Felix Thibodeau, IV, 17, a Nokomis Regional High School student from Etna has received a well deserved national recognition. He is a member of the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corp and led efforts to raise more than $22,000 for the VA Maine Healthcare System-Togus and its work with homeless veterans.

Last summer, Thibodeau and about 10 JROTC cadets he supervised, raised about $15,600, working at tables outside local businesses. They raised another $7,000 during school break in February, doing he same thing.

Because of those efforts, Felix has become the first teenager ever honored with a top award from the National Coalition of Homeless Veterans.

The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans is a nonprofit organization and assistance center for a national network of service providers for homeless veterans. They provides emergency housing, food, health services and job training for hundreds of thousands of veterans each year.

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