YMM Parent nomination call now open for 2021’s Top 20 Under 20

YMM Parent is looking for its next Class of 2021 for the third annual Top 20 Under 20 program to launch with its publication in June.

The purpose of the program is to highlight students’ achievements and create mentorship opportunities for youth within the region.

With the partnership of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo’s (RMWB) Mayor’s Advisory Council on Youth (MACOY), over 40 residents, aged 20 and under, have been celebrated for their outstanding citizenship since 2019.

“MACOY is thrilled to be working with YMM Parent on this wonderful program. The program allows youth in our community to recognize their peers for all the good work they are doing in the Wood Buffalo region,” she said. “This program also creates an amazing opportunity for the MACOY youth to be mentored through the process of creating a magazine edition.”

Matt Lorenz of Shaw Spotlight shows MACOY’s GA Class of 2019 how to use video equipment during a learning session on April 11, 2019. Photo by Dawn Booth, YMM Parent

Mentorship opportunities are available for print media production with YMM Parent and broadcast media with the continued collaboration with Matthew Lorenz of Shaw Spotlight. He shared the importance of having programs like this available in the community. 

“I think what I enjoy most about mentoring youth is their excitement and ability to absorb information,” said Lorenz. “Young people who really want to learn can absorb even the most complex concepts and put them to use right away. As an adult, I try to emulate them more, and more, trying to hold onto that excitement to learn new things, even in my own career.”

The selection committee is solely the members of MACOY’s General Assembly, which enables them the opportunity to create a fair and balanced nomination process. 

All residents 20 years of age (as of June 2021) or younger who reside within the Wood Buffalo region and demonstrate outstanding citizenship towards their peers and members within their communities are eligible for selection. 

Click here to access the online nomination form. The nomination deadline is March 22, 2021.

Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo’s MACOY program lead Nicole Martyn-Dickinson and Top 20 Under 20 videographer Matt Lorenz with MACOY GA members Saakshi Arvihar, Krish Shah and Heet Shah at a social distancing event held for the Class of 2020 at the Fort McMurray International Airport on October 25, 2020.

About the author

Dawn Booth

Editor-in-Chief at YMM Parent | dawn@balsom.ca

Dawn Booth is the Editor-in-Chief of YMM Parent Magazine and Your McMurray Magazine. She has actively worked in the Wood Buffalo region's media industry since residing in Fort McMurray in 2007.

Her passion is writing poetry and puts it at the forefront of the community through her volunteer work as the President of NorthWord Magazine. Most important, Booth puts her family of five first, which includes her husband Ryan and their three children, Landon, Dawson and Tessa.