Dave Cameron was honoured on Friday evening (April 7) during the 31st annual banquet held by the Rotary Club of Dresden.
The Dresden resident was recognized as this year’s Paul Harris Fellow recipient.
“What a great honour to see past winners of this award in the room tonight,” Cameron said.
“What a great (honour) to be in that prestigious group. I look around the room and I have been surrounded by great friends, a wife. I think it is true and I have always been told that if you fit yourself in with a great bunch of people, that you can sink in and fool anybody. So I have been fooling people for a lot of years.”
Cameron has been involved in athletics in Dresden for his entire life.
“As far as being involved in the town of Dresden, growing up as an athlete, you don’t really think anything about the people that are coaching, managing, being presidents and executives that raised the money to put you on the field, on the diamond or on the ice,” he said.
“Then after your playing career is over and you have a family and you start coaching and getting involved, you realize what really goes on behind in the background. A great guy from town that isn’t here tonight, Keith Babcock said to me once he says ‘you know Dave, now you’re done playing and now you gotta give back.’ So, I took those words to heart and I try to give back to my community as much as I can. You get people involved with you that bleed what you bleed and it becomes a lot easier to do all of the things that I try to do in the community.”
Cameron also mentioned Dresden residents Paul and Lynda Weese, as people who truly exemplify what is means to be a Rotarian.
“Anything you see in Dresden, Paul and Lynda has had their hand on it and I would like to commend then for the love of their town as well,” Cameron said.
Cameron also thanked his wife Cheryl for her dedication.
“She is my secretary,” he said.
“She does everything in the background that everybody thinks that I do. So really she has been the president of this, and the president of that. She deserve the unsung hero award.”
The hall at Dresden Arena was packed for the annual event.
Andrew Faas, an author, businessman and philanthropist from Dresden, was the guest speaker.
– Photo credit: Dana Haggith
