay Lake Hospital, Selina remembers the nurse explaining that Payton had the common markers that indicate a child has Down syndrome. “They look at the baby’s palm for one crease (versus two) and Payton also has small ears and almond-shaped eyes — all three markers of Down syndrome. It is hard to put into words, but I remember feeling concern — concern for my baby’s health.” Down syndrome affects approximately 500 babies per year in Canada according to The Canadian Down Syndrome Society
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and is defined as: “A disorder that occurs when an individual has a full or partial extra copy of chromosome 21.” The additional chromosome can alter how a baby develops and also increases the chance of heart defects and leukemia. Payton did have breathing difficulties unrelated to Down syndrome and was sent to BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver soon after her birth, but her heart was healthy and after five days, her relieved parents were ready to return to their home in Salmo to start their life with little Payton. “As soon as we returned from Vancouver, I realized how lucky we are to live in the Kootenays.” Having been raised in Nelson and having her five siblings and their extended family nearby, Selina and Jamie knew they had tremendous support to come home to. They also had access to Kootenay Kids, an organization that offers special programs for children with special needs. “Within a week of us coming home, Kootenay Kids contacted us and wanted to meet us — they are incredible.”
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Over the last two years, the Birk family has found a new community that includes six children from the West Kootenay that were born within 24 months of each other that have also been diagnosed with Down syndrome. The parents and children meet about once a month and talk about their experiences and support each other in the joys and challenges that come with their little ones. “It is a great network because we are or will be experiencing similar things and it is also great the kids are so close in age – they already have little friends!” Selina explains. Selina is an advocate for her daughter and with the help of Kootenay Kids has become a bit of an expert in navigating the challenges but also the opportunities that her daughter Payton faces. Like many working moms, Selina faces childcare issues with long wait lists but with the added challenge of accessing Supportive Child Care – a provincial funding option that offers Payton three hours a day of one-on-one care. “This is a great option for Payton because we can hit those milestones much more quickly and effectively with one-on-one support. The support workers are excellent at giving Payton the support she needs.” Although Selina admits balancing work and being a mom can be a challenge in her rather unique sit-
uation, she feels blessed. Her employer worked very hard to secure her a part-time job as Creative Support for Black Press in Nelson when she decided it was time to go back to work. “They have been wonderful at supporting me and accommodating me – they basically put three jobs into one to make it work,” says Selina. Selina has become a valuable resource when it comes to being a mom of a child who has Down syndrome. She has helped organize events for World Down Syndrome Day on March 21st and has been invaluable to new parents in the area who are facing a similar situation. As for Payton, she is doing remarkably well and has been guaranteed a spot at Salmo’s Children Centre -- a daycare in her own community -- in June. Asking Selina if there is anything she would like to add about misconceptions surrounding Down syndrome, she laughs and has this to say about the idea of Down syndrome children always being happy: “Believe me, when Payton wants something and doesn’t get it, she doesn’t really fit into that ‘happy Down syndrome baby’ stereotype – she is like any other two year old who doesn’t get her way.” For more information about Down syndrome, visit: www.cdss.ca. For information about Kootenay Kids, visit: kootenaykids.ca.
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THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES
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Stock a wardrobe that has staying power this season Glamorous models strut their stuff at fashion shows around the world, and many women and men hope to emulate the latest styles debuting on the runway. No matter what Stella McCartney, Burberry or Phillip Lim is showcasing this season, outfitting a wardrobe means blending trendy pieces with items that will stand the test of time. A closet filled with trendy clothes may find you catching eyes this season, but come next season you may regret breaking the bank for a new wardrobe that is already outdated. A better approach may be to purchase some classic pieces before embellishing them with current looks. Neutral foundation pieces, such as a black pencil skirt, slim slacks or soft, jersey pants, are items to include in any woman’s wardrobe. These staples are easy to pair with some winter trends as you look to put your most fashionable foot forward. To recreate the “mod squad” trend that is growing in popularity, pair a skirt with a turtleneck or mock-neck sweater and knee-high boots. Each piece can be worn separately with other accessories should the mod look fall out of favor down the road. Tomboy looks were another runway trend at recent fashion shows. Wider-cut “boyfriend” jeans, oxford shoes and boxy blazers can make it look like you borrowed items from your favorite guy without investing too much in over-the-top looks. An easy way to make any outfit look more hip is to pair it with sneakers. From dresses to blazers to slacks, sneakers peeking out below can add street credibility to any look. Sneakers add a touch of whimsy to even the most conservative items in your closet. Investing in a good pair of sneakers also will serve you well as you head to the gym or take a lunch-hour stroll. Fashion trends come and go, but with practice anyone can find a blend of pieces that will provide bang for your buck for years to come.
