Every year the Municipality of North Grenville recognizes and honours the achievements and contributions of community members through the Civic Awards program. These awards express the Municipality’s appreciation for the many individuals and groups who are helping to create a community where people feel a sense of belonging and responsibility to each other and who are active participants in its development. The Civic Awards program is overseen by Council.
Any youth, adult or senior in the Municipality of North Grenville who willingly volunteers their time to benefit others is eligible for an award provided that they live in, operate a business in or volunteer within the boundaries of the Municipality.
Please note that the Civic Awards do not recognize individuals for personal successes or professional achievements. As well, nominations by immediate family members, self-nominations, and posthumous nominations will not be accepted.
Civic Awards may be awarded to one volunteer in each of the designated age groups for each of the award categories.
Age Groups
- Youth (25 years and younger)
- Adult (26 to 55 years)
- Senior (56 years and older)
- Group award in the following listed categories:
Award Categories
- Outstanding Municipal Leadership *NEW*
(in honour of the 25th Anniversary of North Grenville Amalgamation)
Individuals who have made a remarkable impact on the evolution of our municipality in a paid, elected, or volunteer capacity. - Arts and Culture
Volunteer efforts in culture, visual, performing or literary arts. - Agricultural Leadership
Volunteers who have championed community-driven agricultural initiatives within North Grenville. - Exemplary Work in the Community
Volunteers or groups of volunteers who have made outstanding, long-term volunteer contributions in our community. - Environment
Volunteer efforts that relate to the protection, preservation, beautification, awareness and/or promotion of our local environment. - Health and Wellness
Volunteer efforts promoting healthy lifestyles, personal well-being, health and wellness. - Heritage
Volunteer efforts respecting research, interpretation of local heritage, heritage preservation or architectural conservation. - Recreation, Sport & Leisure
Volunteer efforts in the promotion, organization, sponsorship or motivation of sports, recreation and leisure pursuits for healthy and active living. - Seniors
For volunteer efforts whose actions, commitment, service and community spirit has made a difference in the lives of seniors residing in our community. - Youth
For volunteer efforts whose actions, commitment, service and community spirit has made a difference in the lives of youths residing in our community.
A Civic Awards Package and Nomination Form (paper copy) is available at the North Grenville Municipal Centre Reception Desk during regular office hours, and at the Public Libraries (1 Water St., Kemptville or 1 Grenville St., Burritts Rapids) OR you can fill out the nomination form online.
If you're the pen-on-paper kind of person, download Civic Awards Package and Nomination Form to print here.
Nominators should include enough information to give the Civic Awards Advisory Committee a general overview of the nominee's character (or group name and particulars) and the impact of his/her or group volunteer service. Each nomination form must include a short summary.
Please provide the following information (no more than two pages) relating to the nominee's contribution or accomplishments:
- A brief summary describing why you are nominating this individual or group.
- Outline the activities and accomplishments of the volunteer or group.
- Provide examples of the impact the volunteer service has made in the community or to the quality of someone’s life.
- Describe how the volunteerism demonstrates the spirit of volunteering, giving back to community and how it has contributed to building a stronger community.
Please do not send any additional documentation such as certificates, photographs and/or testimonials; they will not be forwarded to Council.
All nomination forms and supporting material become the property of the Municipality of North Grenville upon submission and will not be returned.
Note: Nominators should retain a copy of their submission for reference.
Deadline for nominations has been extended to 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 26, 2023.
In Person:
Forms may be dropped off at the North Grenville Municipal Centre Reception Desk.
By Mail:
Municipality of North Grenville
PO Box 130
285 County Road 44
Kemptville ON K0G 1J0
By E-mail:
Personal information contained on the attached form(s) is collected under authority of the Municipal Act RSO 1990, c.M.45, s.207 (45). Information collected will only be used to evaluate nominees and notify recipients of the Municipality of North Grenville Civic Awards Program.
For further information, please contact: Jill Sturdy, Municipality of North Grenville, P.O. Box 130, 285 County Rd 44, Kemptville, ON, K0G 1J0, telephone: (613) 258-9569 ext. 168 or e-mail:
The 2021 Civic Awards ceremony occured at the February 9, 2022 Virtual Council Meeting.
Agricultural Leadership (Senior, 56 years and older) (New category): Joyce Seguin
As 4-H volunteer and leader for over 35-years, Joyce Seguin has selfishly opened her home, farm, and life to teach agricultural principles to multiple generations of children. Joyce is a true pillar of family and agricultural strength.
Her passion and daily work inspire all that know her that anything can be accomplished. Promoting farm to fork before the term was popular, a long-time 4-H leader and long-time Kemptville Hospital volunteer, Joyce has contributed to the long-term stability of our Municipality with her quiet leadership.
