Jul 15, 2009 - 04:30 AM

By Chris Hall

SCUGOG -- Brian Callery is still a farm boy at heart.

Charming, happy to spin a good tale and fiercely loyal to his rural roots, Mr. Callery looks the part of a financial whiz-kid but there's no mistaking his aw-shucks, small-town demeanor as he leans back in a chair at his Port Perry office and begins to talk about how much his hometown means to him.

Rural living is in his blood. It always has been, stretching back to his days as a youngster growing up on a farm near Marmora, in Eastern Ontario. It's there, through his family, where he learned that giving back to your community is one of the most rewarding gifts one can offer.

"My family were always community supporters -- the local church, the fair board -- so it was always a family trait," said Mr. Callery.

It's those life lessons Mr. Callery has carried with him through his life, all 60 years of it. From Marmora to the University of Western Ontario in London to Oshawa where, in the early 1970s, he spent his student summers working for land developers and mechanical contractors.

During one of those hot summer days, upon finding himself with some spare time, Mr. Callery hopped on his motorcycle and headed north out of Oshawa, rumbling into a small town nestled on a lake.

"I said, hmmmm. I'll have to come back here some day," recalled Mr. Callery recently.

A short while later he did, and Port Perry and the Scugog and Durham communities are the beneficiaries of that choice.

Since landing here in 1973, Mr. Callery has become intertwined in the community, both as a professional businessman and a caring, giving resident.

His years of contributing to his community were duly noted in recent weeks as the Port Perry Star sought to drum up nominations for its 2009 Craig Taylor Memorial Citizen of the Year Award, an honour your favourite community newspaper has opted to bestow upon Mr. Callery.

Simply, a flood of well-wishers stepped forward with stories of Mr. Callery's giving ways. While not always in the spotlight, Mr. Callery is a quiet community supporter whose fingerprints can be found a great many places in Port Perry and across Durham Region.

"It's pretty easy to be a good citizen in this town. It's got a small-town atmosphere because we're small-town folk," said Mr. Callery.

His first foray into helping the Scugog community came when he joined the Port Perry Kinsmen and, over the years, he's either led the charge or flew under the radar on a number of projects or events.

He served on the Port Perry hospital foundation for years, was among those who led a community effort to aid the Deering sisters, and spearheaded the drive to build a second ice pad at the Scugog Arena.

These days, his interest -- and time -- belongs to Durham's Hearth Place, of which he and his wife, JoAnne, are supporters.

"I'm really, really, really fortunate to have a healthy family and I'll work day and night to raise funds for groups and organizations because I'm so fortunate to be healthy," said Mr. Callery.

"I just find it easy to give, it's like a freedom for me to give and help out the community. I feel pretty good about it."

When pushed on why he is driven so much to give to his community, Mr. Callery simply says he's following in the path of some pretty spectacular community leaders.

"Guys like (Dr.) Bill Cohoon and Gary Edgar: They're pretty good role models, they're good people to follow," he said.

It's obvious that Mr. Callery's good deeds have not gone unnoticed.

"Brian Callery has been extremely generous over the years in supporting the Scugog Arena, Scugog library, Deering Sister Trust Fund and numerous other charities and worthwhile causes in our community," wrote Dr. Jack Cottrell in a letter of support.

Added Peter Hvidsten in another endorsement letter: "Brian is a natural leader who encourages anyone within his circle to give back to their community. But he doesn't sit back and watch, he leads by example, often being the catalyst."

And Mr. Callery has no intentions of letting up anytime soon.

"I'm just watching to see what is needed," he said of his future endeavours, hinting that helping the hospital and leading the charge for an indoor pool may be in the cards.

"You need a team of good folks around you -- in your family, at your business and in your community and I have that," said Mr. Callery. "It's good to know that you can pick up the phone and in 10 minutes you can have folks buy into a project and have a team together."