Youth excellence celebrated at Achievement Awards

The YourTV Youth Achievement Awards 2024, supported by the Optimist Club of Cornwall, celebrated the outstanding talents and contributions of 24 young people from all four local school boards on June 12 at the Cornwall Civic Complex. For the past decade, this event has honored the achievements of young people in the community.

Terry Muir, past president of the Optimist Club of Cornwall, expressed his admiration for the event, saying: “This is my favorite event because we get a read of what young people are doing in our community. I’m terrified. They are doing amazing things, giving us so much hope for the future.” Muir also emphasized the positive vibe, saying, “We see the energy in the room where people are happy for each other. We see young people coming, not expecting a prize.”

Gabriel Riviere-Reid, Producer of YourTV Cornwall, shared similar sentiments, noting: “This is one of our favorite events of the year. We hear the amazing things these young people are doing in our community and we need to remember that the future is in very good hands. Sometimes it’s easy to get a little discouraged about the state of the world, but when you hear about what these kids are doing and what we can celebrate tonight, we know the future is in very good hands. We are proud to be a part of celebrating these amazing young people.”

Bill Halman, Assistant CEO of The Happy Popcorn Co. and event presenter, added: “This is the fourth year I’ve been able to host this event and every year I’m blown away by the young people in the audience winning these awards or being finalists. When I say amazed, I am truly amazed at how much these kids are doing. I am so excited about the future of Cornwall.”

In the “At My Best” category, winners included Heavenly Derouchie of St. Peter Catholic School (grades 4-6), Lily RoseKilbride from Our Lady Of Good Counsel (grades 7-8), Lucas Boty Bi from L’Héritage (grades 7-8). 9-10), and Holy Trinity’s Darryn Murray Wylie (grades 11-12). Finalists included Brandi Leduc, Nevaeh Tremblay, Heidi Baumann and Simon Gibeault.

For the Giving Back category, Rhys MacDonald of Viscount Alexander Public School (grades 4-6), Kaylee Lascelle of St. Andrew’s Catholic School (grades 7-8), Sevanna Duplante from St. Joseph’s Catholic Secondary School (grades 9-8). 10), and Sabrina Midou from L’Héritage (grades 11-12) took top honors. While John Bonneville, Misha Bunten, Abdussalam Elkurbo and Kalem Payment were the finalists.

Finally, in the “Kindness is Cool” category, the winners were Shamus Sauvé of Sacred Heart Catholic School (grades 4-6), Travis Fortier of St. Matthews Catholic Secondary School (grades 7-8), Devin Anderson from Holy Trinity Catholic Secondary School (grades 9-10) and Valeria Bishop Gomez from St. Joseph’s Catholic Secondary School (grades 11-12). The finalists in this category were Sophia Tassakos, Riya Alagusamy, Brock Huskinson and Demi Sobanjo.

Additionally, there were video messages from MP Eric Duncan, MP Nolan Quinn, Cornwall Mayor Justin Towndale and various school board administrators celebrating these youth achievements. The 2024 Youth Achievement Awards showcased the inspiring achievements of Cornwall’s young people, leaving the community optimistic and excited for the future.