For the third year running, West Country female business leaders are set to be recognized at the Mountain View and Neighbours Women in Business Awards.

The annual event is set for Friday March 6 in Olds, and recognizes women in business who operate in Mountain View, Kneehill and Clearwater counties and all towns and villages within.

Debora Rice-Salomons, sponsorship coordinator with the Mountain View and Neighbours Women in Business Awards, says the sold-out event ties in with the 115th International Women’s Day, March 8.

The awards recognizes female business leaders in a number of categories, she says, with a focus on highlighting innovation, hard work and overall community impact.

The award categories for 2026 are:

Woman Of Influence: recognizing a strong female leader in the community, whether she’s in business or not

Woman In Business for-profit sector: recognizing strong and sustainable business leadership leading to a strong local economy

Woman In Business not-for-profit sector: recognizing innovation and customer service in the not for profit sector

Woman In Agriculture: Recognizing women leaders in both and agriculture and agri-food sectors

Woman In Energy: Celebrating integrity, strong performance and leadership in the energy sector

Rising Star award: New for 2026, this award recognizes a young person 17 and under who demonstrates entrepreneurship, innovation or community spirit

While Rice-Salomons says Woman of Influence is her personal favourite, she says she’s looking forward to the new category this year. “We really hope Rocky looks through their community and finds some rising stars for this award nomination.”

 

Debora Rice-Salomons speaking about the 2026 Mountain View and Neighbours Women in Business Awards

 

 

The keynote speaker for 2026 is Mary Hayes.

A Mountain View County resident, Hayes will be tying in the story of the Famous Five (Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Louise McKinney, and Irene Parlby) to the incredible contributions of local women.

The 2025 event saw strong representation from the West Country. The third place runner-up in the Woman In Agriculture category for last year was won by Tatyana Pavlovets, executive director of the Central Alberta Livestock and Forage Association.

Also, Jacquie Jones from Sundre Family Pharmacy took home second place Women in Business category.

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To make nominating as easy as possible this year, Rice-Salomons says nominators can now preview questions ahead of time on their website.

Nominations are open until Feb. 20, and are open to residents of the three rural counties and its towns and villages including Olds, Nordegg, Didsbury, Carstairs, Leslieville, Cremona, Sundre, Three Hills, Trochu, Rocky Mountain House, Caroline, and more. Nominations forms can be found here.

The awards ceremony will be at the Pomeroy Inn in Olds with doors opening at 11 a.m. and the awards presented at 1 p.m.

Rice-Salomons says organizers are aware of Rocky’s Denim and Diamonds ceremony set for the same day, adding that the afternoon ceremony start time is designed to accommodate attendees to both ceremonies.