Donald Teuma-Castelletti
SHAWVILLE Dec. 9, 2017
Firefighters from the Shawville-Clarendon Fire Department joined together Saturday night for their annual Christmas and awards dinner, honouring their firefighter of the year.
Gathering the force, plus spouses and the mayors of both municipalities, around 45 people joined together at the Shawville Curling Club, where two individuals received awards.
This year, Julien Gagnon was honoured with the distinction of firefighter of the year and Frank St. Aubin was presented with a plaque for five years of service.

“Usually I base the winner on the amount of hours, dedication and practice,” said Chief Lee Laframboise. “We have some guys that do so much, they all do great.”
Laframboise keeps the unveiling under wraps until the big presentation, keeping the firefighters in suspense, and didn’t apply Gagnon’s name plate to the award until 10 minutes before he received it.
“It just shows that dedication can be rewarded,” said Gagnon. “I knew I had quite a few hours, coming in day in and day out.”
St. Aubin, who passed the award onto Gagnon as he was last year’s recipient, said that his past five years with the department has been incredibly satisfying, as he’s had fun but also enjoyed serving his community. Going home from a scene, big or small, the crew may be tired but they’re happy to have been involved, and are disappointed if they miss a call.
Certifications from training were also distributed following the awards, with 12 firefighters receiving their jaws of life training.
“We pretty much have everyone certified at all levels of service,” said Lt. Vaughn Bastien. “Very few fire stations have that.”
The dinner was catered by Café 349, and provided for by the municipalities of Shawville and Clarendon.