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Trends
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For Spring/Summer 2015, earth tones dominate, along with the classic black. Yellow gold, purple, lilac and aqua immerse the feet in colour. Silver ensures a trendy future look. Besides flat summer boots, sandals and sneakers, heeled boots and sandals are perfect for the summer. Metal heels are true eye catchers. Sneakers are always a staple: with wedge, as runners or in futuristic designs. Pointed-toe ballerinas or wedge ankle boots are young, cheeky and feminine. I love the slatted leather and leather embossed with motifs. Antique gold accessories and shimmering foils applied to the shoe create an exciting contrast. Deanna Franklin - Shoes for the Soul
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My favorite trend for 2015 is the 1970’s boho look. We’ve seen bits of this look injected every year in the last few years and now we’re putting it all together. Think wide leg/high waisted pants, airy kimonos, maxi skirts, bohemian prints and anything eyelet or with fringe. A flowy maxi dress with a wide brimmed hat and layers of chunky jewelry is your perfect boho hippie look. Boho inspired jewelry is also close to my heart; with beautiful raw stones and natural crystals on long chains. Layer them up and they’ll give any outfit a little bohemian flare. Clothing from Scout, jewelry by Erin Then Erin Then - Scout
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Increasingly we are seeing a trend to have social and environmental ethics play a more significant role in fashion. This includes consumers looking for and buying more natural alternatives, organics, and fair trade textiles. Suppliers like Nomads, Movement, Abaka, and Maha Devi are at the forefront of “conscious fashion”. They’ve lead the way with organic and sustainable fibres, and by making clothing here in Canada or using fair trade certified manufacturers. A great example is Indigenous Designs, a luxurious line of flawless styles crafted by skilled, fair trade certified artisan cooperatives in Peru, from organic cotton and sumptuous, free range organic alpaca fibre. Jonelle Johnson - Still Eagle and Echo Boutique
I often speak with women who are looking for the same pants they had ten years ago, and the truth is they simply do not exist. Fashion trends change every season. They start in Europe and slowly, three years later or so, the trend arrives in Canada. A common question I hear is what style of pant is in, well right now we are seeing a variety of pant widths from skinny to wider bottom flares. Skinny’s are still a trend and will continue to be as long as we see the longer tunic length tops. Summer is a season with lots of ankle skinny crops, this pant length is certainly more prevalent than the Capri this year. On many occasions we see pants that fit everywhere but the waist. Remember if you find a pant that works for you ignore what the number is on the tag, the waist can be taken in for a perfect fit. All bodies are different. Top dressing is seeing a change from the free flowing tops to a more tailored look with blouses and blazers being a key necessity for your wardrobe this season. Floral prints and polka dots are everywhere this summer in blouses, dresses and pants, have fun with this look. Sweaters are becoming shorter and more fitted to compliment your shape. A large resurgence in navy is happening for the season and into the fall winter. Colour changes our attitude, wear colour that makes you feel great about yourself. There are times you just have favorite colours which is not in your colour palette, consider wearing a scarf around your neck for the colour you need. Noreen Lynas - Cotton Creek Clothing
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Fashion is important from head to toe, allowing us to express our individuality. Let’s start with our feet! Some of today’s leading fashion footwear brands are Birkenstock, Free People, DocMarten and FRYE. Here is a perfect example of today’s top fashion: a Bellflower gladiator sandal by Free People. On the runway or on the beach at Lakeside park in Nelson, this is a stunning example of one of today’s hottest trends~festival chique. Erin Elliott - Shoe La La
WEST KOOTENAY WOMAN | SPRING 2015 | 17
