Nine people were inducted into the NWT Education Hall of Fame Wednesday.
The sixth annual induction ceremony, which took place at the legislature, celebrated northerners who have made lasting and selfless contributions to the field of education over the years.
The award also recognizes contributions from elders, volunteers and coaches among others.
Education minister Jackson Lafferty was on hand to deliver the awards. He later spoke to Moose FM about the significance of the ceremony.
“It’s important to showcase and share their expertise and what they’ve contributed over the years to make a difference in people’s lives,” Lafferty said.
“Our children, and especially our young ones, look up to them. They’re mentors in the Northwest Territories and we want to recognize them.
“They’re making a huge, valuable contribution to the North.”
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Retired educator Bruce Green was among the inductees on Wednesday.
Green spent 23 years teaching science and biology at Hay River’s Diamond Jenness Secondary School. He also has experience with adult education in the community.
Upon receiving his award, Green told Moose FM he owes his success to colleagues who helped him throughout his career.
He also credited some of his former students.
“I was talking to a prominent person a number of years ago and he asked me a question that kind of surprised me,” said Green.
“He said, ‘what kind of students do you have up in the North?’ Which I’d never really thought about before but my immediate response was that they’re second to none.
“Every year that I taught I had students that were brilliant and amazing. I really think I had an amazing career as a teacher in the North.”
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Dean MacInnis, who recently took over as principal of Sir John Franklin High School, was also inducted into the Hall of Fame Wednesday.
Following the ceremony, he was swarmed by a crowd of students who attended his induction – a gesture that wasn’t lost on Lafferty.
“With all the students here with him, supporting him and congratulating him, boy that’s an eye-opener,” he said.
“That’s what we want. These are the foremost people that they look up to.”
2015 NWT Education Hall of Fame Inductees
- Carole Bachand
- Ted Blondin
- Doris Camsell
- Reanna Erasmus
- Bruce Green
- Lea Lamoureux
- Dean MacInnis
- Michel Louis Rabesca
- Marja Van Nieuwenhuyzen
