Each spring, the Suffolk Department of Parks and Recreation’s Advisory Commission and the Suffolk Office on Youth pause from their regular activities to celebrate and encourage some of the city’s most promising young people.

The Youth Achievement Awards, presented this week during a banquet at The First Lady, celebrate a diverse group of young people with a wide range of talents that sets them apart.

King’s Fork High School junior Madison Hansen, a violinist with a number of local credits, received the Outstanding Performing Arts Award.

King’s Fork junior Brittany Harrison received the Outstanding Community Service Award for her wide-ranging volunteer work.

Another King’s Fork junior, Alicia Jiggetts, received the Outstanding Group Citizenship Award for her roles in several team projects to improve Suffolk.

Nansemond River High School senior Chelsea Whitney received the Outstanding Youth Leadership Award for her volunteer work with Crime Stoppers and other programs supporting law enforcement.

The seven graduating seniors from the Suffolk Youth Advisory Council also were recognized, including King’s Fork’s Kayla Vincent, who developed the idea for the Youth Achievement Awards five years ago.

And finally, Carol Kennedy-Dickens, a teacher in the International Baccalaureate program at King’s Fork High School, a program that produced three youth winners, was honored in a surprise presentation with the Outstanding Youth Supporter Award.

Suffolk has good reason to be proud of these young leaders — and of the teacher who helped shape some of them. There’s more than enough bad news involving the city’s youth. It’s especially nice to be able to share such good news about them.