On Thursday last week the 13^th annual Oak Bay Young Exceptional Star (Y.E.S) awards ceremony was held at the Oak  Bay Beach Hotel.  Ten exceptionally talented youth in grades 6 to 10 were honoured for their achievements.

As noted by the YES Awards Committee, Chaired by Hazel Braithwaite, that administers the awards, “The goal of the awards is to emphasize the positive achievements of Oak Bay’s young people by recognizing those who have distinguished themselves in such areas as volunteerism, arts, citizenship, academics, athletics and/or who have overcome obstacles to achieve their goals.”

Congratulations to this year’s award winners: Owen Barlow, Anna Friesen, Olivia Friesen, Jennifer Lambert, Amelia Leibel, Mason Levin, Beatrice Sharpe, Panos Tzanetakis, Alice Wu and Kyla Younger.

I had the pleasure of presenting the award to Owen Barlow from Monterey Middle School who was nominated by his teacher Mr. Mallet. Unfortunately I was unable to be at the event in person so Noah Conrad, a former Oay Bay High School graduate and legislative research assistant in my office, kindly volunteered to present the award on my behalf.

Below is the text of his presentation speech.

Text of Presentation Speech

Teacher Mr. Mallet says that It is with the greatest of enthusiasm that he nominates Owen Barlow for an Oak Bay Young Exceptional Star Award. He is nominating Owen is in the area of Athletics.

Owen is a grade eight student at Monterey Middle School and an active member of the local rugby community. Owen plays rugby for James Bay Athletic Association–often times at a higher division than other players his age–as well as Team BC U16 Elite 7s, and VIRU Tide Rugby–a rep team that competes annually in the Pacific Rugby Championships.

Owen is thought to be one of the top players at his position for his age in the province, and has been invited to play with the Waikiki Beach Boys in a 15’s tournament that takes place in Oahu, Hawaii later this year.

In school, Owen is an active member of the Sr. Boys Basketball and Rugby teams. Last year, Owen played rugby for both the Jr. and Sr. Boys teams, winning a city championship with the Jr. Team, and a 3rd place finish with the Sr. Boys. Owen is looking forward to his final season of Monterey Rugby, and the ability to compete for a City Championship at the Sr. Boys level.

Academically, Owen does his best to maintain a B average while trying to manage his extensive, but valuable rugby commitments. Further, Owen is a leader among his peers and is willing to work alongside anybody in his class.

Owen has garnered the respect of his teachers and coaches, as he demonstrates a highly developed work ethic as well as an ability to put forth 100% effort in all of his athletic pursuits.

Mr. Mallet feels Owen is a talented athlete with natural leadership ability, who is destined to achieve great things. We agree and are so very pleased to be able to present him with a Young Exceptional Star award this year – please help me congratulate him!