CORNWALL – Mental health advocate Stephen Douris has been named the 2020 Citizen of the Year by the Cornwall and Area Chamber of Commerce.
Douris, who struggled early in life and survived a suicide attempt 31 years ago, is a backer of the Canadian Mental Health Association and other organizations locally. The 72-year-old also runs a men’s mental health support group called MenTALK with Ivan Labelle.
The other chamber business awards were:
- Entrepreneur of the Year – Andrew Seguin
- Community Impact – ACCFutures and Eastern Ontario Training Board
- Tourism Excellence – Archie’s Family Golf Center
- Large Business – Minimax
- Small Business of the Year – ZipGrow
- Sustainability – The Local Fill
- Inclusion & Diversity – The Happy Popcorn Co.
- Above & Beyond – Corey Stone, son Jackson and fiancee Cheyenne Leger (maintained 56×80 outdoor community rink); Beth Brown (organized Black Lives Matter march with Annissa Mohamed); Cayde Lazore (completed endurance run to raise money for Boys & Girls Club of Akwesasne)
- Economic Impact – SigmaPoint
- Lifetime Achievement – Andre Pommier, Pommier Jewellers
The chamber did the awards this year in a keepsake magazine as well as a social media rollout format Thursday due to the pandemic.