After 40 years of service, Ozzie Stiles has retired as Bridgewater’s town crier.
A ceremony to commemorate his long history as crier was held Thursday at the Bridgewater TD Canada Trust, where he spoke about his many memories throughout the years, and how special the position was to him.
“It means a lot because you represent the town of Bridgewater,” he said.
“Whenever I went overseas, I’ve done a few cries overseas in Belgium, England, Germany, I always mentioned the citizens of Bridgewater. There are a lot of great people in this town.”
During the celebration party, mayor David Mitchell presented stiles with a plaque as a thank you for the many years of his service, and officially proclaimed June 27, 2019 Ozzie Stiles Day.
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“Forty years of being a town crier, a volunteer public service like that, to me that’s a big deal,” said Mitchell, “I can’t think of many times that has happened in any community, so we thought it was worthy of recognition.”
While Stiles leaves behind big boots to fill, Mitchell said he has heard from residents about how important it is to have a town crier, and he intends to keep the tradition going.
“We’ve heard from a number of people that a town crier is important to Bridgewater, so we want to continue that tradition,” he said.
“We will definitely be tasking Ozzie with helping us do that. We’ve had a few people show interest, which was great, so once we get the process going, hopefully we will be able to announce something.”
Stiles’ 40 years as crier wasn’t the only milestone being celebrated either, as the Bridgewater TD branch was turning 50 years old.
Opened in 1969, the bank has resided at 1 Old Bridge Road since the 1990’s, creating a long lasting relationship with its customers and the community.
Lori Nauss, branch manager TD Bridgewater, Tuesday Skaine, vice president TD Greater Nova Scotia, and Town of Bridgewater mayor David Mitchell present Ozzie Stiles, former Bridgewater town crier, with a plaque for his 40 years of service.
Lori Nauss, branch manager for the bank, said those relationships are the reason TD has done so well in the town for all those years.
“There’s all kinds of stories about how we’ve helped people go through universities, helped them with their first car or first home,” she said.
“I think their first banking experience being a positive one like that really makes them loyal to TD, which is always wonderful. I think that is what the staff here work so hard for in here every day is to keep those clients happy and continue to grow on that loyalty that they developed all those years ago.”
Reported by: Cody McEachern
Twitter: @CodyInHiFi
E-mail: mceachern.cody@radioabl.ca
