The Rotary Club of Orléans held its annual youth awards ceremony at the Shenkman Arts Centre on June 8. Twenty-one area youth were recognized for their achievements in a variety of areas including Leadership, Perserverance, Positive Attitude, Creativity and Entrepreneurship.
The bilingual event was co-emceed by Rotarians Musset Pierre-Jérôme and Micky Mwiti.
After event chair Nabil Oudeh kicked the proceedings off with his opening remarks, Rotary District Governor Teresa Whitmore congratulated all the recipients and then helped present the awards.
The honourees included Wael Cheaitani, Ocean Clark, Michelle Jiménez-Bucar, Nathan Gourde, Olivier Gagnon-Maheux, Vicky Glaude, Ellie Gravelle, Michaela Owusu-Sekyere, Emily Kennedy, Jason Haddad, Sylvia Imafidon, Avery Kaptein, Salwa Mumin, Owen Murphy, Camille Rochon, Laurieve Sabourin, Anthony Rodrigue and Amanda Springate.
Interact Club co-presidents Emmanuella Aregebsola, Kamsi Uchi and Anya Sinha also received awards.
Rotary Interact Clubs bring together young people ages 12-18 to develop leadership skills while discovering the power of the club’s motto “Service Above Self”.
The recipients represented a number of area high schools including St. Peter High School, Cairine Wilson Secondary School, Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School. École secondaire catholique Béatrice-Desloges, École secondaire publique Garneau and Collège catholique Mer-Bleue,
Each recipient received a trophy and a certificate listing their achievements.
A special scholarship was also awarded to Michaela Owusu-Sekyere.
The award ceremony was punctuated with performances by Chloe Gaudet, Milana Gizela, Liana Molinaro, Kaylah Sanchez and Maria Stellar from Sing House Studio.
During his remarks, Nabil Oudeh thanked the sponsors who helped make the event possible.
Among the main sponsors were Assante Wealth Management, CCR International, Design and Systems Inc, Domaine Perrault Winery, Groupe Régimbal, GVE Lawyers/Avocats, Scotiabank, Venvi Portobello, TopRankin Mortgages, Ottawa Prestige Properties, Nathan Philips, Sing House Studio, Patricia Slaunwhite, and several Rotary Club of Orléans members.
The award program also benefited from the support of Orléans MP Marie-France Lalonde and City of Ottawa councillors Laura Dudas, Catherine Kitts and Matt Luloff.
For more information about the Rotary Club of Orléans, check out their Facebook page at facebook.com/Orleans.Rotary.Club.
The Club meets every Wednesday morning at the Venvi Portobello retirement community at 691 Valin St..
TRIVIA NIGHT from 7:30 p.m. every Monday night at the Royal Oak Pub Orléans. Free to play. Prizes for the winning team! The Royal Oak Pub is located at 1981 St. Joseph Blvd. near Jeanne d’Arc. For more info visit 
TRIVIA NIGHT from 6:30 p.m. at the Stray Dog Brewing Company. Exercise your grey matter before it turns to mush over the holidays. Reservations are a must to secure your spot. Send your team name and number of people to info@straydogbrewing.ca. The Stray Dog Brewing Company is located at 501 Lacolle Way in the Taylor Creek Business Park.
ORLÉANS FARMERS’ MARKET from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the parking lot of the Ray Friel Recreation Complex on Tenth Line Road. Browse 130+ local vendors, grab a bite, and discover amazing handmade and local finds. Plenty of parking available. This is the last Farmer's Market of the season.
HALLOWE'EN PARTY from 7 p.m. at the Orléans Legion, 800 Taylor Creek Dr. Live music with Rambler's Blvd.. Costumes encouraged. Great music. Sppoky fun. An unforgettable evening.
ROYAL OAK ORLEANS HALLOWE'EN PARTY – Time to get in that costume and get ready to trick or treat at the pub on this Spooky Saturday night!! DJ KWIZZ spinning the tunes starting at 10pm!! Hallowe'en highballs only $5.95 an ounce all night!! PRIZE FOR THE BEST COSTUME!!
