The Rotary Club of Orléans held its annual Young People of Character awards at the Shenkman Arts Centre on June 14. During the ceremony, 24 local youth were recognized for their achievements in a variety of areas including Courage, Leadership, Persistence, Creativity, Positive Attitude, Compassion, Integrity and Social Responsibility.
The bilingual event was co-emceed by Rotarians Musset Pierre-Jérôme and Jane Courtice-Neocleous.
During the proceedings, each of the recipients was presented with their award in groups of eight punctuated with perfor-mances by Isabel Fernandez, Isla Lombard and Vienna Vandoros from Song House Studios in Orléans.
The first group of recipients included Clara Dorvil, Asael Kwessu, Kyle Benoit, Gabriela Fornazzari, Najwa Adema, Davidd Bamidele, Mishaa Haider and Sophia Labreque.
Among the recipients in the second group were Paige Lavictoire, Fedora Rimbeau, Dylan Marleau, Annika Jacques, Victoria Milette, Maaz Malik, Alyssa Lariviere and Daniel Laniyan, while the third group included Olivia Rodger, Lexi Seewalt, Taisei Tan, Ansel Anu Thomas, Fatima Hammoud, Liam Apostal, Anika Suthakara and Avionah Williams.
Each recipient received a trophy and a certificate listing their achievements.
Fatima Hammoud from Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School and Liam Apostal from St. Peter High School also received scholarships for their accomplishments.
During their closing remarks, Pierre-Jérôme and Courtice-Neocleous thanked the sponsors who helped make this year’s awards program possible including event sponsor Sean Rankin from Top Rankin Mortgages.
Among the other sponsors were Patricia Slaunwhite and Nathan Philips, Assante Wealth Management, CCR International, Groupe Régimbal, GVE Lawyers/Avocats, Scotiabank, Venvi Portobello, Sure Print Graphics, Sing House Studios and Ottawa Prestige Properties.
For more information about the Rotary Club of Orléans and how to join, please visit facebook.com/Orleans.Rotary.Club.