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Pa ge 8 T hu rs da y, Ja nu ar y 21 , 2 01 6 - T he IF P - H al to n H ill s - w w w .th ei fp .c a GEORGETOWN LIONS CLUB is seeking GEORGETOWN CITIzEN Of ThE YEaR The Lions Club is accepting applications for the Georgetown Citizen of the Year for the year 2016. Please forward an application or resume to the selection committee before february 20, 2016. Send to Georgetown Lions Club P.O. Box 73 Georgetown, ON L7G 4T1 or email to gt.lionsclub.event@gmail.com for information or sample application please contact Lion Kevin Robinson 905-702-5456 Don't let that special volunteer go unrecognized. award dinner to be held March 29, 2016. a community project of the Georgetown Lions Club. NEWS A former Georgetown resident is being recognized for his work of breathing new life into Native languages. Yesterday (Jan. 20), Parkhill, now living in Halifax, was one of 26 On- tario former or long-term residents to receive the Order of Ontario, the province's highest official honour. The award recognizes who has demon- strated a high level of individual ex- cellence and achievement benefitting people anywhere in the world, an hon- our Parkhill never expected to receive. "I was absolutely not expecting this," he told The IFP, quoting the mes- sage from Dave Carnegie's book, Stop Worrying and Start Living. "If we cre- ate this life for ourselves, then we will be working with our natural strengths, not fighting our own shortcomings. My wife (Heather) and I structured our lives as such, and it is amazing how much passion can help create a conta- gion which picks up momentum." While employed by Microsoft as the director for the education sector, Parkhill was involved in working in the Iqaluit and Inuktitut languages. After learning how important those lan- guages are to the First Nations people, Parkhill decided to leave his job and do something more. "An Inuit lady named Leena Evic took me through the importance of the language as it ties her culture to land and the Spirits," Parkhill said. "I felt as though I was 46 years old when I received my first Canadian history les- son." So in 2009, SayITFirst was created by Parkhill: an organization focused on working with Aboriginal commu- nities and elders to revitalize Canada's languages through technology and to keep the spark in Native communities alive. "According to Stats Canada, half of the Elders teachers of the language will be dead in five years. The languages are all having near-death experiences," Parkhill said. If the languages were to disappear, so would our cultural diver- sity, he added. "When I understood how language loss affected the First Nation, Inuit and Metis demographics, I felt I needed to bring my unique skill set developed at Microsoft to help support individuals trying to reconnect to their ancestral knowledge," Parkhill said. "By revers- ing language loss within Native com- munities, we can often times develop very positive self identity in the youth. The leaders, educators and parents I support can have the ability to stave of suicides, gang activity and substance abuse." Through the organization, Parkhill has helped produce more than a doz- en books and DVDs to help teach chil- dren and adults alike. To help with the two mediums, Parkhill has employed people of Native descent to read in mi'Kmaw, Maliseet and the Ojibwe languages, not English. According to Parkhill, helping keep the languages alive is too important a role not to fill. "I saw too many injustices happen to be comfortable enough to not help," he said. "It ticks me off when I hear people say, 'we should just assimilate them.' The word 'them' and 'they' cre- ates a dual world within my head, and these are the two most bigoted words in the English language. I see 'us' and 'we', not 'they' and 'them.'" Parkhill hopes the award will help bring positive social outcomes and to provide SayITFirst with more credibil- ity to continue to help the Native com- munities. "In our own way, we all support do- ing our own part to provide for a better Canada for future generation," he said. "My efforts are focused on the richness of diversity in language and the joy of learning." Former Georgetown resident receives Order of Ontario By Kathryn Boyle kboyle@theifp.ca Former Georgetown resident Mike Parkhill received the Order of Ontario yesterday for his work with his organization SayITFirst, which works to preserve native languages. Submitted photo