The accomplishments of the recipients were as varied as the young people themselves who ranged in age from eight to 18.
The youngest was eight year-old Christie Corrigan who was nominated for her work on her school’s Environmental Action Committee as well as being a member on her school cross country and track and field teams.
Siblings Élyse, Paul and Marc Maissoneuve received an award for their work in helping raise money for Projet Karyne which was established last summer in honour of their nine-year-old sister Karyne who passed away in July, 2006 from complications resulting from her cancer treatment..”
Eighteen-year-old Ambuj Dewan received this year’s Crystal Award for attaining the highest overall average among both francophone and anglophone students in the east end last year.
The Gloucester High School grad registered a 98.73 average which .03 better than the next person.
Ravi Dewan accepted the award on behalf of his son who is majoring in biology at McGill University.
“He’s doing very well. He’s happy and he’s very excited about receiving this award,” said the proud father after the ceremony.
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 Thirteen-year-old Fallingbrook resident
Kira Isabella performs at this year's Orléans Outstanding Youth Awards. Fred Sherwin/Photo
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Other recipients included Tania Bariteau, a 16-year-old Beatrice-Desloges student who won two silver and three bronze medals at the World Junior Taekwondo Championships last year; Ivanie Blondin who received her fourth Orléans Outstanding Youth Award after a year in which she became the youngest member ever of the national short track speed skating team at the age of 16 and made the ‘A’ final competing in her first ever World Cup event; and Sherwin Habibi, who scored the highest mark in Grade 11 French, biology and chemistry at Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School on his way to earning a 97.3 per cent average.
The near-capacity crowd was entertained by some extremely talented performers from the east end including the Cross Town Youth Chorus; pianist Mimi Lam; sibling dancers Emma and Mary Kathryn Bohn; singer Kira Isabella; and two-thirds of the illusion act Thrillusions who hail from École secondaire catholique Béatrice-Desloges.
Among the this year’s award recipients was Lois Kemp who received The Miza Davie Award which is given out annually to a person who has dedicated their life to the youth of their community.
As a parent Lois Kemp helped launch the 1st Blackburn Girl Guide troupe in the early ’50s. In 1956 she joined with several other residents in getting the former City of Gloucester to build the first outdoor rink in Blackburn Hamlet so kids could have a place to skate.
But the accomplishment she is best recognized for is in helping to bring ringette to the east end in the early 1970s.
Kemp, along with Eleanor MacQuarrie and Marilyn Bradley, started the very first Blackburn ringette team so that girls in the community could have their own team sport during the winter.
From its humble beginnings, the Blackburn team grew into the Gloucester Ringette Association which became one of the most successful ringette associations in the province.
Recipient Lindsay Anderson drove all morning to be at the awards ceremony from Toronto where she was honoured at the Canadian Triathlon Association’s awards banquet for being the top junior triathlete and duathlete in Canada.
The Orléans Online Outstanding Youth Awards were first organized in 2003 as a way to celebrate the accomplishments of area youth. Organizers received 30 nominations this year for young people ranging in age from eight to 18.
Each nominator submitted a short biography of the person they were nominating which was then given to the seven member judging panel. Working independently, the judges went through the submissions and selected their top 12 candidates. The lists were then compiled and any nominee who received a minimum of four selections was bestowed with an award.
The full list of recipients includes Alex Bergeron, Christie Corrigan, Joshua Simpson, Samantha Sproule, Eric Stewart, Amanda Pinhey, Sean Decloux, Charles Williams, Tania Bariteau, Edgardo Montes, Rebecca Kalinger, Emma and Mary Kathryn Bohn, Nolan Beanlands, Michelle LaRocque, Alex Lacasse, Malcolm Jones, Kira Isabella Wilkie, Élyse, Marc and Paul Maisonneuve, Segun Makinde, Amanda Bentley-Desousa, Ivanie Blondin, Cody Lombardo Sherwin Habibi, Lindsay Anderson and Ambuj Dewan.
This year’s awards were made possible thanks to the support of a number of sponsors including gold level sponsors Ace Body Shop, Place d’Orléans, Laporte’s Flowers and Nursery, 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, the Kiwanis Club of Orléans and M.L. Bradley Ltd.
The east end's political representatives were also out in full force, each of them having sponsored one of the wards that were presented.
Last, but not least, the Navan Lions Club provided the food for the post-awards reception which was organized by Fallingbrook Community Association president Zybina Richards.
