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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, September 3, 2015 | 6 Retired Oakville pilot receives aviation award for exceptional career by Julia Le Oakville Beaver Staff Spotlight "Connected to your Community" Judy Cameron's career as an airplane pilot has been anything but ordinary. She persevered through a traditionally male-dominated profession, and was the rst woman pilot at Air Canada in 1978 and then the rst female captain to operate Canada's largest airplane, a Boeing 777, in 2010. For her exceptional career, the long-time Oakville resident will be recognized by the Northern Lights Award Foundation (NLAF) in October. The not-for pro t organization recognizes outstanding women across Canada in the aviation or aerospace industry. It recently named seven women, who will be receiving an Elsie MacGill Northern Lights award this year. Cameron, along with Dawn Bartsch, Sgt. Andreena Clifford, Tracy Medve, Jill Oakes, Claire Lemiski and Erin Grant will be honoured at Toscana Banquet and Conference Centre Oct. 3 in Concord. The event, which begins at 6 p.m., aims to recognize, promote and inspire past, present and future generations of Canadian women in the aviation and aerospace industry. Cameron, who grew up in Vancouver and became an Oakville resident in 1981, said she's humbled by the recognition. "I am honoured to be considered among women like Roberta Bondar (Canada's rst female astronaut)," she said, noting one past recipient. "I'm overwhelmed to be in their company." Over her 42-year career, the 61-year-old Cameron logged more than 23,000 hours of ying -- rst in smaller aircrafts in Slave Lake and Edmonton, Alta., and Inuvik, N.W.T., and then in larger planes with Air Canada. Earlier this year, on May 25, she took her nal ight as a commercial pilot from Munich, Germany, to Toronto, marking the end of her 37-year career with Air Canada and an impressive journey that began with perseverance and a strong will to do what excited her and terri ed her all at the same time. Cameron recently shared with the Oakville Beaver that her rst time ying in a small aircraft was all it took to have her abandon the arts degree she had been pursuing at the University of British Columbia. "I was invited to y in a Cessna 150 and the guy was doing all the things you're not Judy Cameron, seen here just days before her nal ight from Toronto to Munich, Germany, and back earlier this year, is receiving a Elsie MacGill Northern Lights award, which recognizes exceptional women in aviation and aerospace. | photo by Rick Madonik -- Toronto Star supposed to do for someone's rst ight," she said about the summer gig she had at Transport Canada in Vancouver interviewing small aircraft pilots. The spins, the turns and the stalling of Her early history says a lot. She was very tenacious. She went to an aviation college and went to the North where she knew the jobs were, did what it took to get the experience and didn't take no for an answer. Anna Pangrazzi NLAF president engines mid- ight had her gripping the bottom of her seat and screaming. "I was shown how to make a pencil oat from the front of the airplane to the back to give you a sense of weightlessness, which was quite exciting," she said. Her decision to switch gears was an easy one, but the path to get into the aviation program at Selkirk College in Castlegar, B.C., didn't go as smoothly as she had hoped when she decided to make a career out of it. She didn't have all the requirements and had to take Grade 12 math in summer school. The program was also heavily scienceoriented, which had her wishing she took physics and other science-related courses during high school. But through it all, she said it's been a rewarding journey, one that has given her many memories that she will always cherish. "It's challenging, but it's the best career I could ever have imagined," Cameron said. Throughout her ying career, she has own the DC-3, Twin Otter, Hawker Siddeley 748, DC-9, Lockheed 1011, Airbus 320, Boeing 767 and 777. Assigned destinations have ranged from Santiago, Chile, and Sydney, Australia, to Shanghai, China, Hong Kong, Tel Aviv, Israel and many cities in Europe, including Paris, London and Rome. Cameron has also landed at every major airport in Canada and many in the United States. Her most memorable ight was in 1997, when she was promoted to DC-9 Captain. see Cameron on p.20 NEIL OLIVER Vice­President and Group Publisher DAVID HARVEY Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Halton Region Editor in Chief OPC Volume 53 | Number 70 Ontario Press Council Defending principles to inspire public trust 5046 Mainway, Unit 2, Burlington (905) 845-3824 Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. 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