For immediate release: Mar. 07, 2003

WHAT: Presentation of AUPE second annual DOVE Award.
WHEN: Noon, March 8, 2003.
WHERE: The Mayfield Grill, Mayfield Inn, 16615 – 109th Ave., Edmonton.
WHY: To mark International Women’s Day by honouring a female AUPE member who has contributed to the betterment of women within the union.

EDMONTON – The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees will mark International Women’s Day Saturday with the presentation of the union’s second annual DOVE Award to a female member who has contributed to the betterment of women within the union.

The winner will be named at noon Saturday at a ceremony that will take place in the Mayfield Grill at the Mayfield Inn, 16615 – 109th Ave. NW, Edmonton.

Media are welcome to attend the ceremony.

The award’s initials stand for Day of Validation and Equity.

The award was approved by AUPE’s annual convention in October 2001 "as a first step toward recognizing in a formal way the vital contribution women make to our union," said AUPE Vice-President Lynne Gingras, who is also chair of the union’s Women’s Committee.

AUPE President Dan MacLennan described the DOVE Award as a way AUPE puts its appreciation of the vital contribution made by women in the union into concrete form. "We are reminded every day of the strength and vitality that women contribute to the union movement."

Last year’s award was presented to Julie Cromarty, a long-time AUPE activist and organizer who is a member of AUPE Local 047/009 from Stony Plain.

For more information, contact:
Dan MacLennan, President, AUPE, 780-930-3301 or 780-910-8392 (cellular phone)
Lynne Gingras, Vice President and Women’s Committee Chair, AUPE, 780-446-7033 (cellular phone)
David Climenhaga, Communications Director, AUPE, 780-930-3311 or 780-717-2943 (cellular phone)