As Beth Hudson of the Aboriginal Sports Circle of the NWT noted, it's nice to have an awards ceremony to honour those who do work in the communities.
That's what the Sports Circle did on Nov. 15 in Yellowknife as it held its annual awards banquet. Six awards were handed out on the evening and Hudson, the Sports Circle's events manager, said all six were incredible recipients.
photo courtesy of Angela Gzowski
“We lucked out with some great people,” she said. “It's nice to be able to celebrate the work being done in the communities because there are so many celebrations out there. We want to give the communities a chance to be honoured because there's so much great work being done.”
Greg Villeneuve of Fort Resolution was named the Sport Award winner for his exploits in soccer. He's a veteran of Team NT, having played futsal at the 2018 Arctic Winter Games in Hay River and with the boys team at the 2017 North American Indigenous Games in Toronto.
In addition to his athletic prowess, Villeneuve is also a Junior Canadian Ranger with a second-place finish at a national air rifle competition in Labrador under his belt.
Jonathan Tsetso of Fort Simpson was presented with the Coach Award for his work with minor hockey in the community. He was named the winner for his commitment to the community and encouraging them to participate and practice on a regular basis.
The RCMP Award went to Cst. Chris Whynot of the Ulukhaktok detachment. Whynot has been involved in several sports in the NWT but perhaps the biggest contribution he made was in snowshoe biathlon. He started coaching the sport in the community and two of his athletes – Kyran Alikamik and Jacob Klengenberg – both hit the podium at the 2018 Arctic Winter Games.
Jackie Whelly of Fort Simpson won the Community Builder Award for her work in helping with several initiatives in the village, including the Sober Steve/Sober Sally Program to promote sober activities for youth, and Lights On, which gives youth a safe place on evenings and weekends.
Hudson said Whelly winning the award was one of the highlights for her.
“I've known her for five years and I've worked with her in the past,” she said. “She is the epitome of hard work and is similar to me in that she likes to try new things. I was so excited when I saw her name put forward because she's so well-known for the work she does.”
Caroline Bonnetrouge of Fort Providence is this year's Culture Award recipient for her work in language revitalization and on-the-land teaching.
Hudson, who lived in Fort Providence before moving to Yellowknife, knows Bonnetrouge well and said there couldn't have been a better winner.
“She is so pivotal to the community,” she said. “She does so much work to help revitalize the Dene Zhati language and all of the work she does on the land will make the kids in the community better for it.”
The NWT Teachers Association Award went to Kelly Webster of Hay River, who's been organizing and co-ordinating sports tournaments in the community for many years. She's been the face behind the Elks Outdoor Soccer Tournament, the first big school sports tournament of the season, and has helped with the Scott McAdam Badminton Tournament.