Henry Drenth of the Rotary Club presenting a plaque to Alex Hebert, 11th grade at Northern Secondary School, recognizing him for his selfless work. Hebert raised nearly $18 000 for the Terry Fox Foundation, has been involved with treaty education awareness, and goes above and beyond to help others. His teachers describe him as “generous, kind, and respectful” and that he “goes out of his way to help others.” 
Zoé Bigras, grade 10 at ESPNO, showing off her plaque recognizing her community service. Bigras has already accumulated over 200 hours of community service since starting high school, including tutoring young children, participating in the school’s spirit committee, organizing school activities, fundraising for the school and local food banks, volunteering for various community events such as the Parade of Lights and the lighting of the community Christmas tree, and helping seniors learn new technology. 
Alexie Bélanger, 11th grade at Franco-Cité, posing alongside teacher Martin Poitras (left) and school principal René Dubuc (right) while proudly displaying the certificate, cheque and plaque she earned from the Rotary Club Great Student Awards. Her teachers describe Bélanger as “a remarkable student who has the biggest heart.” They also talk about many initiatives and projects which she has been involved in: bake sale for a Ukranian teen, Thanksgiving food drive, her school’s Orange Shirt Day, designing Christmas cards for Au Château residents, fundraising to buy Easter bunnies for children at the Family Resource Center, clothing drive for kids in need, and much more.
Christian Gammon-Roy
Tribune
Three local students were recognized for their exceptional level of community service on February 13th. The Rotary Club of North Bay presented a Great Student Award to one student from each of the local high schools who, according to their teachers, exemplified Rotary International’s motto of “Service Above Self.”
Alex Hebert, grade 11 at Northern Secondary School, Zoé Bigras, grade 10 at École secondaire publique Nipissing Ouest and Alexie Bélanger, grade 11 at École secondaire Franco-Cité, were each awarded a certificate along with a $100 cheque from the Rotary Club. Each school is also provided a plaque with the name of their student on it, to display publicly.
“We’ve been doing it for quite a while with 5 schools, but this year we expanded it to 12, so that included the schools in Sturgeon Falls,” describes Henry Drenth, from the Rotary Club of North Bay. Drenth has been organizing these awards on behalf of the Club for 24 years. “I send a letter to the schools in September, and I ask to look for a student that best represents the Rotary motto of ‘Service Above Self’. It doesn’t have to be a brainy kid or an athletic kid, it just has to be a nice kid, a nice student, one that helps others,” he explains.
