Perth County agriculturalist Sheldon Hahn recognized as Paul Harris Fellow

Sheldon Hahn, now in his 90s, received a standing ovation from the crowd at the Rotary Club of Stratford’s Rural-Urban dinner on April 16. Hahn received the Paul Harris Fellow recognition for his lifetime contributions to the Stratford and Perth County areas. Pictured with him here is the presenter of the distinguished award, his daughter and long time Rotarian, Katherine Hahn.

There was a special presentation made at the Rotary Club of Stratford’s annual Rural-Urban Dinner last week.

A very prominent rural farmer from Perth County in North and South Easthope Townships, and farm equipment businessman known the world over, Sheldon Hahn, was honoured during the evening.

He was presented with the very prestigious Paul Harris Fellow recognition, one of the greatest awards a Rotarian can receive.

For those who might not know, Harris was the founder of Rotary International, over 100 years ago, in 1905. He believed that ordinary people, coming together, could do extraordinary things for their communities and the world.

The Paul Harris Fellow recognition is Rotary’s way of honouring that spirit.

It’s given to people who embody the values that Rotary stands for – service, integrity and making a difference in their respective communities.

As most Rotarians will say, “it is the highest recognition that can be given to an individual by a Rotary Club, as a Paul Harris Fellow.”

When someone contributes to the Rotary Foundation, that contribution is acknowledged by Rotary International, and that recognition can be taken and passed along. That person is someone who deserves to be celebrated and is someone who has made a meaningful contribution to their community and extends the recognition outward.

So this Paul Harris award travels, and it starts with one act of giving, being acknowledged, and then finds the way to someone else deserving of it.

Hahn has shown that you don’t have to be at every meeting or every event, but sometimes the most meaningful contributions happen quietly and behind the scenes.

In the past, Hahn sponsored a young Dutch couple new to Canada, giving them work and a foothold in a new country. That same couple went on to build many successful businesses in Woodstock, employing hundreds of workers and bringing industry to that city.

There is also a story that Hahn employed a young man named Dan, who struggled with alcoholism and had run-ins with the law. He had hit rock-bottom, eventually ending up serving time in the Stratford jail.

Even though many would not see Dan being a model citizen, Hahn saw something totally different, a person in despair who deserved a chance and Sheldon drove into town every single morning to pick up Dan and brought him out to Hahn Farms where he put in a full productive day of work.

Then at the end of each day he was taken back and when Dan’s jail sentence was done, Sheldon made the rental house right behind Hahn Farms available to him, so he could walk to work and have the dignity of independence.

From this there was no fan fair, and no audience, but Hahn did it because it was the right thing to do.

A former club president and district governor, Katherine Hahn, made the presentation to her dad, recognizing him for having the qualities that as a recipient of the Paul Harris Fellow, showed the qualities that this award was initially designed for.