Famous 5 Foundation Speaker Series Sarnia Lambton Luncheon

Join the Famous 5 Speaker Series Sarnia Lambton for an unforgettable luncheon with Heather Wright, Award‑winning journalist, publisher and owner of The Independent and The Herald serving communities across Lambton and Chatham‑Kent.

You don't want to miss this opportunity to enjoy a delicious full course meal, networking opportunity, keynote speech, and a chance to win a prize.

About Heather Wright

When Heather Kok Wright was five, she got her first taste of reporting. Sitting in the back of her parents' car on the way to church, Heather spotted the neighbour's barn on fire and reported the news to her dad, who was a volunteer firefighter. The family didn't make it to church that morning, and the newspaper clipping about the barn fire, reporting that Heather Kok spotted it, is still in the family photo album.

Flash forward to 2026 and Heather Wright's name appears a lot in print. She is the owner and publisher of The Independent of Petrolia and Central Lambton, a newspaper she started in 2013, and The Herald serving Thamesville, Dresden and Bothwell - the oldest newspaper in Chatham-Kent, which she purchased in 2016.

In between that first time in print and now was a career in radio, daily news, freelancing for the likes of the CBC and the once mighty Macleans, a few awards for her work, marriage – to Barry Wright – three children, Emily, Lauren and John, one son-in-law, Joseph and one grandson, Elijah.

Heather has also been an advocate for the news industry, serving on the Ontario Community Newspaper Association board of directors and travelling with them to Queen's Park to lobby the government to continue to use community newspapers to tell their stories.

In the last six years, The Independent has been named the best small community newspaper five times. The Independent's online presence was honoured as the best Community Newspaper website in Canada by the Canadian Community NewsMedia Awards in 2025. Heather has also won national reporting awards from the Canadian Association of Journalists for investigative journalism and the Canadian Journalism Foundation's Jackman Award of Excellence, which honours Canadian news organizations that demonstrate exemplary journalistic standards, courage, independence, and a positive community impact.

About the Famous 5 Speaker Series Sarnia Lambton

In 1929, a group of five courageous Canadian women stepped forward to challenge laws and conventions by insisting that women were indeed “persons.” These 5 historical women were Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Louise McKinney and Irene Parlby. And so to honour these five women and to combine tribute with inspiration, the Famous 5 Speaker Series was established in Calgary in 1998, with a satellite speaker series being launched in Sarnia Lambton in 2013.

Now, the Speaker Series profiles extraordinary women of today and speakers talk candidly about the challenges and triumphs in their personal journeys toward success. Local committee members who contribute their time to make events like this possible within the Sarnia Lambton community include Vicky Ducharme, Mikelle Bryson-Campbell, Janet Doyle, Laura Greaves, Samantha Saucier, Stephanie Steele, Sue Storr, Sarah Curry and Helen Lomax.

The event is proudly presented by Title Sponsor: Enbridge Inc., with generous support from Four Points by Sheraton Point Edward, Blackburn Media, Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce, Sarnia Lambton Workforce Development Board and Great Lakes Refill Co.

NOTE:
Unless you have registered for a table of 8 or 10, there is no guarantee that you will be sitting with your friends or colleagues.