The 3rd Annual Zoomer List: Canada’s Top 45 Over 45: Kehar Singh Aujla

Kehar Singh Aujla, 79 Indispensable Volunteer

A day after retiring in 2005 (at age 72), he began volunteering in earnest, putting in 40-plus hours weekly, serving nine community organizations – among them are his Sikh temple, the Burnaby Village Museum, Burnaby General Hospital, the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts and Volunteer Grandparents. His effort has brought accolades, including the Kushiro Cup as Burnaby’s Citizen of the Year for 2011 and a listing as one of Canadian Immigrant magazine’s Top 25 Immigrants for 2012. He cheekily told the latter: “When I was working, I was a slave to the organization. As a volunteer, they are my servant. They can’t kick me out!”