Agar honours St. Clair volunteers
Fifteen people were named to the inaugural Mayor’s Honour Roll in recognition to their contributions to the community.
Mayor Jeff Agar said this is something he has wanted to do since he was first on St. Clair Township council. Now that he is mayor, being first elected in 2022, he decided to pull the trigger on it.
Agar had difficulty making his first selections. “There are tonnes more names,” the mayor said of people who would be deserving. St. Clair Township has countless number of people who give countless of hours for the betterment of the community.
Agar has plans to honour all of those named at an event at the St. Clair Parkway Golf Course at the conclusion of the summer. Certificates will be given to all the recipients to mark this accomplishments.
Renovations are scheduled to be completed in the club house by June, so it would be a good time to not only highlight those on the honour roll but the newly renovated club house as well, Agar said.
The mayor kept the list shorter for the first year, saying perhaps next year he will honour groups and the list will be longer. Agar made sure every part of St. Clair Township was included on the honour roll.
The big thing for Agar was to recognize people who volunteer to keep kids active. Many of the people being recognized are people who work behind the scenes and sometimes go with any recognition.
The Mayor’s Honour Roll for 2023 includes Geoff Dale who is the president of the Mooretown Minor Hockey Association and is with Captain Kidd Days in Corunna. Stan Marsh, heads Operation Christmas Tree each year, which distributes Christmas, hampers to families in the north part of St. Clair Township, while also being active with the Optimist Club of Moore. Nicole Smith has also volunteered with Operation Christmas Tree and Captain Kidd Days, while Ashley Robbins was active with the Corunna 200 celebration last year, as well as Captain Kidd Days.
“Rick Mitchell is my Brigden person,” said Agar. Mitchell is active with the Optimist Club of Brigden, as well as the Brig decorating group. He is also involved in a garden club for kids in Brigden. Bob Barnes can often be found working on the fields at the Courtright ball diamonds during the summer months. In the winter, he is active with the Mooretown Flags.
Irene Jardine volunteers with the Brigden Fair Board, while also being involved with Ducks Unlimited and the Upland Games. Michelle Maitland volunteers with Captain Kidd Days and was instrumental in bringing back the St. Clair River Run.
Craig Bezaire is active with the Port Lambton Pirates baseball program. Port Lambton Pirates teams won three Ontario Baseball Association championships in 2023, said Agar.
Frank Johnston volunteers with the Sacred Heart Food Bank in Port Lambton and he doesn’t get much recognition for the hard work he does, said the mayor. Chuck and Betty Lauwereys put a lot of work into looking after the Wilkseport Hall, and their efforts sometimes go unnoticed, said Agar.
Colin Miller is a volunteer with Port Lambton Gala Days, while Jamie Bogaert and Caroline Peters volunteer with Sombra Days. Countless hours are put in by these volunteers to put these events on each year, said Agar.
Blake Ellis, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Independent
