A teacher and former Director of Education with the Limestone District School Board have been recognized with the Rotary Club of Kingston's highest honour - the Paul Harris Fellow Awards.

At a ceremony April 25, La Salle Intermediate & Secondary School Teacher Laurie Labrie and retired Director of Education Brenda Hunter were honoured as 2019 Paul Harris Fellows for their "service above self.” The award acknowledges a substantial contribution toward humanitarian causes in the community, country or world. Paul Harris was the founder of Rotary and this award program was created to fund many Rotary Foundation programs.

Ms. Labrie, who has been teaching for 28 years, the last 15 as a teacher in the Student Services department at La Salle, voluntarily runs many youth leadership initiatives such as Student Council, Leadership Camp, Student Mentorship, Duke of Edinburgh Award. She is the teacher advisor for the La Salle Interact Club which has 78 members. The club runs food drives, visits seniors homes, collect clothing, recycles e-waste and sends care packages to Indigenous communities. She also organizes mission trips to promote philanthropy and a sense of service.

Ms. Hunter was Director of Education for eight years before she retired from the Limestone District School Board in 2015. She spent 34 years in the education sector where she was recognized widely as a leader across the province serving on dozens of committees, including as Chair of the Council of Ontario English Public Directors of Education, Vice-Chair of the Council of Ontario Directors of Education, and a Member of Ontario Public School Boards’ Association Provincial Bargaining Leadership Group. Ms. Hunter was a Rotarian for nine years and was a longtime member of the United Way for KFL&A Board of Directors and the Kingston Community Health Centre Board of Directors in addition to lending her support to fundraisers such as the Canadians for Women in Afghanistan, the Food Sharing Project, and the Limestone Learning Foundation. She is currently a member of the national Education Resources Development Initiative and sits on the Board of Director of the Kingston Health Sciences Centre. She was instrumental in bringing Pathways to Education to Kingston.

Each recipient receives a medallion, lapel pin and certificate. The Rotary Club makes a $1,000 donation  to the Rotary Foundation for recognizing each Fellow. The Rotary Foundation supports life-changing, sustainable projects that support six primary causes: promoting peace, providing clean water, saving mothers and children, supporting education, growing local economies and fighting disease.