It was a Film Fest first and an opportunity to acknowledge important members of the community.

The Yorkton Film Festival (YFF) has announced the recipients of the first ever Jamie Awards, a community recognition program started in honour of the festival’s 65th anniversary.

Named after Yorkton Film Festival Founder James Lysyshyn, nominations opened in late April and closed on May 10. The awards were established to honour individuals, organizations, and businesses in Yorkton that have had a positive impact in the community as a whole. Three awards were handed out across six categories: Community, Visionary, Leadership, Education & Learning, Health & Wellness, and Empowerment.

The recipients are as follows:

• Community: Bob Maloney, Paper Bag Players, Yorkton Music Festival

• Visionary: Laurie Renton, Doug Riley, Tami Hall

• Leadership: Terry Ortynsky, Dave Nussbaumer, Neil Thom

• Education & Learning: Larry Pearen, Trent Senger, Yorkton Nursery School Cooperative

• Health & Wellness: Taryn Romanowich, Mental Health Drop-In Centre, Active Transportation Collaborative

• Empowerment: Saskatchewan Abilities Council, YRHS Student Support, Antonio Osuna

“We want to extend our strongest congratulations to this year’s recipients, and thank them for their tireless work in making Yorkton a great community,” says Randy Goulden, YFF Executive Director. “We also want to thank their nominators for putting forward a great group of people for our first ever Jamie Awards ceremony.”