It is a surprising honour.
When Adam Duke of Humboldt and Saskatoon learned he was the 2013 Junior Citizen of the Year, he was a little shocked.
"I was in the middle of finals so I was kind of taken off guard," said Duke. "It didn't sink in until I was done writing exams."
Duke's motives for his community involvement were not selfish.
"I didn't do any of it for recognition, but it is certainly nice," said Duke. "People do take notice of the work you do, so it is a definite honour."
Even though he knew he won the award, Duke had not told many of his family members yet.
"I tried to push it off and I have been keeping it from everybody," said Duke. "I haven't been able to go to all my brothers and brag yet."
Duke has been involved in the Humboldt community since he was a child. When he was in elementary school, he was a Beaver and Cub Scout member, participated in minor baseball and soccer, was a member of many school sports teams and was on the Grade 8 Student Representative Council (SRC) for St. Dominic School.
He continued his community involvement through high school, both through sports and the SRC.
"I always liked being involved," said Duke. "I'd rather lead than follow, so I know that I kind of have a say, so that is how I became involved in things like SRC. It is always good to have a voice."
While in high school, Duke was a volunteer coach for the Saturday morning basketball league and a volunteer official for the Humboldt Collegiate Institute junior boys and girls basketball teams.
"I really just love the sport of basketball, so it is really easy," said Duke.
"If you have fun doing it, it is really easy to get up and go. Basketball - participating and teaching others to perform in that task is rewarding to see a kid (improve)."
He enjoyed helping the kids learn new skills and improve the skills they already had.
"When you get the kids who are very raw and don't know what to do and you finally see it click, it is very rewarding," said Duke. "I always liked coaching."
He also showed his volunteer spirit by organizing a "Shoot for the Dream" basketball skills competition, raising money and collecting donations for the Humboldt Food Bank.
"That one took place because of (Dave) Rowe," said Duke about his former high school teacher. "It was a national discrimination day or something like that and he challenged the class for someone to do something that would help better or improve the community.
"I think most people, it went in one ear and out the other, but that was something that stuck with me," he added. "I always thought really highly of Mr. Rowe and thought it was a pretty good idea."
Since it was his first attempt at organizing an event, he felt it was disorganized, but he managed to raise roughly $100 and a large quantity of food items for the food bank.
After he graduated from high school, Duke stayed involved in the community. Using his love of sports, Duke organized a "One Day, One Game" road hockey fundraiser that raised $5,446 for Special Olympics.
"If I can do things that I already enjoy and integrate it into something to give back, that's just simple," said Duke.
He explained he would get together with his friends in the summer and play road hockey. Organizing the tournament was surprisingly easy.
"Everybody got behind it," said Duke. "That is a tough thing to do, getting people to organize something. I was surprised when everyone got behind it."
Although he doesn't have any family or friends involved in Special Olympics, Duke feels it is a worthy cause.
"Through school, you know some special needs kids," said Duke. "By my home on 2nd Avenue, there is a group home down the street, so sometimes when some of the people would walk back to the group home, I would sometimes sit out front and talk to them. I would also see them at St. Dominic playing baseball and they had so much fun, so I thought it was a very worthy cause to be promoted."
This year, Duke kept up his community involvement by organizing the Duke 2012 Pittsburg Marathon fundraiser.
"I wanted to do another fundraiser and as easy as the floor hockey tournament went, I didn't want to have to ask all my friends to do something again," said Duke. "I knew the next time I would have to do something that was a little more individual. I didn't want to put a burden on too many friends and family to do stuff."
He said this marathon fundraiser was easier to do, because he didn't have to ask friends and family to donate their time and money.
"This way, it was just me and, obviously, I had the support of (the media) and the SPCA," said Duke. "Overall, the responsibilities weren't too high for anyone else."
By running in the marathon, and collecting funds for the SPCA on his way to it, he raised $4,000 for the Humboldt and District SPCA, to help them build a new facility.
Duke is also doing the data entry for the SPCA, for all the adoptions that go through the organization, on a volunteer basis.
His volunteerism helped Duke decide to become a teacher. He is currently attending the University of Saskatchewan to that end.
"You feel as if you are making a difference and that is something I want to do," said Duke. "It is something I feel I'd be able to get up every morning and look forward to going."
Duke's family has been a huge influence on his community involvement.
"I know, my family, we have always tried to volunteer and be involved," said Duke.
His mom was named Quill Plains Volunteer of the Year when he was young and his grandpa was always really heavily involved in the community, through the boards of the credit union, co-op, his parish, the school board and the Royal Canadian Legion.
"He played a really big role in me wanting to give back," said Duke. "He always put it in my mind quite early that if you want to have a nice place to live, if you want to have a good relationship with your community, you should be willing to invest in it. He was an excellent role model."
Duke explained he enjoyed doing some of his volunteering at the beginning because it made his grandpa proud and, although that was the reason he started, he now does it to help his community.
"You enjoy your community more if you invest in it, if you take your time or your money to make it better," said Duke.
He believes a lot of people will be surprised he is named Junior Citizen of the Year.
"I was a pretty bratty teenager so I think some of my teachers will (be shocked) when they get this paper," said Duke.
And, even though Duke is going to school in Saskatoon, he still spends most of his free time in Humboldt, still trying to make a difference.
"Hopefully when I am done my education, it can lead me back here," said Duke. "This is a great community. If it wasn't worth giving back to, I wouldn't, but it has treated me well and I would like to continue to return that favour."
