Deidre Wilson nominated as Ontario Jr. Citizen of the Year

By Ken Johnston
Editor

With more than 11 million people living in Ontario, to be one of 116 nominated as Junior Citizen of the Year is quite an honour.
Deidre Wilson, 16, of Rainy River is the first local person to be nominated as a Junior Citizen in the province of Ontario in about 20 years.
Wilson was nominated by Rainy River High School Teacher Laura Armistead who said, “It surprises me how mature and responsible Deidre is for such a young person. I have been teaching for 17 years and I can think of only one other student who has shown such promise.”
The 12 winners of the Jr. Citizen Award were announced on Friday and unfortunately Deidre was not one of them. However, the host of the competition, the Ontario Community Newspaper Association, has always said that everyone who is nominated should be respected and honoured.
Wilson was nominated in two categories:
•She is involved in worthwhile community service.
•She is a “good kid” who does more than is expected of someone at her age.
One of the most prominent contributions she has made is spearheading the Brick by Brick campaign at RRHS. During this campaign she and a committee of other students have not only raised awareness about the lack of educational facilities in Sierra Leone, but the also raised more than $13,000 to build a school there in less than two years.
That project also saw Deidre and company discover that while they were raising money for a school half-way around the world, that students on the Attawapiskat First Nation in Ontario were without a good school. This shocked the Brick by Brick committee that kids in Canada could be without a quality education. They immediately started to raise awareness through presentations, letter writing and petitions to the government to rectify the situation at Attawapiskat. “Their goal is to ensure all children in Canada receive equitable education programs,” said Armistead.
Other activities Wilson has been involved with include:
•2006-08 Peer Counsellor for Northwestern Youth Action Alliance
•2008 Member of Healthy Community Coalition
•2008 Volunteer for Smoke Free Ontario
•2008 School Board Student Trustee
•2004-08 Member of NWO Regional Advisory Committee for Eating Disorder Services
•2006-08 Member of Substance Abuse Prevention Team
•2008 Encounters Canada selected candidate
•2006-08 Librarian’s Assistant and Volunteer for RR Public Library
•2007-08 Emergency First Responder for RRHS and Riverview School
•2005-08 RRHS Student Council member and dance coordinator
•2002-08 Drama club member, dancer, actor in dramatic productions at RRHS and Pequana Playhouse
•2004-08 Church camp counsellor for two local churches
•2007 Leader at Young Women’s Conference
•2008-09 Spirit of Mandela Week coordinator at RRHS
Supporting nominators had this to say about Wilson:
Cheryl Morrison, Instructor for First Responders
“I feel that Deidre is an outstanding member of the community and excellent role model for younger individuals coming into jr. and sr. high school.”
Heidi Ivall, Health Educator with Northwestern Health Unit (RR)
“Her commitment, consistency, creativity and ability to get things done make her a valuable asset to all areas that she is involved in. Deidre is awesome to work with as she really owns ‘positive energy’”.
Georgina Jarvis, Guidance Counsellor, RRHS
“Deidre is a shining example of an exceptionally focused young woman who strives to be an exemplary citizen at the local, provincial and global levels. Deidre has demonstrated her passion as a global citizen by leading the Brick by Brick campaign at RRHS. Deidre has proven that even though she comes for a small community, she can make a difference at any volunteer level.”
On Friday Deidre was presented with a certificate signed by the president of the Ontario Community Newspaper Association certifying that she was nominated for the award. Congratulations Deidre and keep up the good work!