Lifelong Enniskillen resident and retired farmer Maurice Maw is the township’s senior of the year.
“He’s served on a lot of agricultural boards in the last 45 years, and then more recently he was Enniskillen’s representative for the Wyoming cemetery board,” said township mayor Kevin Marriott.
The annual award recognizes someone who contributes to the community, Marriott said.
“There’s a lot of people that do stuff for the community and you just try to pick the ones that have done the most,” he said.
The mayor and Maw’s family surprised the 84-year-old at his farm July 2 with an Ontario senior achievement award certificate from the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration, Marriott said.
“I was very surprised,” said Maw.
“Very much appreciated and it really was an honor,” he said.
Maw recently retired from farming and the cemetery board, after 12 years, and still owns his farm, he said.
“I play a lot of cards now, in Wyoming and Petrolia with organizations,” said the father of three and grandfather of four.
Having volunteers like Maw in the community is vital, Marriott said.
“Whether it’s cemetery boards or many other types of things, it just takes these types of volunteers to make things work,” he said.
He managed to find a replacement for Maw on the cemetery board, but volunteers in the community in general have been harder to find, he said.
“Some years, we don’t actually find someone” for the award, he said.
Enniskillen has been offering the award for about 15 years, he said.
“Some years it’s easier to find somebody than not,” Marriott said.