Before his move to Jaffrey in 2002, Don MacIsaac’s largest connection to town was that his wife had climbed Mount Monadnock with her church group when she was younger.
It didn’t take long, however, for MacIsaac to become an integral part of the community as he has been named the Jaffrey Chamber of Commerce’s 2018 Citizen of the Year, an award honoring his time spent on town boards and volunteering throughout town.
“Volunteering is infectious,” MacIsaac said, in an interview Tuesday. “Once you start, it’s so fulfilling; you just feel a part of everything.”
MacIsaac – who spent 32 years working for Ford Motor Company as a systems engineer and product planner in the United States, France, and Japan – said he never really had an opportunity to volunteer in his community prior to retirement, as he was busy traveling and working.
MacIsaac first jumped at an opportunity to serve on the town’s planning board, which he did for five years. Shortly thereafter, MacIsaac transitioned to the select board, where he would serve nine years until deciding not to run again in 2017.
MacIsaac currently serves on the town’s budget committee, a role he took over after the passing of former member Tom Lambert.
Whether his roll on the budget committee expands to something more long term – he previously agreed to serve for this year’s budget cycle – remains to be seen.
“That’s a difficult question and you are not the first to ask,” MacIsaac said. “I take it one day at a time.”
Jack Minteer said he nominated MacIsaac for the award this year because of all he has done for the time in his tenure as a resident.
“He’s very methodical, and he doesn’t shoot from the hip,” Minteer said. “He’s disciplined and spends a lot of time studying. And it’s never been about Don, it’s always about the town.”
MacIsaac’s main volunteering effort in the community has been his work with Meals on Wheels, an effort he began after visiting his ailing mother – who also drove for Meals on Wheels – in Boston.
“I was visiting her and in walks a guy from Meals on Wheels,” MacIsaac said. “I realized in that moment that it isn’t all about the meal. She had someone checking in on her every day.”
MacIsaac said he is currently a substitute driver for the program with his wife Pat.
“It’s kind of like going out on a date. It’s a funny kind of a date, but still a date,” MacIsaac said. “… [Pat] is my backbone and support through all of this, she’s just been terrific.”
Charlie Palmer, another person who nominated MacIsaac for the award, said he first met his friend out on the golf course at The Shattuck Golf Club.
Palmer has long been impressed by MacIsaac’s dedication and love for Jaffrey.
“He’s always been dedicated to volunteerism, I think it’s just in his DNA,” Palmer said. “Don has always tried to do the right thing. I don’t think he’s ever thought about anything else.”
When questioned about his crowning achievement in his volunteering career thus far, MacIsaac pointed to his work with the state and other municipalities to restore state aid funding to the construction of Jaffrey’s wastewater treatment facility.
MacIsaac said the state had promised to fund about a third of the roughly $18 million project, but later told the town they wouldn’t be funding their part of the project as they didn’t have the funding available.
After he helped to get a coalition of other affected towns together, the state would eventually reverse their decision and fund the project as originally approved.
“I’m really proud of that, it was an 18-month job,” MacIsaac said. “It was a great learning experience.”
Nicholas Handy can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 235 or nhandy@ledgertranscript.com.