The Independent

Petrolia’s Heidi Soudant is one of five people recognized as Women of Excellence by the Sarnia Community Foundation this year.

For the last 10 years, the foundation honours women making a mark in their communities. This year, Soudant, the owner of Heidi’s Independent, is being honoured for her support of local charities. “As the sole grocery store in Petrolia, Heidi helps address food insecurity issues by contributing to the Petrolia
Food Bank and Christmas for Everyone initiatives. She also supports the local Community Refrigerator Program,” says the foundation in a news release announcing this year’s honourees.

Soudant is also an active member of the Petrolia Rotary and was hailed as a “tireless fundraiser.” 

The foundation is also recognizing Chantel Butterfield, the executive director of The Centre which supports people who have been sexual assault and human trafficting. “Chantel has been instrumental in raising awareness about human trafficking,” the foundation says.

Tiffany Dunn, a mechanical supervisor and turnaround execution lead at Imperial Sarnia, is being honoured.  She was the first woman to complete an apprenticeship and earn her ticket through the union hall, later advancing to Pipefitter Foreman and one of the youngest mechanical supervisors at Imperial Oil.  She also promotes careers for women in the trades with public speaking events.

Julie Hillier Vrolyk is being honoured for her work promoting human rights and inclusivity. The manager of The Book Keeper has beem a board member with Diversity Ed and organizer of Pridefest. She’s also active in Errol Road School Parent council.

And Liz Page, a social worker and professor at Lambton College, is being honoured for her work in minor sports. She’s has been the president of Point Edward Minor Hockey for over 15 years and is co-chair of FaceOff for Mental Health which helps remove the stigma around mental health in the hockey community.

The women will be honoured at a luncheon June 4 at Lambton College. Tickets for the fundraiser are available through the Sarnia Community Foundation.