BARRINGTON – Petty Officer 1st Class (PO1) Lindsey Nickerson of the 327 Unicorn Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps (RCSSC) in Barrington has received top honours from the Navy League of Canada, Mainland Nova Scotia Division.
Nickerson was presented with an Award of Excellence from the Navy League “in recognition of exemplary personal dress, department knowledge and skill in cadet training and exceptional leadership qualities,” at the 327 Unicorn weekly training session on Sherose Island at the Barrington Recreation Centre. Top brass from the Navy League Nova Scotia Mainland Division were on hand to make the presentation.
A medal and a bar identifying Nickerson as a top cadet and an all-expenses-paid trip to Ottawa from April 20 to 22, where she will attend and participate in the Navy League’s annual general meeting, were also part of the award.
“It gives me great pleasure to see things like this. To see people who excel in the program and be able to reward them for the work they have done as a youth,” said Navy League Mainland Nova Scotia president John Philips Lt (N) Ret.d. “Imagine if you’re working this hard as a youth what are you going to do as an adult,” he said, telling Nickerson she is a “a role model” to her peers.
Shelley Robinson, chairwoman of the Navy League’s awards and honours committee, told Nickerson they had a number of excellent nominations for the awards.
“As we were going through them, yours was above and beyond. It really was,” she said, adding it was “all the extra community service, the things Lindsey does outside of cadets and in the cadets, all the reference letters and accolades from her peers and officers. We were so impressed with all of the stuff you do outside of cadets too. That’s what stuck out the most. To me that’s what the cadet program is. It’s developing the whole person. It’s not just cadets. It’s to teach people how to be good citizens.”
Marie Bourinot, the Navy League officer in charge of all cadets in Nova Scotia, told Nickerson her commitment to her school, the corps and her community is phenomenal.
“I just can’t believe everything you’ve done. You’ve got a great kid there, mom and dad,” said Bourinot.
Nickerson has been with the 327 Unicorn Corps for five years.
“It feels amazing,” she said when asked how it felt to receive the award. “I honestly did not see it coming, but it’s really rewarding to know that all I have done has finally paid off.”