Ellen Pfeiffer Award recipient in 2019
This is the nomination that was submitted by WIMA France:
Without Chantal, WIMA France would probably not be where it is today! Chantal went to her first WIMA rally in 1974, as pillion, because she had just failed her motorcycle driving licence. The following years, on motorbikes never too large to fit her tiny size, she crossed France, several European countries and even Australia, to join every WIMA rally she could go to. She knew many of the pioneers such as Ellen Pfeiffer, Agnès Acker (WIMA France founder), Juliette Steiner, Lida Abrahamova…
In 1985, at the Swedish international rally, she was declared captain of WIMA France by other WIMA division captains as she was the most regular French participant at WIMA gatherings. Chantal remained captain of WIMA France for 22 years. During that time, she organised many ‘Drei Länder Treffen’ (rallies between the three neighbouring countries of Germany, Switzerland and France), mostly together with Margrit Podesser, as well as the international rally of 1990 in Alsace and was very active in promoting the association everywhere she went.
Having a business to run and a teenager to raise, WIMA France captainship was handed over to Sophie Vignon sometime around 2007. Though Chantal was still participating in regional WIMA gatherings as much as she could. In 2017, when Aline, Marie and Anne took over WIMA France, Chantal, freshly retired from her beauty institute, took part with them in the new WIMA France board. During two long afternoons, many phone calls, and over many photo albums, Chantal told many stories from the early WIMA times, explained in detail the convivial and familial spirit of WIMA and its sorority. Oh! And she handed over quite a good amount of money left from the 1990’s rally, a sum of money added to what Sophie transferred and helped WIMA France to be revived greatly. By this nomination, we, WIMA France members, believe that ‘our mom’ has earned the Ellen Pfeiffer award.
