AMHERST – Volunteers are a special breed.
“Thank you for giving me this award. I appreciate it a lot but, for volunteering thanks are not needed. I love volunteering,” said Rohin McKenney, 2018 Youth Volunteer of the Year for the town of Amherst.
Daren White, 2018 Volunteer of the Year, agrees.
“It’s awkward to receive an award for, as Rohin said, something you love,” said White.
White and McKenney were among close to 50 volunteers recognized at the Amherst Volunteer Appreciation Reception Tuesday night at the Credit Union Business Innovation Centre in Amherst.
White was introduced by the deputy mayor of Amherst Sheila Christie, who went to school with White since Grade 1.
“Daren is no ordinary human being,” said Christie. “By day, he’s one of those very special teachers who is admired by his peers and thousands of children for his creativity and enthusiasm.”
She then read off a list of his many accomplishments, including: His annual haunted house, his murals at the hospital, sets he builds for school plays, playing music at benefit concerts, donating art to charity, teaching kids to play guitar, and his annual Halloween Zombie Walk, and his wintertime snowman challenge, both of which raise funds for cancer research.
“A two-time cancer survivor himself, Daren’s upbeat outlook is an inspiration to all who know him,” said Christie before calling White up to say a few words.
White says volunteering keeps him busy.
“The reason I do it is for my mental well-being. I am never bored,” said White. “Ben Franklin said, ‘if you want something done, you ask a busy person,’ because being part of the volunteering world, we make time for the things we love.”
White finished by thanking his wife Beverly.
“My wife surrenders me every day. There’s time’s when I take off out the door and come back at 1:30 in the morning because I’m building sets for the hospital or something else. That’s not just me, it’s every one of you,” said White to the gathered volunteers. “I thank my wife for letting me go out the door every day to go do something for somebody.”
Bill Schurman, recreation director for the town of Amherst, thanked the volunteers for their dedication to the community.
“While you do not volunteer for the awards, I think by having a gathering like this not only motivates each of us to continue the work that we do, it reminds us sometimes of all the good that goes on within our communities,” said Schurman.
The 2018 Volunteer recipients are as follows:
2018 Volunteer of the Year – Daren White
2018 Youth Volunteer of the Year – Rohin McKenney
2018 Family Volunteer of the Year – The MacLeod Family: Lawry, Mary, Ben and Owen.
Volunteer nominees and the organization they were nominated by:
Fundy Youth Soccer, Cumberland Sporting Club – Aaron Froese
Amherst Community Christmas Dinner Committee
Betsy Prager, Will Rodd, Sari Stiles, Mike Stiles, Bruce Cuco, Terrie Cuco, Leslie Gratton, Dan Matthews, Cathy Shewfelt, Shelly Hallman, and Rob Roy
Holy Family Catholic Women’s League – Maria Kirkpatrick
Canadian Red Cross – Randy Parsons
Victoria Quilts Canada Tantramar Branch – Barbara West
Lord Amherst Chapter IODE – Ann Lawless
Zonta Club of Amherst Area – Gwen Kerr
Amherst Curling Club – Robin Keith
Amherst Lion’s Club – Rubin Millard
Amherst 50-Plus Club – Carol Dempsey and Annie Bourgeois
Amherst Junior A Ramblers – Alan Chapman, Ralph MacDonald, Corrine Porter, and Sharlene Carter-Earle
Amherst Alzheimer’s Caregiver Support Group – Patricia Harrington
Cumberland Restorative Justice Society – Caitlin Carter
Cumberland Shrine Club – Gary Bowser
Amherst Food Assistance Network – John Covert
Cumberland Health Care Auxiliary – Heather LeMoine accepted on behalf of Judy Jonah
Fundy Youth Soccer – Katelyn Walsh
Marilyn Boudreau was nominated by four organizations – The Cumberland County Hospice Palliative Care Society, the First Baptist Church, the Cumberland Health Care Hospital Auxiliary and Reception Desk, and the Kidney Foundation
Empowering Beyond Barriers – Michelle Kane
Amherst Sea Cadets and the Amherst Navy League – Mike Landry
Amherst Minor Basketball – Pam Chenhall
Rotary Club of Amherst – Ronald Wilson
Amherst Y’s Menettes – Sharon Merrill
MADD Cumberland/Tantramar – Sydney Calder
Cumberland County Genealogical Society – Marney Gilroy
Autumn House – Wanda Smith
Fundy Youth Soccer – Curtis Michaelis and Railyn Cann
Tantramar Chapter IODE – Ida Roode
