THUNDER BAY — Twenty individuals, organizations and groups were awarded for the time spent to improve and enrich the community of Thunder Bay during the 47th annual Citizens of Exceptional Achievement Awards ceremony last month.
Awards were presented in three categories with five youth awards handed out as well as 13 Good Citizen Awards and two Spirit of Thunder Bay awards.
David Silliman, past president of Port Arthur Rotary Club, said it was a good feeling for the club to be recognized with the Spirit of Thunder Bay Award.
“It's over 100 years that Rotary has been active in Thunder Bay with various projects serving the community. Our motto is service above self, so service is the most important thing we do, but we have fun at it,” he said.
It never hurts for the community to hear about what the Port Arthur Rotary Club is doing in the community, Silliman said.
“We do a lot of things in the community and . . . we're always open for people to join our club and to get involved in in Rotary. We have different groups – we have a couple of youth groups, there's an interact group which is high school students and then a Rotaract group which is university and college student age, so we have quite a bit of representation in the community.”
The youth award is presented to an individual, up to the age of 21 years, who, for a minimum of two years, has increased the profile of youth in Thunder Bay through volunteer contributions that enrich quality of life in the community, with volunteer service outside of the mandated 40 hours.
Abigail Burchat, a 17-year-old student, received a youth award on Tuesday.
“To be completely honest with you, it was kind of really crazy. I had been pulled into my guidance teacher's office and she let me know that she submitted something for me to get this award possibly, and it wasn't exactly confirmed.
“When I got the letter saying that I was actually getting the award, I flipped out completely. I couldn't believe that it was something I was actually getting an award for, considering I think that my contributions for the community are kind of just what a standard should be,” Burchat said.
Burchat has volunteered at Camp Gitchigomee, a non-profit Bible camp organization, for the past three summers. She is also a youth facilitator for the New Mentality Thunder Bay, which is a group developed and facilitated by youth, for youth ages 12 to 25.
“I think that it's important to be able to give back to the community because this is something we're all a part of really so we grow up in a community, we take things from it, we might as well be able to give back.
“Volunteering doesn't have to be something where you just sit at a desk or you stand silent. Volunteering is something that you can do that can be enjoyable for everyone. I love what I do. I love being a camp counsellor and spending my nights with the kids, even if they're keeping me up all night,” Burchat said.
The Good Citizen award is presented to an individual who has made outstanding volunteer contributions in Thunder Bay for a minimum of five years. Groups and organizations may receive this recognition for 10, 25 and 50 years of service and every 10-year increment thereafter.
The Spirit of Thunder Bay special award recognizes an individual who has volunteered time toward improving and enriching the community of Thunder Bay. This is an individual who has shown extraordinary leadership, innovation and meaningful voluntary contributions, and has a minimum of 15 years of cumulative volunteer experience in Thunder Bay.
