HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2016-01-14, Page 19THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 14, 2016. PAGE 19.
Mitchell honoured with Rural Youth nomination
MULTI PURPOSE
SPORTS PAD
A proud moment
Walton resident and Brussels Leo Club Past -President Sean Mitchell, third from right, was
honoured to be nominated for the Rural Ontario Institute's Youth Engagement Showcase. The
showcase, which promotes community health through youth involvement, mirrors what is so
important about the Leo Club according to Mitchell who said projects like the Brussels Sports
Pad, shown above at opening at last year's Brussels Fall Fair, serve to connect the youth of
the community and make sure they leave Brussels with fond memories and wanting to return.
(File photo)
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Walton's Sean Mitchell was one of
44 youth nominated for the Rural
Ontario Institute's Youth
Engagement Showcase, which
serves to show community vitality
through youth involvement.
Mitchell, who was informed of his
nomination and selection for the
next stage of the program in
November, told The Citizen he was
very happy and proud to be
nominated through the program.
"I'm thrilled," he said. "Paul
Nichol told me he nominated me
based on my work with the Brussels
Leo Club and our projects with the
sports pad and the library."
Nichol, the advisor for the Leo
Club, is a member of the Brussels
Lions and is heavily involved in
economic development with Huron
County. When talking to Mitchell,
Nichol told him he was happy
about all the work the Leo Club was
doing.
Mitchell said he feels a big part of
his work with the Leo Club has been
focused on the sports pad which was
opened last September.
"It's probably the thing I'm most
proud of and the biggest thing the
Leo Club can point to as a successful
initiative," he said. "We are seeing it
being used more and more with
people gearing up for a season of
pickle ball and everyone using it for
basketball and road hockey on their
own."
Mitchell said he really appreciated
the sentiment behind the Youth
Engagement Showcase as a lot of the
projects tackled by himself and the
Leo Club were done to show that
people are still engaged in their
community.
"Youth involvement in a
community is a good indicator of the
health of that community," he said.
"It's good to see the involvement we
have in Huron County and Brussels
in particular. Once there is that
engagement and those youth are
helping out in the community and
making an impact, the outcome is
very positive."
When the Leo Club was forming,
the closure of Brussels Public
School was still fresh in the mind of
the youth of the community, and
Mitchell said that having that kind of
event in a community can be
devastating, so it was important for
the youth to work together.
"We were trying to figure out what
we were going to do as we were
starting the club," he said. "We
asked why we were starting the Leo
Club and whether it was going to be
fun, helping the community or
both.
"I think we picked the latter," he
said. "It was a lot of fun doing the
sports pad and other projects, but it
shows that the youth here want to be
involved in the community, which is
what the showcase is about."
Mitchell said that keeping the
youth engaged and committed and
liking their community was
important because of the school
closure.
"We all want a community that we
want to come back to," he said. "We
don't want people going away with
the impression that the village
Kellington honoured by Thompson
Doing some good
Bob Kellington of Brussels was honoured by Huron -Bruce
MPP Lisa Thompson at her annual New Year's Levee. Last
year, Kellington also contributed his massive beard to the
Canadian Foodgrains Bank, raising $1,400 for the cause,
which, in addition to a $500 church dinner profit, was
matched on a 4:1 basis by the Canadian government,
resulting in a total donation of nearly $10,000. Kellington is
seen here having his beard "harvested" at a special event
in June. Doing the honours were Brook Beuermann with the
help of Janice Machan. (File photo)
Huron -Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson
announced the list of recipients for
the 2015 Huron -Bruce Outstanding
Citizen Award late last year. This
year 13 people from across the
riding will receive the recognition,
which celebrates the contributions of
local citizens to their communities.
Among those who will be
recognized is Brussels resident Bob
Kellington. Caretaker for the
Brussels United Church, an active
member of the Brussels Lions Club
and a volunteer at the Brussels
Farmers' Market, Bob is well-known
for helping seniors with house and
yard work. Most recently, he grew
out his beard in order to raise $1,400
for the Canadian Food Grains
Bank.
"Hearing about the acts of
kindness performed by Bob and his
fellow nominees has been
heartwarming. So many people from
across the riding reached out during
the nomination process with nothing
but praise for these remarkable men
and women. I look forward to
celebrating with them and their
friends and family in January," said
Thompson.
The New Year's Levee took place
on Jan. 6 at 7 p.m. at the Teeswater
Town Hall and will also recognize
the accomplishments of Cathy
Pennington (Kincardine), Chandra
Tripathi (Kincardine), Clarence
Kieffer (Walkerton), Diane Leiber
(Goderich, formerly of Teeswater),
Donald Farrell (Ripley), Jennie
Rowe (Exeter), Heather Frook
(Municipality of Brockton), James
Rice (Tiverton), Jean Culliton
(Teeswater), Jeff Roberts
(Walkerton), Roger Lewington
(Bayfield) and Vicky Culbert
(Goderich).
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wasn't worth being in because we
lost the school. I saw the Leo Club
as a way to keep a connection
between the youth and the
community."
While Mitchell was excited to be
nominated, and might have his story
featured on the Rural Ontario
Institute's website, being a part of
the Leo Club has been a reward
enough in itself.
"Everything I've done with the
Leo Club has made me a better
leader and person," he said.
"Working with the community
through the Leo Club has opened up
my eyes to ways we can open up to
the community and help one
another."
Mitchell, who is currently
preparing to study Environmental
Engineering and Environmental
Science at either the University of
Western Ontario, the University of
Waterloo or the University of
Guelph, said he looks forward to
applying what he is learning to the
world.
Mitchell isn't the first local to be
nominated for the prize, saying that
Tim Waecther of Brussels also
received the nod several years ago.
Unfortunately, Mitchell was not
one of the four nominees chosen as
winners in the showcase. The list of
winners, including Eric Duncan of
Winchester, Emily Morrison of
Beaverton, Megan Raftis of
Harriston and Branden
Trochymchuck of Thunder Bay, was
released on Monday.
Rural Ontario Institute Project
Lead for the Youth Engagement
Showcase Ryan Deska said the
nominations are great for everyone
involved whether they are among the
finalists or not.
"We had 44 total nominees and we
won't be able to profile everyone,"
he said in an interview with The
Citizen. "They get to share their
stories, hoping to inspire more
people to get involved. We're happy
with the uptake and nominations
received. There are a lot of young
people out there who should be
happy and proud they were
nominated."
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