Newspaper stories are often critical. That shouldn't come as too much of a surprise, since the media in general has a responsibility to be a public watchdog.

Still, it's not unusual for the media to be criticised for being “too negative”. It is not a fair criticism, but it is probably true that in this community, as Youth and Sports Minister Dale Butler pointed out in an opinion piece last week, that we do spend too much time complaining.

In that spirit, this is a good time to give credit where it is due and to highlight the positive achievements of some Bermuda residents. On Saturday, we reported that Bermudian gospel singer Ayiesha Woods had won three awards, including best newcomer, at the Caribbean Gospel Music Awards in the Bahamas.

Now, it's a long way from there to, say, the Grammy Awards, but Ms Woods deserves praise for having taken a first step on the way and deserves the support of the community as she continues her career.

Dr. Christopher Johnson was praised last week by accident victim Renato Domingos after he reattached his foot following a traffic accident before Cup Match. Dr. Johnson reattached the foot - which was literally hanging from his leg by the skin - using muscle from Mr. Renato's stomach to bind it in place.

This kind of medical miracle shows the high quality of the staff at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, something which often gets forgotten when debate is raging over the legitimate concerns about the quality of the hospital building itself.

The scholarship season is now in full swing, with announcements daily about the young Bermudian students who are winning awards. A special mention should be made of the Hospitals Auxiliary of Bermuda, which gave a special $100,000 scholarship to medical student Merate-Kristos Place to mark its 50th anniversary.

While that award was exceptional, Government, businesses, charities and individuals give hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to deserving students and they and the students who receive the awards deserve huge praise.

It would be nice to think that every student who qualifies for further education would be able to afford to go. That's not yet the case, but it's worth remembering that the situation would be much worse if it wasn't for the extraordinary amount of money set aside for scholarships each year.

The founders of the Bermuda Sloop Foundation deserve praise too. They have raised millions of dollars to build a traditional Bermuda sloop that will be used to bring education at sea and hands-on technical training to hundreds and eventually thousands of young Bermudians.

With help from Government and the financial sector, this should prove to be the kind of inspirational learning experience that will give young people from all walks of life the chance to choose the careers they want, to build confidence and teamwork and to see that there is world of opportunity in Bermuda and around the world.

There are more people in the community who deserve credit than this short list. But these individuals, culled from just the last ten days of Royal Gazette issues, show how lucky Bermuda is - its people really are its greatest resource.