Local Youth Awards Results
More than 100 people from Kawartha Lakes gathered to celebrate youth at the 6th annual Kawartha Lakes Youth Awards, where they learned about the wide-ranging accomplishments and volunteer commitments of almost 30 young people.
“Speaking on behalf of our 20 judges, we’re always impressed by the quality of the nominees, and their stories of perseverance, community commitment and dedication to their pursuits, no matter what those are,” says Amy Terrill, Executive Director. “From 37 nominees, our judges were able to narrow down the field to 27 finalists and ultimately, 17 amazing winners. Thank you to all of those who took the time to shine the spotlight on one of these youth.”
The youth awards celebrate young people ages 12 – 24 for their achievements in eight categories. The returning categories from previous years were: Arts Achievement, BGC Club Spirit (which requires previous or current BGC Kawarthas involvement), Humanitarian, Leadership and Resiliency, with the Physical Literacy category’s name changed to Health & Wellness Champion. Two new categories were Outstanding Worker and S.T.E.M.
The event also bestows the Ron Kennedy Scholarship and the Marcie Beall Scholarship. Ron Kennedy was the founder of Kawartha Youth Inc. which eventually became BGC Kawarthas and Marcie Beall was a former employee of ours.
For the first year, two young performers were invited to entertain. Brothers Caden and Cavan Mabee have a variety of experience with instruments, musical composition, and performing arts. The brothers also won the Arts Achievement award in the 12-17 age category.
One of the guest speakers was Titobi Oriola, a youth who attends BGC East Scarborough and was selected by BGC Canada for the title of Youth of the Year in 2024. “When you choose to be your best self – not a perfect self, but your most honest, most dedicated, most intentional self – you give others permission to do the same,” said Oriola.
Here are the winners in all categories:
Arts Achievement
12-17: Caden & Cavan Mabee (joint nomination)
18-24: John Bolk
Outstanding Worker
12-17: Eden Carter, William Latour
18-24: Bailey Bourque
Humanitarian
12-17: Avalon Loube
S.T.E.M.
12-17: Julian Junkin
Leadership
12-17: Fenelon Falls Youth Council; Avalon Loube, Sofia Entzin-Telford, Ella Austin Scollick and Cooper Young
Resiliency
12-17: Ryan Fraser
Health & Wellness Champion
12-17: Sean Hayman, Karina Treiguts
BGC Club Spirit
12-17: Alexa Shvedenkova
18-24: Riley Cunningham
The additional finalists were Jaslyn Jolicoeur, Harleigh Koetstra, Ellia Purdue, Josh Bailey, Montana Beaumont, Raelynn Goobie, Madyson Macsween, Jackson Wells, Desiree Fleetwood and Wynn Van Kooten.
With the support of the following sponsors, the event raised money to support youth programs at BGC Kawarthas:
Lead Sponsors: Polito Ford Lincoln, Kawartha Lakes Honda, and Y91.9, Lindsay’s Bounce Radio.
Speaker Sponsor: Launch Kawartha
Award Sponsors: Kei-Lin Roofing, Kawartha Lakes Jump In, Wood-Mizer, Fleming College, Greg Evans Professional Corporation, Ampere and Rogers
Food Sponsor: Kawartha Credit Union