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Seniour’s: St. Pierre an Outstanding Citizen
A good deed may indeed be its own reward.
But once in a while it’s nice to know someone notices.
That was essentially the reaction of Steve St. Pierre when he learned recently he was being named the inaugural Outstanding Citizen award winner by Seniour’s Towing.
“I was flattered,” St. Pierre said of the award.” It’s just a cool thing that they did something that shows someone recognizes the things that we do, some of the food drives. It’s just really cool.
“Sometimes you think that people don’t notice, but when they notice it’s nice.”
Seniour’s sought nominations and narrowed them down to 10 choices before letting the community vote for two weeks.
The result was St. Pierre in a landslide. Nominated by Loren Leonard, St. Pierre received a plaque to commemorate the award as well as a $100 Walmart gift card.
“Steve is constantly giving back to his community by collecting coats for kids as well as food for our local food drives,” Seniour’s said in a statement issued by Amanda and Jon Seniour. “He’s such a positive role model for our youth today as well as many young adults he’s in contact with through his job and the school systems.”
St. Pierre and wife Niki run the All-American Karate Academy on Indianapolis Road, and Steve also works with Putnam County G.R.A.S.P. (Generating Responsibility through Alternative Suspension Program).
Those two things alone make St. Pierre — “Sensei Steve” at the school — a mentor to many youths in the community.
Through the academy, this includes mentorship programs in which kids from troubled or underprivileged backgrounds can attend for reduced rates or free.
With G.R.A.S.P., St. Pierre’s efforts include finding public service opportunities for the kids who’ve found themselves in some trouble at one of the local high schools. Inevitably, this turns to sharing life with the youths.
“I do a lot of talking – try to let them know that we’ve all been there, made those bonehead mistakes,” St. Pierre said. “We can all choose to pick ourselves up and move forward, no matter our financial background.”
The community service goes further, though. Steve and Niki have organized the annual Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning for several years, with participants in the walk/run bringing non-perishable items for the Putnam County Emergency Food Pantry as their entry fee.
They’ve also hosted a blanket and coat drive to support and are planning to expand the number of charitable runs in 2017.
Wife Niki is also planning an indoor triathlon in coordination with Hendricks Regional Health and DePauw University. The event will take place at the university on Jan. 29.
St. Pierre didn’t really think much about his prospects of winning when someone mentioned nominating him, but hopes the recognition shines a light on the ongoing need for supporting children and families in this community.
“It’s a lot easier to put that sort of thing out of sight, out of mind,” St. Pierre said.
“You see something like this and you think, ‘Oh, this could make a difference.’”
Either way, the St. Pierres continue to be grateful for the support Greencastle and Putnam County have shown to their business. They just hope to return the favor.
“We just try to give back for how good this town’s been to us,” St. Pierre said. “I just think this is a great place to live and a great place to raise kids.”