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Green Curry Chicken with Roasted Eggplant and Red Peppers Shelley Adams shares a recipe from her latest cookbook Another really easy dinner idea. We make this aromatic curry with chicken thighs and bake it in the oven for a simple preparation with outstanding results. Serves 4 Ingredients 1/4 cup green curry paste 1 – 400 ml can coconut milk 2 tbsp fish sauce 1 tbsp sugar 6 Kaffir lime leaves 1 stalk lemongrass, cut in thirds, bruised 8 chicken thighs, bone in, skin on 1 tsp salt 1 Japanese or regular eggplant, diced 1 red pepper, diced 2 tbsp olive oil 1 cup mini cucumbers, sliced thinly 1 cup micro-herbs or cilantro, chopped 1 lime, juice of Method Preheat oven to 350 F Place curry paste, coconut milk, fish sauce, sugar, lime leaves and lemongrass in oven-
proof baking dish and combine well Rub the chicken with salt and place, skin side up, in baking dish Cover with lid or tin foil and bake for 1 hour Remove foil from chicken dish and bake for another 30 minutes until chicken is cooked and skin is brown and crispy Toss eggplant and peppers with olive oil and place on a separate baking sheet Roast the eggplant and red peppers on the separate baking sheet in the oven for the final 30 minutes with the chicken. Arrange cooked eggplant and peppers around the chicken thighs in the baking dish and garnish with cucumbers and micro-herbs Squeeze lime juice over the complete dish Serve this Green Curry Chicken with basmati rice that has been tossed with toasted cashews, sesame seeds and coconut flakes. You will feel transported by the flavours of Thailand.
WEST KOOTENAY WOMAN | SPRING 2015 | 19
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Tee times start at 4:45 $25 for 9 Holes of Golf and Prizes No handicap Needed. New Golfers Welcome Appies or dinner in the clubhouse after the round
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Ladies First Kootenay women say sexism in politics is disappearing By Liz Bevan
S e x i s m seems to be a thing of the past in Kootenay municipal politics. Just ask some of the women filling a mayor’s seat in communities across the region. There are seven women running municipalities in the area, and most say that discrimination based on gender doesn’t enter the council chambers anymore. In Nelson, Deb Kozak was elected mayor, Mayor Patricia Cecchini heads up Fruitvale council, Mayor Jessica Lunn was elected in Slocan and in New Denver, Mayor Ann Bunka leads the council table. Additionally, Kathy Moore ran successfully for mayor in Rossland, as did Karen Hamling in Nakusp and Suzan Hewat in Kaslo. Kathy Moore was elected to the mayor’s office in Rossland last November after serving two terms as a councillor. She is in the unique position of sitting at the head of a council table surrounded by men. Fortunately, Moore says, running the Golden City comes down to personality, not gender. “I don’t really think that it has to do with
gender,” she said. “We have very thoughtful and critical thinkers on council, and that isn’t gender specific, it just happens to be the make-up of this council, which is really refreshing.” Her role as mayor may be influenced a little by her gender, but not intentionally. Moore says as a person, she looks to include everyone’s opinions when it comes to making a decision. “I think that perhaps I am a more collaborative person and a consensus building person than a dictatorial person,” she said. “You can draw your own conclusions about gender stereotypes with that.” The Mayor of Kaslo, Suzan Hewat, has dealt with chauvinism and sexism in many different positions that she has held through the last 35 years in the community, but says times are changing. She has been a volunteer and a recognizable figure in Kaslo for a while now, and says other women on council led
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the way for female representation in the small community’s municipal government. “I have dealt with a few very chauvinistic males in my times and they don’t get what they expect from me,” she said of her demeanour when trying to have her voice heard.“I am small, only five foot two, so I am not a big person. I try not to be intimidating, but some people are loud and forceful in making their opinions known, and you try to deal with that and not take it personally. It is just how some people are.” Molly Leathwood served four full terms on Kaslo council, and was already there when Hewat was elected during a 2005 by-election. Since then, there have always been one or two other women joining the current mayor at the table, making the transition a smooth one. Recognized around the area, Hewat has received the most votes every time she has thrown her name in the hat. “There has always been a continuity to councils,” she said, adding that is has been about familiarity. “There has always been an overlap. Because I have been here a long time, knowing all the players, and interacting with them on different things, I don’t feel that gender discrimination.” Karen Hamling sits in the mayor’s seat in Nakusp, as
