• Navan, Ontario, Canada

Meritorious Service Decorations - Civil Division

• Meritorious Service Medal

  • Awarded on: May 26, 2003
  • Invested on: December 05, 2003

  Willard McWilliams, M.S.M., Navan, Ontario
  Wyatt McWilliams, M.S.M., Navan, Ontario
  Meritorious Service Medal (civil division)
  
  In July 2002, prairie farmers faced one of their most devastating droughts, which led to a severe shortage of feed for livestock. In order to help their counterparts in need, Willard McWilliams and his son Wyatt spearheaded the Hay West campaign. Not only did they rally more than 1,800 producers from eastern Canada to donate their excess hay, but they also garnered support from railway companies, federal and provincial governments, Canadian citizens and businesses to contribute to their project. Thanks to the McWilliams’ compassion and determination, some 110,000 tons of the much-needed hay, as well as equipment, food and money, were shipped in a matter of weeks to farmers in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

• Meritorious Service Medal

  • Awarded on: April 5, 2016
  • Invested on: June 23, 2016

  Wyatt McWilliams, M.S.M.
  Navan, Ontario
  
  In partnership with the Ottawa Food Bank, farmer Wyatt McWilliams established the Food Aid program, which uses financial donations to purchase fresh beef for those in need. He founded the Food Bank’s annual Food Aid Day, a major source of funding that has enabled the group to distribute more than 800 000 pounds of locally raised beef to members of the community.