Prominent Mossburn identity Jim Guyton has received a Community Service Award from Southland District Council and the Northern Community Board.

Southland Mayor Rob Scott said Mr Guyton had certainly made his mark on Mossburn and the wider Northern Southland area. “Your involvement had shaped the community over many years.”

Award nominator Shona Scott said she had been amazed by his “outstanding contributions” to Mossburn. “He is a community leader, volunteer extraordinaire and his wealth of knowledge is unfathomable”.

Mr Guyton arrived in Mossburn in 1963 to be his brother’s best man and never left. Instead, he immersed himself in the daily life of the township, volunteering, putting his hand up for election, leading from the front and advocating strenuously for Mossburn.

He was a farmer, owned a butchery business, mowed lawns and drove buses. His list of achievements is considerable.

Mr Guyton was a founding member of the Mossburn Charitable Trust in 2013 and remains a trustee. He served on the Mossburn Community Development Area (CDA) subcommittee for many years, latterly as the chairman, and was president of the Mossburn RSA.

Mr Guyton and his wife Maureen were caretakers of the Mossburn Community Centre in the 1980s, donating their services without charge, before he joined the committee as the CDA representative.

He was both a trustee and chair of the Northern Southland Development Trust and chaired the Mossburn branch of Civil Defence.

His longest service has been to the Mossburn Volunteer Fire Brigade, which Mr Guyton regards as his second home, for 53 years. He was chief fire officer for 33 years and is still involved as an operational support member.

A justice of the peace, Jim Guyton received the Queen’s Service Medal in the New Year’s Honours in 2006.

Accepting his award, Mr Guyton noted he was a firm believer that “there’s no I in team” and said he was just one of a group of people who had the same outlook: “to better Mossburn”.

He acknowledged the unwavering support of his “managing director”, wife Maureen.

Mr Guyton said he didn’t regret a day of his service to Mossburn. “If you put something into the town you get it back.”