Emily Southwood –
On November 2nd the New Frontiers School Board proudly received a Public Administration Award for their contribution to the “Our House” project, which has resulted in providing two, LEED certified homes to low-income families in Ormstown.
The prodigious achievement celebrates what has been an extremely successful group effort between the Municipality of Ormstown, the NFSB, Quebec Habitat for Humanity, and many local community volunteers.
The project began in 2012 as the first collaboration of its kind between the New Frontiers School Board and the Municipality of Ormstown. The Municipality contributed the lot on Isabelle St. and provided services, while carpentry students of the Chateauguay Valley Career Education Centre constructed the LEED certified homes under the instruction of teacher John Hodges. The two semi-detached houses were then transported to lots on Isabelle St. where they have welcomed two low-income families. The fortunate and deserving families were selected by Habitat by Humanity, and local volunteers installed their new homes.
The Institute of Public Administration of Quebec promotes excellence in public administration within Quebec and their awards are intended to encourage best practices and recognize the work of those who have achieved high standards in this field. NFSB was extremely pleased to achieve the highest honor in the category of Education. NFSB Board Chairman, David D’Aoust commented: “I’m still flabbergasted and we feel extremely proud.” The overwhelming success should bode well for future collaborations.
