Measha Brueggergosman took part in an event for International Women's Day held virtually from Quispamsis, N.B. Image: Video capture
Despite a few challenges from Mother Nature and technology, the mayors in the Kennebecasis Valley hosted singer, music producer and author Measha Brueggergosman at an International Women’s Day event on Tuesday.
Gale force winds in Nova Scotia forced Brueggergosman to find a better signal from her car.
Brueggergosman rolled with it, noting the last two years have been about perseverance.
She spoke about her unexpected marriage during the pandemic to musician Stephen Lee.
“I was not in a season where I was looking. I had finally got to a place where I was felt like I was enough. Enough for my kids, enough for myself, enough for my career,” Brueggergosman said.
Quispamsis Mayor Libby O’Hara noted the 2022 theme for International Women’s Day: Break the Bias.
“Typically it would be a male that would be a mayor. And in that tradition, I would like to introduce you to Bob Doucet, the mayor of Hampton, but that’s where the tradition ends in our region,” O’Hara said.
She went on to list the regional mayors, St. Martins Mayor Bette Ann Chatterton, Brittany Merrifield of Grand Bay-Westfield, Rothesay’s Nancy Grant and Saint John’s Donna Reardon.
O’Hara noted there are many women also holding key positions in the town.
Grant said she thinks the region is “punching above our weight when it comes to gender equity.”
“If we exclude council appointments to committees, 56.8 per cent of the members of standing committees are women. Women from all walks of life,” Grant said.
Grant said we only have to look to eastern Europe to find inspiration on International Women’s Day.
“My daughter, who has her father’s Ukrainian blood in her veins, puts it very well I think. ‘Don’t mess with Ukrainian women,'” Grant said.
Later in the event, Brueggergosman touched on what Grant had to say.
“Don’t mess with women period. Not only we will outlast you, we’ll outwit you. We’ll out love you. It’s in our DNA. When a woman is steered in the direction of hope, she’s unstoppable,” Brueggergosman said.
The event was organized by Quispamsis Deputy Mayor Mary Schryer and Laura Morrell.
It rotates between the two KV towns and will be hosted by Rothesay in 2023.
Quispamsis Mayor Libby O'Hara speaks of the many women who also serve as mayor in the greater Saint John region and sends a message of care to the people of Ukraine. #InternationalWomensDay2022 pic.twitter.com/axWUMMixD2
— Tamara Steele (@tamarasteele1) March 8, 2022
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