Sudburians honoured at 5th annual Good Neighbour Awards

Outstanding citizens were honoured at the 5th annual Jamie West Good Neighbour Awards on Monday evening. Madison Marier reports.

Eleven citizens were celebrated as incredible individuals at the fifth annual Jamie West Sudbury Good Neighbours Awards Monday night.

The event, which recognized 13 outstanding citizens in total, saw winners accompanied by friends and family of all ages, who gathered to cheer on their fellow community members.

Celebration of community nominations

The awards are distinguished by their grassroots nature, focusing on neighbours nominating those who make a difference. Sudbury MPP Jamie West emphasized this community-driven spirit during the dinner ceremony.

“It was neighbors, nominating neighbors. So, it wasn’t a politician picking out people. It was the community recognizing people in their own community,” said West.

He further explained to CTV News that the awards are as much about the nominators as the nominees, serving as a profound morale boost for the entire community.

“There’s people who are nominating them who recognize how good they are and so, it just lifts our spirits. It’s such a great-- it’s rewarding for us as much as it is for the people who are winning,” West said.

The MPP said the process of reviewing submissions was an emotional one for him and his staff.

“We honestly have a little bit of an ugly cry at one point, because you’re just like, people are so nice,” he said.

Award winners driven by lived experience

Among the honourees was Nancy Gelinas, recognized for her work with at-risk, street-involved youth and adults. She accepted the award with a focus on raising awareness for the issue she tackles daily.

“I work to serve my community, and it’s an honour to be, to receive this nomination – (to have) received this award,” Gelinas said.

“But it’s for the community members that are sleeping outside that I’m here right now, and I’m trying to get awareness out for that because we have children sleeping outside, and I take that home with me.”

She told CTV News that her motivation is rooted in personal understanding, having recently experienced homelessness herself.

“I myself was homeless just two years ago. Had no key for my own door, so I understand that feeling. it didn’t happen because I was addicted to drugs. It didn’t happen because of the stigmatized way that people look at that happening. Just different circumstances could lead people there,” said Gelinas.

Another winner, Melissa MacMillian, was nominated by Cassandra Whymark after the two met for the ‘What Doctors Should Know Podcast’.

Whymark expressed her admiration for MacMillian’s work.

“I think everyone in Greater Sudbury needs to know who Melissa is. She does so much work for everyone who’s still actively in addiction and struggling, and I think she really touches very many people’s hearts and, just gives everyone hope that there is, you know, a chance to change,” Whymark said.

MacMillian, a survivor of addiction, abuse, and human trafficking, now runs a podcast to break stigma and offer hope. The recognition was a surreal moment for her.

“I never envisioned anything like this for myself. I was in active addiction for 20 years on the streets, unhoused, a survivor of human trafficking, domestic violence, and so all of this is just completely surreal,” said MacMillian.

Seek out the good

West concluded that the awards are a reflection of a caring community, often highlighting people who never sought recognition for their good deeds.

“The number of times where we reach out to the person, sometimes they don’t know they’ve been nominated, and they’ll say, like, ‘I didn’t do this for an award,’ and we’re like, ‘yeah, but just somebody wants to recognize your good work,’” said West.

He ended the event on a note of optimism, underscoring the importance of the ceremony.

“It is important to look for the good. It’s an important reminder of that. There are good people out there doing good stuff,” said West.

The dinner served as the primary recognition event for most individual award winners, though a few will receive private recognition due to availability. Outstanding Organizations will also be given awards for their service to the community in a separate presentation.