'Citizen' searching for 2024 Citizen of the Year nominations

BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN

The deadline for Citizen of the Year Award nominations is rapidly approaching. Consider this your last call to nominate someone who has done tremendous work for their community in 2024 and deserves to be honoured for making their corner of the world a better place this year.

 

The Citizen has received very few nominations for these prestigious awards and the deadline is now under a month away.
This week, you’ll find a nomination form for our annual Citizen of the Year Awards, which are handed out to outstanding volunteers from Blyth and the surrounding areas, Brussels and the surrounding areas and, new in 2022, the Huron County Citizen of the Year, who can be someone from anywhere in Huron County who has made a difference this year.

 

Last year’s winners were Joe Gahan and Meaghan Lee-Gahan in Blyth, thanks to their work founding and maintaining the Blyth Kids Club, Roxane Nicholson in Brussels, thanks to her work raising funds for the renovation and expansion of the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre, and Wayne Clausius of southern Huron County, who was just the second Huron County Citizen of the Year thanks to his work helping the less-fortunate with tax returns and other programs. Clausius would pass away shortly after winning the award.

 

Nominators can fill out the form found in this week’s newspaper or e-mail submissions to Editor Shawn Loughlin at editor@northhuron.on.ca. Be sure to include your name, your nominee’s name and all of the reasons why they should be considered as this year’s Citizen of the Year.

 

The deadline for submissions is Friday, Sept. 27, 2024.

 

Since The Citizen began publishing in 1985, the year the newspaper was founded, North Huron Publishing has been handing out Citizen of the Year Awards for outstanding volunteers from both the Blyth and Brussels communities. However, as the newspaper’s coverage area has continued to grow, the editorial department has received an increased number of nominations and inquiries about honouring volunteers who don’t live in Blyth, Brussels or their immediate surrounding communities. To honour one of these individuals each year, North Huron Publishing has created a third Citizen of the Year Award to honour Huron County’s Citizen of the Year.

 

On the Citizen of the Year nomination form, which can be found in this issue of the newspaper, there will now be three boxes available to tick. If you’d like to put forward the name of an outstanding volunteer who lives outside of the Blyth or Brussels areas, this year it’s now a possibility.

 

The Citizen encourages residents and readers to nominate someone who has made a difference in the community and with this year going as it has, there are plenty of people who have stepped up and helped their neighbours and friends.

 

The annual Citizen of the Year Award winners are chosen from among reader nominations. Readers nominate residents who make a difference in their communities. Those nominations are then considered by a panel of past Citizen of the Year Award winners, who then choose the year’s winners.

 

North Huron Publishing Inc. and The Citizen are proud to present this award annually, celebrating volunteerism and community commitment in the Blyth and Brussels communities.

 

Past winners of the award in the Brussels area are: Cal Krauter, 1985; Wayne Lowe, 1986; Jack Bryans, 1987; Ida Evans, 1989; Bessie Johnston, 1990; Betty Graber, 1991; George Langlois, 1992; Howard Bernard, 1993; Joanne King, 1994; Frank Thompson, 1995; Audrey Cardiff, 1996; Leona Armstrong, 1997; Neil McGavin, 1998; Beth Earl, 1999; Lyle and Alice Brothers, 2000; Nelva and Spence Scott, 2001; Jo-Ann McDonald, 2002; Kathy Bridge, 2003; Jeff and Cathy Cardiff, 2004; Clara Blake, 2005; Phyllis Mitchell, 2006; Doug McArter, 2007; Nora Stephenson and Fran Bremner, 2008; Rene Richmond, 2009; Jim Prior, 2010; Cathrine Campbell, 2011; Jim and Lois Lee, 2012; Yvonne Knight, 2013; Dave Stephenson, 2014; Sandra Cable, 2015; Jean Davidson, 2016; Elaine Armstrong, 2017; Doug Sholdice, 2018; Mary Douma, 2019; Bob Kellington (posthumous), 2020; Zoellyn Onn in 2021, Margaret McInroy in 2022 and Roxane Nicholson in 2023.

 

Past winners of the award in the Blyth area are: Evalena Webster, 1985; Frank and Cenetta Bainton, 1986; Winona McDougall, 1987; Margaret Whyte, 1989; Simon Hallahan, 1990; Dr. Richard Street, 1991; Bill and Maxine Seers, 1992; Margaret Caldwell, 1993; Helen Gowing, 1994; Don Scrimgeour, 1995; John Stewart, 1996; Janet Amos, 1997; Betty Battye, 1998; Robb Finch, Dave Cook, Brent Scrimgeour and Doug Walker, 1999; Murray Siertsema, 2000; Charlie Shaw, 2001; Lavern Clark, 2002; Bev Blair and Thelma Johnston, 2003; Steven Sparling, 2004; Don “Barney” Stewart, 2005; Lois van Vliet, 2006; Janice Henry, 2007; Joe Hallahan, 2008; Brock and Janis Vodden, 2009; Jean Nethery, 2010; Kay Hesselwood, 2011; Steve Howson, 2012; Barbara Bosman, 2013; Marian Hallahan, 2014; Nellie Mason, 2015; Ernie Phillips, 2016; Ric McBurney, 2017; Carl Nesbitt, 2018; Jane Smyth, 2019; Annie Sparling, 2020; David Cartwright (posthumous) in 2021, Lissa Kolkman in 2022 and Joe Gahan and Meaghan Lee-Gahan in 2023.
Karen Webster was the first Huron County Citizen of the Year Award winner, honoured in 2022, followed by the late Wayne Clausius, who won last year.