Zorra hands out community awards

Dick Dufton is Zorra Township’s 2024 senior of the year. He received the annual award at Zorra Township Council’s most recent meeting on Dec. 4. (Doris Weir Photo)

Lee griffi, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter and Connor Luczka, Echo Correspondent

Mayor Marcus Ryan handed out the awards at a recent Zorra Township meeting where he stated those privileged enough to live in Zorra are not lucky. They are fortunate.

There is a subtle but important difference.

“We're not lucky,” Ryan said. “Lucky is walking along the street finding a $20 bill. Fortunate is having people like you guys who actually put an effort into making the community worthwhile to raise our children in.”

Ryan made those remarks to Dick Dufton and Nicole Barnett, the 2024 Senior and Volunteer of the Year, respectively.

Every year the township awards two individuals based on public input to recognize members of the community who go above and beyond to make the township a better place.

Dufton has been a Thamesford Lion for 40 years, actively contributing to projects across the township, even beyond Thamesford in Embro and Kintore, among others.

Barnett is a local volunteer with many different hats, as Coun. Crystal Finch explained.

“The key to a healthy community rests in volunteers and people like you who embody the spirit of greatness by saying ‘Yes, I can help with that,’” Finch said. “From 4H OCFA, Embro Fair, EZAS, hockey, baseball, the list goes on. You have a lifetime of volunteering under your belt. You are always somehow finding the time to give back to this community, even with everything else life calls you to do, from being a wife, a mother, a daughter, you are an inspiration to so many in this community.”

Both Dufton and Barnett were surprised by the news and didn’t prepare remarks, but both expressed their gratitude.

“All I can say is, thank you very much for the recognition,” said Dufton. “And I do enjoy being part of the community and helping out in any way I can.”

“Everybody just supports everyone,” Barnett added. “And there's always positive motion going forward. And I think that is wonderful. You don't find that everywhere.”

Dufton has lived in Thamesford for close to 50 years and explained the reason behind his long record of helping.

“I like to see positive progress in our community. I enjoy seeing kids and families enjoying what we can either raise funds for or build for them. It gives me a real good feeling just to be involved.”

Dufton operated a renovation business for over 20 years and often uses his skills as a member of the Lions Club.

“We have a fairly large club here with 65 or 70 members. We get out and about with a good number of things and make ourselves visible. We do our best to get things improved.”

It was difficult for him to pick one or two memories of his years of volunteerism but building a unique float close to 20 years ago stands out.

“We had a locomotive, and it was built on a 1976 Toyota pickup chassis that had an extended frame. It was pretty true to scale and true to life. We had smoke coming out of the stack and the wheels turning and it was self-propelled.”

Dufton added the float was a huge hit in parades.

“There was that and a Mississippi river boat. We had a great time going to various communities, not just ours, but from Niagara Falls to Kitchener and Drumbo. We did winter and summer parades, and it created a lot of interest and a vibe as people watched the parades. It took us, in some cases, over a year to get a float ready but we had a ball doing it.”

Many service clubs in the area are struggling to keep and find new members. Dufton said they haven’t had that problem.

“We have always had a large club so we must be doing something right to keep the interest up and people involved. We’ve got some younger people who are stepping up, coming forward and wanting to be involved. They see what we do in town and want to be a part of it.”