Arliss Dellow has been volunteering for most of his life. Recently, he was honored for his years of service. Dellow has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Senior Volunteer Awards.
Dellow says it was humbling to receive the award, especially considering the work that has been done by the other people up for awards during the evening. He says it's an honor to receive the award.
Dellow has been involved in a number of community organizations, including serving as president of the Yorkton Jaycees and the Yorkton Optimist Club. He has also volunteered to collect for the Soup Haven and salvation army, and has been involved in the Yorkton Friendship Centre and SIGN.
Swimming was one of the areas where he was most heavily involved was in swimming, where he was a local, provincial, national and international speed swimming Master Official. Dellow says that the people he trained and mentored in his 23 years in speed swimming are now the people who are keeping the sport alive.
Dellow is still volunteering in the community, and is currently working on getting funds for improvements to the New Horizons building in the city. He says the change in that facility is something worth celebrating.
"It's sure a different hall than it was four years ago."
Doing volunteer work is something he says comes natural to him, and getting involved is just something he feels the need to do.
"It's in the genes of someone born in Saskatchewan that you volunteer to do things. I always look at volunteer work as the rent I pay for the short time I'm given the opportunity to live on this earth and in this country," Dellow says.
"I feel that we owe something back, because the people who came before us did volunteer work to give us what we enjoy, so I think we have to look at the people coming behind us, and think about what we can leave behind for them."
Being out in the community and trying to help is the way Dellow needs to spend his time, and he says that it's been like that since he was a child accompanying his mother when she did volunteer work herself. He says it's not in his nature to sit still when there's work that can be done.
He says he was surprised to be nominated, and surprised to see the different people who put forwards letters of support of him getting the award. He says he didn't expect it, and was overwhelmed when he was shown the work that had gone into his nomination for the award.
