More than 140 local volunteers, including the first four recipients of the Order of The Blue Mountains, were honoured by town officials at a ceremony Sunday.

The first four inductees in the Order of The Blue Mountains are:
• Lora Gibson - Culture and the Arts - Gibson led the effort to save the historic Craigleith Depot and to restore it as a local heritage centre. The group of volunteers she led raised more than $600.000 and partnered with the town in the project. The Depot's collection of local artifacts is currently being catalogued and displays are being organized for the heritage centre to open this spring.

• Hans Eijsenck - Environment - Eijsenck was credited with encouraging people to make better choices that will help preserve and restore the area's environment. At the Marsh Street Centre, he leads efforts to use environment-friendly cleaning and maintenance products as much as possible. He also volunteers for the Blue Mountain Watershed Trust and its Wetlands Action Group, for Habitat for Humanity ReStore Collingwood, and the Environment Network.

• Karen Newton Stewart - Community Service - Stewart is a busy volunteer with Beaver Valley Outreach, Beaver Valley Community School Advisory Committee and Beaver Valley Pre-School. Her nominators called her the "Auction Diva" for her role in organizing the annual Thanksgiving Applefest Silent Auction which offers more than 700 items and attracts more than 400 bidders each year.

• Glenn Sibbett - Sport and Recreation - Sibbett has been a volunteer with the Beaver Valley Athletic Association for more than 25 years. Typically, he was unable to attend Sunday's ceremony because he was away assisting one of the BVAA's youth teams at a game. Mark Anderson, who accepted the award on Sibbett's behalf, said Glen has retained his commitment to the organization although his own children are now grown-up and no long participating.

Mayor Ellen Anderson said volunteers play a key role in developing the character of a community.

"It affects many people, everyone you touch, and it lasts for generations to come," Anderson told the assembly of volunteers from various local organizations. "It's through your actions that you teach other people how to give."

The recipients were among seven nominees. Also nominated were Bev Byrne, Jeannette Oakley and Susan Armstrong.

The town also recognized the corps of volunteers with special certificates in recognition of their efforts to provide service to the community. More than 140 certificates were presented, and each volunteer received a thank you directly from the mayor and members of council as well as Town Crier Art Lapointe and the guest speaker, Lt. Col. Rob Kearney, commanding officer of the Canadian Forces Combat Training Centre Meaford.

Kearney praised the volunteers, joking that he'd been a volunteer for the Forces -- 25 years ago.

"They told me I'd get to go camping," he joked.

He added that he often hears comments from soldiers who train at the centre about the friendliness of the local communities and the efforts of volunteer organizations.