LAC LA BICHE - For Caleb Theroux, being named as the 2024 Junior Citizen of the Year came as a surprise, a very pleasant one.
Theroux, a Grade 12 student at JA Williams (JAWS) High School in Lac La Biche, learned roughly an hour before the Light Up the Night Santa Parade – an annual community festive event that took place on Friday, Dec. 6 this year – that he had been chosen for the award.
Each year, one deserving youth from the Lac La Biche area who volunteers in the community is selected from a list of nominations to be the Junior Citizen of the Year. The award is held in conjunction with the Light Up the Night Santa Parade and the tree lighting that follows.
“I was not expecting this,” Theroux told Lakeland This Week.
The Lac La Biche youth is actively involved in various volunteering pursuits in the community. Theroux is part of the Interact club at JAWS, whose members participate in food drives during Halloween and just before the start of the holiday season through the annual ‘Cruisin’ for Christmas’ event at Britton’s Your Independent. This year’s Cruisin’ event takes place on December 19. From 12-7 p.m.
Theroux is also involved with the Community Helpers program and goes on to area seniors’ homes to visit with residents.
If these volunteer activities weren’t enough to occupy his time, the high school senior-who has plans to attend NAIT this fall to pusue a forestry-related career, helps Lac La Biche County FCSS with events that are put on for area young and children.
“I’m just very happy that I have the opportunity to be in the groups that I’m able to volunteer with and I’m very proud of all the work we do with all the volunteers I work with as well,” he said.
Theroux made his presence known to the crowds who lined both sides of Main Street (101 Ave.) in Lac La Biche for the recent holiday parade. He stood next to Jolly Old Saint Nicholas himself in a float resembling a rustic log cabin that had been donated by hte local Trappers’ Association and decorated for the special occasion.
At the end of the parade in the new McArthur Park where people gathered to watch the lighting of the Christmas tree, Heather Stromquist, Lac La Biche County’s manager of economic development and tourism, introduced Theroux as the newest citizen of the year. With a bit of help from Santa, the local youth lit up the large tree.
Helping others
He also received his official junior citizen award from Lac La Biche County councillor Charlyn Moore. Speaking to Lakeland This Week, Theroux, through a grin, said he appreciated the award and encouraged other youth to take an active role in ther community.
“It feels very good…I’m very honoured to be presented with this award,” Theroux said as he stood in the light of the Christmas tree.
Having the Junior Citizen of the Year award each year, Theroux continued, allows youth to strive for something greater than themselves and allows more volunteers to get out into the community.
While some local youth gladly volunteer their time and talents to help out in the community, Theroux would like to see more doing so.
There is a certain stigma surrounding volunteering, he went on, and many youths don’t see it as fun. Getting out to events, meeting others, spending having the opportunity to spend time with friends, Theroux says, are the aspects of volunteering that he enjoys the most.
“If you get out there and you go to certain events, you’ll find that you meet a lot of people and a lot of different stories that are very interesting,” he said.