well as fulfilling the role of director of the board at the Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK). She has seen the changes over the years, especially since her first term on council in 1987 under Nakusp’s first female mayor, Rosemarie Johnson. “You had to fight your way a little bit then, but it is way better now. I would watch the mayor I worked under,” she said, adding that now, there is a better representation of women in politics across the province. “I have had an awful lot of males in the political field congratulate me and support me (as the first female chair of the RDCK). There are also a few other women chairs around. I went to a conference of the regional districts in Victoria in March and I was surprised at the number of females that are chairs of regional districts.” These three mayors have led the way in their community and all have similar advice for women looking to get into a high-profile position: go for it. “You can’t be afraid to go ahead and get on a council or as a director,” said Hamling. “It doesn’t matter if you are male or female. It is only through experience
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Don’t back down and if you know you are right, stand your ground that you can move forward. If you are shy about heading into a visible position, find someone you respect and has the time and have them mentor you.” Hewat says that women need to show that they are on equal footing with any man. “Don’t take any guff from men,” she said. “Stand your ground and don’t be intimidated. Some people are bullies and that is just they way they are. Don’t back down and if you know you are right, stand your ground.” Rossland’s Mayor Moore says getting into politics, and making a difference is not nearly as difficult as it may seem from the outside. “Just do it,” she said. “There is no reason why a young woman, or anyone else, if they have aspirations of getting into a position of authority or power, shouldn’t just go for it. It is not nearly as hard as they may think it is. You never know until you try.”
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A passion for people Long-time Trail city councillor Eleanor Gattafoni Robinson tries to perform one act of kindness a day By Will Johnson
Longtime Trail city councillor Eleanor Gattafoni Robinson has had plenty of interesting experiences over the course of her career, but one of the most eye-opening was the night she spent sleeping under the Victoria Street Bridge to raise awareness about homelessness. “I didn’t sleep much that night. We saw some four-legged critters, then at 2 or 3 a.m. the sprinkler went on and a bunch of the individuals sleeping there had to move off the grass,” she said, with a laugh. “Would I do it again? I would.” It’s this sort of spunk that has helped Gattafoni Robinson earn a reputation as a multi-talented, generous and extremely busy community member. And though she’s already put in 35 years at Teck in the finance department and four terms as city councillor, she’s still going strong. As Guy Bertrand of the Trail Daily Times
puts it: “She’s still old-school enough to deliver hand-written thank you notes. Remembers everyone’s name. Always has time to say hello. Very genuine, always giving and always promoting Trail.” Kootenay Woman sat down with Gattafoni Robinson to get some insight into her successful and multi-faceted career. Following in her mother’s footsteps Eleanor cherishes her memories of growing up in “The Gulch”, otherwise known as the area around Rossland Avenue. Her mother Carmen was a strong, engaging homemaker and her father Joe was a quiet patriarch. “I had the most fantastic childhood. There was so much warmth, and loving people. I’m of Italian heritage, which I’m extremely proud of, and I was extremely proud that my father worked at Teck.” Gattafoni Robinson’s sister Helen passed away, but her two brothers include another city councillor— Gordie Gattafoni—and a Roman Catholic priest named Father Stephen.
