(PRESS RELEASE) YELLOWKNIFE, NT — Five students from Canada’s Northwest Territories have been chosen to receive scholarships from the Diamond Empowerment Fund. The program is the result of a partnership between The Mine Training Society and the Diamond Empowerment Fund (D.E.F), announced last April by D.E.F. executive director Nancy Orem Lyman and Northwest Territories Minister Wally Schumann. The scholarships were established by the International Diamond Empowerment Fund for youth living in the area of the NWT diamond mines, who plan to pursue either trades training or post-secondary education in business, management, STEM, health care or mental health fields.
The Mine Training Society led the selection of candidates. The following five youth were selected to be the inaugural recipients of the D.E.F Scholarships, each worth $5,000:
- Trisa Ngo, Yellowknife, NT: Trisa is currently completing the final year of her Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science from Dalhousie University in Halifax. She is passionate about environmental resource management, specifically in the areas of resource development, contaminated sites remediation and climate change policy.
- Lindsay Bodnar-McLeod, Inuvik, NT: Lindsay is pursuing a Bachelor of Education degree at Aurora College in Fort Smith. Lindsay hopes to return to Inuvik to work as a teacher.
- Kyra Harris, Fort Good Hope, NT: Kyra is pursuing a Business Diploma from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in Edmonton with the goal of starting her own real estate business.
- Sharwyn MacPherson, Fort Smith, NT: Sharwyn is entering his final year as an Instrumentation Technician and he is presently employed at Rio Tinto’s Diavik Diamond mine.
- Louise Speakman, Deline, NT: Louise is completing the fourth year of her Bachelor of Social Work degree at MacEwan University in Edmonton. Louise is hoping to work in the criminal justice system when she finishes her degree.
The announcement comes the same week as the second year of the Diamond Empowerment Fund’s ‘Real Diamonds/Real Impact’ proposal contest. Winners of the contest will travel to the Northwest Territories to meet with D.E.F’s scholarship recipients and experience the beauty and adventure of the country.
www.diamondsdogood.com/myproposalcontest/
Four Decades of Excellence: How Wilkerson Transformed a Jeweler's Retirement into Celebration
After 45 years serving the Milwaukee community, Treiber & Straub Jewelers owner Michael Straub faced a significant life transition. At 75, the veteran jeweler made a personal decision many business owners understand: "I think it's time. I want to enjoy my wife with my grandchildren for the next 10, 15 years."
Wilkerson's expertise transformed this major business transition into an extraordinary success. Their comprehensive approach to managing the going-out-of-business sale created unprecedented customer response—with lines forming outside the store and limits on how many shoppers could enter at once due to fire safety regulations.
The results exceeded all expectations. "Wilkerson did a phenomenal job," Straub enthuses. "They were there for you through the whole thing, helped you with promoting it, helping you on day-to-day business. I can't speak enough for how well they did." The partnership didn't just facilitate a business closing; it created a celebratory finale to decades of service while allowing Straub to confidently step into his well-earned retirement.