Arts and Culture (Senior, 56 years and older): Herb Cloutier
Herb Cloutier has spent the last 10 years actively volunteering and championing the arts and culture in this community. Having fostered relationships with the BIA, Kemptville District Community Association, Kemptville Live, and the North Grenville Community Foundation to name a few, Herb has been involved in a wide variety of community events including, the Santa Clause Parade, Downtown Promenades, Canada Day, and our increasingly famous Kemptville Creek Community Skateway! Herb ensures our local arts community have a voice in any event he is involved with.
Environment (Group): Sustainable North Grenville
Sustainable North Grenville was created to help raise awareness about sustainability issues in North Grenville. Its mission is to foster a resilient community that meets the social, cultural and economic needs of its residents now and for the future, while preserving the environment’s ability to support it. Sustainable North Grenville provides the community with resources and information on how we can become a more sustainable community, even through small changes in our daily lives.
Exemplary Work in the Community (Youth, 25 years and younger): Eliza Batchelor
Eliza is the founder of the Hidden World Project, an initiative to educate our community and spread awareness about human trafficking and how to recognize the tactics used to ‘lure’ vulnerable individuals into becoming victims. The statistics Eliza has shared on human trafficking are alarming and hit home even here in North Grenville. Eliza has started a crucial conversation and is making an impact.
Exemplary Work in the Community (Adult, 26 – 55 years): Diana Fisher
As a regular columnist for the Kemptville Advance, and former radio personality at Juice FM/Moose FM, Diana Fisher is well-known in the community and has always used her public platforms and social media presence to expand her volunteer efforts and raise awareness of local issues impacting the North Grenville community.
Volunteering regularly with Salvation Army and supporting initiatives such as the Kettlebell campaign, volunteering as emcee for events such as the Kemptville District Hospital Auxiliary Hey Day fundraiser, and the North Grenville Sports Hall of Fame, volunteering at KemptvilleLive Music Festival, and the Kemptville Youth Centre Book Fair, Diana is a familiar face for many in the community.
Exemplary Work in the Community (Senior, Age 56 and older): Neil Whyte
Neil Whyte has made a tremendous volunteer contribution to the North Grenville community with active roles on the Oxford Mills Community Association and the Heritage Committee - in addition to the various events and festivals and other charitable projects. His dedication to heritage, arts and culture through his volunteer efforts, from staging, lighting and engineering for community events including Canada Day, community picnics and the extensive lighting of Maplewood Park at Christmas.
Neil always steers a group back to the core values of our community by highlighting the importance of supporting local businesses, charities, individuals and by reminding everyone that volunteerism is about community support, human kindness, and heartfelt generosity.
Exemplary Work in the community (Group): Kemptville Pride (Holly Brown, Founder and 2021 Board
In 2019, Holly Brown served as a major catalyst in organizing North Grenville’s first Pride Parade - which was a very positive, family friendly and fun event. Through a lot of energy, dedication, and collaboration with many other volunteers, this success led to the formal establishment of Kemptville Pride. As one of the early founders, Ms. Brown’s efforts were instrumental in creating space and momentum for others to come forward.
The priority of Kemptville Pride is to support and provide education, promotion, networking opportunities and outreach in support of the LGBTQ2 community and its supporters. Kemptville Pride, under the guidance of a committed and passionate Board of Directors, has grown into an incorporated non-profit, that has solidified funding that will enable them to build a solid foundation and structure so that they can continue their work well beyond having a parade every June. Kemptville Pride recently began the Safe Place Program which allows residents, businesses and organizations to assist victims of hate-motivated crimes and incidents by providing secure locations for victims to report a crime and get assistance, along with the various other events and initiatives over the past few years.
Health and Wellness (Adult, 26 to 55 years): Rebecca Cronk and OmShanti Melanie Charlebois (Joint Award)
During the COVID-19 lockdowns, Rebecca Cronk offered the community virtual live training sessions via zoom or on Facebook Live, in addition to several shorter videos and weekend challenges for participants of all ages and fitness levels. These classes were all free and designed so that no gym equipment was required. Rebecca also volunteers as the strength and conditioning coach for our very own Kemptville 73s. Despite the impacts to her business due to the COVID restrictions, Rebecca has continued to remain positive, lead by example and find ways to give back to the community.
The Co-Recipient in this category was OmShanti, also known as Melanie Charlebois. OmShanti has been a pillar in the health and wellness industry in North Grenville for many years, and most recently by bringing awareness to the wellness aspects of yoga in North Grenville through the inaugural Surya Yoga Festival held on Kemptville Campus last year.