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She said her parents raised them to give back to the community, and she has been trying to do exactly that ever since. Her father fostered her interest in sports, taking her to see games at Cominco Arena. She was an enthusiastic athlete until the age of 13, when she dislocated her kneecap. “I have a personality a lot like my mother’s,” Gattafoni Robinson said, “She instilled in me to do one act of kindness a day. It could be talking to someone, or holding open the door. It didn’t have to be a huge thing.” This became one of her guiding principles in life. “A small kindness can be a great gesture.” Gattafoni Robinson’s family is a huge part of her life, and she now has a niece and a nephew, Carmen and Ron, as well as five great-nieces and nephews. “I love them all dearly. I’m a very lucky woman.” Career and politics Gattafoni Robinson spent 35 years in the finance department of Teck as an accounting clerk. It was a job she found fulfilling. “They were good to me, and I
was good to them,” she said. When she transitioned into her role as a city councillor, she already had a number of personal and professional relationships that she continued to rely on. And though working as a city councillor can be exhausting and demanding, Gattafoni Robinson said she wouldn’t have it any other way. “I’m sure this would be exhausting for some people. Some of my friends think I’m nuts, but I think I was put on earth to do this work.” That includes her long-time participating in Trail’s Ambassador program, which aims to teach young girls life skills. “We live in a challenging world, and the more we can get young people engaged, that’s what life is all about. We need to face those challenges and do some good.” Gattafoni Robinson said she never had that sort of institutionalized support and mentorship when she was growing up, and she’s happy that Trail residents have it now.
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Recognition Gattafoni Robinson has received plenty of recognition over the years, but one of her proudest moments was winning the 2009 Citizen of the Year award for Trail/Warfield, in recognition of her community service. “That was wonderful and humbling, to be honoured with that award,” she said. She also received the “Canada 125”
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Commemorative Medal, but Gattafoni Robinson said it’s not the awards that are most important. It’s the smiles and kindness that keep her going. “Negativity is out there, I’m not naive. But I try to stay focused, and by the grace of God I can have the strength to do this.” She is currently involved with the Holy Trinity Catholic Church, the Salvation Army, the Trail Smoke Eaters, the Trail & District Arts Council, the Trail Youth Justice Board, The Trail and District United Way and many other organizations. She said she would never dream of living anywhere else, and calls Trail “Heaven on Earth”. “It’s a hidden jewel,” she said.
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What is clean eating all about? Clean eating is a growing trend among people focused on health and wellness. A relatively simple concept of selecting foods that are minimally processed, clean eating intends to instill a greater understanding of the pathway between a food’s origins and the final products that end up on grocery store shelves and dinner tables. Choosing whole or “real” foods that are as close to their natural forms as possible is a staple of clean eating.The availability of convenience food products has never been greater, and not all packaged foods are unhealthy. But clean eating encourages consumers to be more aware of the ingredients in the foods theyeat while selecting those foods that are minimally processed. Many foods designated as “clean,” including vegetables and fruits, whole grains, free-range meats, low-fat dairy products, unsalted nuts, and
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whole seeds, are straight from the farm. Another component of clean eating is eliminating or greatly reducing the consumption of refined sugar. Many health experts advise that refined sugar is a large contributor to unnecessary calories. Many people can get all the energy they need by consuming foods with natural sugars. If an ingredient list includes names you cannot recognize or if the natural form of the food has been changed (i.e. removing the bran from whole grains), it cannot be included in a clean-eating plan. Also, foods that have a lot of additives, including salt, sugar and fat, are not classified as clean.
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Not all food processing is bad. Processing is sometimes necessary to prevent pathogens that can lead to illness. For example, pasteurizing milk is a processing method, but one that is necessary to stop the proliferation of bacteria. Even steaming foods is processing in some form, but it is not on par with
30 | WEST KOOTENAY WOMAN | SPRING 2015
some of the overly processed foods available. The benefits to clean eating are numerous. Increasing intake of fruits and vegetables can boost your immune system and serve as a nutritious way to maintain a healthy weight. Clean eating may help you become more conscious of everything from meal ingredients to portion sizes. Those interested in clean eating can begin slowly. Start to introduce more fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and farm-fresh foods into your diet. Look for foods in their natural form, such as whole oats and other grains. Avoid highly refined ingredients and limit sugar and salt intake. Opt for fresh herbs and spices to season food. Over time you can make other changes. Adopting a clean-eating approach to their diet is a great way for men and women to start living healthy lifestyles. Speak with a doctor or nutritionist about healthy and effective ways to transition to clean eating.
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