Sponsored by the Battlefords News-Optimist, Discovery Co-op and the North Battleford Lions Club, the 2017 Citizen of the Year and Junior Citizen of the Year award winner are now officially announced. Honoured this year are Cathy Richardson, Citizen of the Year, and Emily Simon, Junior Citizen of the Year.
Some high school students complain about having to perform community service hours. Emily Simon said she doesn’t think about having to obtain her hours because activities she does with friends are often community service anyway.
“It’s part of who I am, I guess,” Simon said, laughing.
Emily Simon, who is 16 and in Grade 11, is this year’s Junior Citizen of the Year. She was nominated by the principal of John Paul II Collegiate Carlo Hansen, along with personal counsellor Melissa Fuhr, and the entire JPII Staff.
Simon said she was called to the office one day a couple weeks ago between fifth and sixth period, and was informed over the phone that she won the distinction. But she wasn’t allowed to tell anyone.
“I walk in [to class] late which is not me, and my psych teacher bugs me about it. I sit down, and Janelle my friend looks at me and she’s like ‘Why are you late?’ ‘I can’t say,’” Simon said.
“I was very baffled by it, but it was a good feeling.”
According to the Junior Citizen of the Year nomination by JPII staff, “Emily’s efforts come with an energy and positivity that is infectious to everyone around her.”
In school, Simon has qualified for JPII’s honour roll every year and currently acts as activity co-ordinator for the school’s Student Representative Council, and as co-president of the school’s SADD chapter.
In the community, Simon has volunteered at The Lighthouse Serving the Battlefords, worked with kids at Bible camp, and is very involved in St. Vital Parish, having performed a number of roles not limited to altar server and volunteer coordinator. In addition to singing in choir and performing drama, Simon has also been involved with Skate Battlefords since she first ventured on to the ice, and is taking the necessary steps to become a coach.
This summer, Simon also began a yard care business, Kids Helping Kids, which was inspired by a mission trip to Ecuador. With the help of her father, Emily co-ordinated nine different students and raised $4,000. Proceeds were split between the Education Pillar in Ecuador and Kidsport Saskatchewan.
The JPII nomination also mentions Simon’s efforts that extend beyond Canada’s borders; as part of the Me to We program, Simon went to Ecuador to help build schools, and is in the process of raising funds to travel to Africa with the Community Mission Team in 2019. Simon continues with Me to We, after winning the Governor General Caring Canadian Award at a Me to We event in Saskatoon while she was in elementary school.
The spirit of giving isn’t new to Simon. She said her parents, who work at Battlefords Union Hospital, hosted a staff party around Emily’s fifth birthday, and asked Emily what she wanted for her birthday. She said she didn’t want presents, but wanted instead for everyone to give to the food bank, which many people did.
Simon said a motivating factor for all her volunteer work and extra-curricular activity is, to some extent, to have options later on.
After travelling to Kenya for more volunteer work, and to Ireland as an excursion, Simon plans to go to university, although she hasn’t decided yet where exactly, or for what. Some possibilities are the University of Saskatchewan, the University of Alberta, or a postsecondary institution out east, and possibly for education or health sciences.
Whatever path she takes, returning to the Battlefords, Simon said, has always been her plan, even though some people she knows are determined to leave. She said she’d also like to teach again at her skating club once she has a career.
Referring to the Battlefords, Simon, who’s an avid skier, said, “It’s 20 minutes to the ski hill and one hour to the city, four hours to the big city, and nine hours to the mountains.”
“I don’t see anything wrong with this town,” Simon said, laughing. “I really like it.”