Health and Wellness (Group): ParticipACTION Working group (Municipal Health Wellness & Fitness Advisory Sub-Committee)
Debbie Allingham, Nick Charman, Tanya Deans, Stacey Dickson, Rick Gerein, Darryl Kielec, Robert Matheson, Phil Mosher
In April of 2021, members of the Health, Fitness and Wellness group made the bold decision to participate in ParticipACTION’S Most Active Community Award - for the first time in North Grenville’s history.A subcommittee was formed to plan, strategize, and promote our formal entry into the contest, which was a way to highlight the value of active living.
This Committee, alongside North Grenville’s municipal communications team, local media (particularly the NG Times), teachers from various schools, fitness studios, childcare centres, clubs and businesses, rallied, put up signs, walked, ran, worked out, held dance parties (way to go Madisson Montessori!), marathon events (thank you Tennis Club!) and much more. Together, we helped cajole kids to do phys-ed classes online, got them out of the house after months of online learning, held neighbourhood or friends & family contests on the Participation app – all so that we could track our steps, movement and activities.
All of this effort (and a lot of sweat!) ultimately lead to North Grenville being crowned Canada’s most active community!
Heritage (Group): Burritt’s Rapids Community Association
The Burritt’s Rapids Community Association is governed by a volunteer Board of Trustees who are elected from the community to manage the Burritt’s Rapids Community Hall and act as a voice for the hamlet of Burritt’s Rapids. The Hall was built in 1855 by John French and operated as a general store. In 1935, Casey Swedlove sold the hall and its property to the community and since then it has been run as a non-profit facility. In 1984, the hall was designated under the Ontario Heritage Act as being of architectural and historical value. The dedicated work and strong advocacy of the Association is instrumental to supporting Heritage in the Burritt’s Rapids Community.
Recreation Sport and Leisure (Adult, 26 to 55 years): Mark Robinson
Mark Robinson is a lifelong resident of Bishop’s Mills, and his house faces the Bishop’s Mills Community Park where Mark played as a child: T-ball and softball in the summer and skating on the rink in the winter. His father, Mervin Robinson, used to help flood the rink when Mark was growing up. Mark has taken over the reins from his father and looks after the Bishop’s Mills Outdoor Rink - often staying up late on cold nights to lay down an extra layer of ice, or to shovel the snow off the rink so kids can play.
Mark’s volunteer service has made a huge impact on the Bishop’s Mills community. Mark has been a strong advocate for the park in Bishop’s Mills and worked tirelessly with the Municipality to improve the area for the ice rink. Mark’s work has contributed to giving the community the opportunity to be more active. It has become a destination for visitors from afar, keeping Bishop’s Mills on the map, and perhaps being an inspiration for other communities to create rinks of their own.
Recreation Sport and Leisure (Senior, 56 and over): Sarah Herring
Sarah Herring has generously volunteered her time over many years in support of the Ferguson Forest Centre Corporation and the Friends of the Ferguson Forest Centre, acting as a champion for active trails and preservation. More recently, she has worked tirelessly to bring to fruition the Kemptville Winter Trails project, creating cross-country ski trails in Ferguson Forest Centre for the first time in North Grenville for all to enjoy, and by fundraising for the purchase of a trail grooming machine.
Youth (Group): The Oxford Mills Sisterhood of Guides
The Oxford Mills Sisterhood of Guiding has been a successful youth group in the community for a number of years now. The leaders work tirelessly without much recognition, providing a safe, inclusive and challenging program for youth members.
The group has accomplished so many amazing things each year such as participating in the Earth Day Garbage Cleanup Challenge, Snowarama Breakfast to raise money for Easter Seals, Oxford Mills Tree Lighting and Carol Singing, Operation Christmas Child, various Food Drives, and many more initiatives.
Civic Awards Ceremony and Reception - June 8, 2023
Council will be hosting the 2022 Civic Awards ceremony and reception on Thursday, June 8, 6:30 – 8:30 pm at the North Grenville Municipal Centre. Civic Award recipients, family, friends, colleagues and members of the public are all invited and encouraged to attend. Light refreshments will be served.
The 2022 Civic Awards were awarded to the following individuals and organizations:
Arts and Culture (Senior, 56 years and older): Karyne Besso
Arts and Culture (Group): Bubba and Bugs - Scott Godwin and Luc Vincent
Environment (Youth): Phoenix Shaw
Exemplary Work in the Community (Youth, 25 years and younger): Amanda Leang
Exemplary Work in the Community (Adult, 26 to 55 years): Mary-Anne Leang
Exemplary Work in the Community (Senior, Age 56 and older): Anna Van Adrichem-Rochon
Health and Wellness (Group): Peacock Family
Heritage (Senior): Kenneth Mews
Recreation Sport and Leisure (Adult, 26 to 55 years): Bo Lapointe
Youth (Group): North Grenville Rainbow Youth Alliance
Youth (Adult): Jennifer Mitchell
Seniors (Group): Seniors’ Community Services Transportation Volunteers
