Central Huron Creates Program to Recognize the Value of Young People in Their Community

by Bob Montgomery

Central Huron has launched a new program to recognize the value of young people in their community.

Mayor Jim Ginn says young people often don't get the credit they deserve for the contributions they make to their community and that makes it much easier for them to leave their home community after they graduate from high school, either for post-secondary school education or to find a job. Ginn says the goal is to give them a reason to come back and work in their home community once they've completed their post-secondary school education and they're much more likely to come back home if they've felt valued at home.

Ginn also points out students do have a lot to offer and some of the things they do are part of getting their forty hours of volunteer work in, but a lot of what they do goes beyond that. “We've had student bands at the Mayor's Mingle, the Hospitality Class prepared a meal for us when we were entertaining the OLG reps, the back street alley art work was their project, they did a lot of work on the park across from the town hall when it was being built, so they contribute a lot to the municipality.”

Ginn says they've already chosen their working group. Councilor Jennifer Cox will represent council, Clerk Rachel Anstett will be the staff representative and former school principal Gary Jewitt will be the public representative on the working group. The next step is developing their terms of reference for the Outstanding Youth Award.