Maple Creek native wins award
Posted on March 21, 2017 by Maple Creek
Owner of Sustrate Strategies and Maple Creek native Jenni Sustrate (right) holding her Education and Mentorship Award at Womanition Magazine's SuPEARLative Awards on Feb. 24. Dorothy Briggs of Womanition Magazine stands beside her after the ceremony. SUBMITTED PHOTOSean McIntosh
Twitter: @SeanMCNews
smcintosh@maplecreeknews.com
A business owner originally from Maple Creek just won a big award in Edmonton.
Jenni Sustrate, 30, owns Sustrate Strategies, a personal and business insurance and financial planning company, won the Education and Mentorship Award from Womanition Magazine’s SuPEARLative Awards on Feb. 24.
“Oh my God, I was super excited when I won,” Sustrate told the Advance Times. “To be awarded in front of all of my colleagues was very incredible. It was a great feeling.”
There were a number of great nominees for the awards, Sustrate said, adding she wasn’t expecting much after the nomination.
“I was up against a very successful transformation coach, so when I saw she was my competition I thought, ‘No way am I going to win this.’ So when they called my name I was in shock.
“This is just an incredible experience, with all the successful business women in Edmonton and I got picked for an award.”
Sustrate moved from Maple Creek to Alberta for school when she was 18 years old. After graduating, she started her financial planning business at 22.
Having this award isn’t just a feather in the cap for Sustrate Strategies, it’s going to help the eight-year-old business, she said.
“It’s huge for my business – it just adds a ton of credibility. Being a young financial and insurance planner has been a hard go. If I don’t have grey hair some people look at me like I don’t know what I’m doing.”
In order to win an award, the nominees had to answer questions about their business and themselves – eight judges who didn’t know them would then choose a winner.
Some of the questions asked included “What is your business philosophy in 50 words?” and “Who is a person who had a tremendous impact on you as a leader?”
Sustrate answered the latter question with her mother, Maple Creek’s Sherry Sustrate. Regarding why her mother was such a great mentor she said the following in her submission:
“She taught me honesty, discipline, ethics, morals, compassion and unconditional love. She taught me selflessness and showed me that the world is bigger than just myself. I think these are great qualities of a leader and I try to be a better example of these every day.”
Being able to represent Maple Creek and both her parents, Sherry and Ed Sustrate, makes her incredibly proud, she said.
“They were so excited [when they found out] … I am who I am today because of them and I’m very grateful,” said Jenni Sustrate. “I love Maple Creek, it’s my home town and I have so much passion for that place.”
Womanition Magazine is an annual publication that profiles Canadian women in business. More details on Womanition can be found at http://www.womanition.com.
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