Three Huntsville youth who exhibit outstanding, worthwhile community services have been nominated for Ontario Junior Citizen of the Year awards.

Seventeen-year-old Jacob Austin-Edsall, 17-year-old Morar Ogston and eight-year-old Carson McIlmoyle are the nominees for this year’s award.

Open to youth between the ages of six and 17, individuals who are nominated for the award contribute to the communities on a consistent basis. Nominees have either performed an act of heroism, are living with limitations, or are ‘good kids’ who are making life betters for others and doing more than what is expected of someone their age.

Morar Ogston has always been a busy teenage girl and has been nominated in the categories of being involved in a worthwhile community service and being a ‘good kid’ who does more than what is expected of someone her age.  

Playing co-ed school sports like volleyball, basketball and soccer, in Grade 10, she became a member of the Student Athletic Association (SAA). Restarting intramural sports at lunchtime in the Huntsville High School gym, Morar spent every lunch hour supervising games as well as organizing the schedules and generating interest.

Currently the president of the SAA, Morar started working in August to organize the sportswear and helped co-ordinate a fashion show at the beginning of the school year.

After attending a Rotary-sponsored youth camp, she started an Interact Club at the high school. She got permission from the principal, talked to local Rotary club members to get a sponsor and even found a teacher to supervise the group. With enough interest from students, the high school Interact Club was founded and is involved with organizing two community projects a year ¬– one locally and one internationally.

“Morar is just one of those kids who likes to help out and do what she can,” Cheryl Ogston wrote in the nomination form. “She has a very positive attitude. I’ve always known that she is a great kid and at parent/teacher interviews when I announce that I am Morar’s mom, the teacher usually acquires a huge grin and launches into telling me what a great kid she is.”

Huntsville Rotary Club member Barbara White also had many good things to say about Morar, including that her leadership in establishing the Interact Club was impressive and that she “exemplifies the spirit of Rotary ‘service of self’ in all she does.”

When asked what drives her to volunteer her time to organizing the activities that she does, Morar replied, “I just like to do it. I guess it does make me feel good in the end. I’ve been volunteering for a long time.”

Nominated in the category of performing an act of heroism, Carson McIlmoyle is not a typical eight-year-old boy. This past summer, he saved his friend’s life while swimming at Kirby Beach in Bracebridge.

In a letter to sergeant Pat Godfrey of the Bracebridge OPP, Carson’s mother, Lisa, wrote that upon arriving at the beach, the children were eager to go swimming and her friend, Karen, accompanied the children into the water. Carson’s friend, Dylan, was chasing some of the older boys, including his brother, into the water until he could no longer touch bottom.

“Carson realized that Dylan was in water that was too deep and that Dylan was unable to touch bottom, swim or keep his head above water,” Lisa wrote. “By the time my friend was alerted by another child in the group, Carson was holding Dylan above the water while he struggled to keep his own head tilted back and his nose and mouth above water.”

An eager participant of the annual Terry Fox Run, Carson takes it upon himself to collect pledges and has either run, walked or biked while taking part in the event for the last four years in a row. He helps promote Earth Week by participating in events within the community and has assisted in local park beautification projects with the Parents for Playgrounds group.

Being a natural leader with an outgoing personality and a sense of humour has made people gravitate toward Carson. He enjoys golfing, skiing, playing hockey, swimming and recently learned to waterski.

“He was my friend and I saw at what was happening and went underwater to save him,” said Carson in regard to saving his friend’s life.

Jacob Austin-Edsall has been nominated in the category of being involved in a worthwhile community service and for being a ‘good kid’ who does more than is expected of someone that age.

Taking it upon himself to take his brother to school and pick him up, Jacob is described by his mother as “a real good kid, polite, honest, tries to help.”

For four year, he has helped with the Faith Baptist Church Youth Club teaching basketball and helping with tournaments. Jacob has been a Big Brother for over a year and spent two years volunteering at Blaze Summer Camp through Faith Baptist. He was also enrolled in the Peer Helping program, in which he helped his peers during gym classes.

Volunteering at Huntsville Public School (HPS) to help students with various physical activities provided him the opportunity to do a two-credit co-op placement at the school. The time he spends with the young children has helped him make the decision to be a teacher.

Jacob was named Student of the Month in 2000 and received the most improved student award, and in 2004 he was the recipient of HPS’s Athletic Involvement Award. In 2005, he received the junior Most Valuable Player award for basketball, earned a bronze medallion in 2003 for swimming and was named the junior Male Athlete of the Year for 2005/06.

“I just do it,” Jacob said of investing his time in volunteering. “People ask me if they can get some help, I say, ‘Yeah,’ and go and do it.”

Within the first two months of Grade 9, Jacob had already worked his 40 hours of required community service, which is mandatory to be completed by Grade 12. Every year he helps with the town’s environmental cleanup, participates in the Terry Fox Run and in 2004 he received the Super Citizen Award for his excellent citizenship.

“Within all his daily activities, Jacob always puts his family first,” Donna Atkins wrote in a letter supporting his nomination. “Looking after their welfare and putting a positive outlook on most situations reveals a character and maturity level well beyond his years.”

According to the Ontario Community Newspapers Association’s (OCNA) website, the Ontario Junior Citizen of the Year Awards program has recognized the best of Ontario’s youth since 1981. Co-ordinated by the OCNA, with the support of over 300 of its member newspapers and sponsors, the junior citizen program is also supported by the Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. A committee of community newspaper publishers and editors will select the award recipients from all nominations received. Up to 12 individuals and one group will be recipients of an award. Recipients and their families will be invited to attend an awards ceremony this spring.