Several Saint John residents and organizations have been recognized by municipal leaders.

City councillors gathered Monday night to hand out their annual Civic Recognition Awards.

Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate Conception and Cooke Inc. received Citizen of the Year awards.

The award honours individuals or organizations whose contributions notably improve quality of life in the community.

Five Council Commendations were handed out to Julie Dingwell of Avenue B, Melanie Vautour of Fresh Start Services for Women, Johanne and Ivan McCullough of Street Team SJ, Amy Enman of Centre for Youth Care, and rapper Maestro Fresh Wes.

In addition, the city honoured former Portland-Simonds MLA Trevor Holder for his 25 years of service to the community.