Morden Community Handivan (MCH) Board Chair Brian Nedohin was proud to dedicate the new 10 passenger, accessible vehicle now in use to service Morden and surrounding communities to a founding member of the service back in 1984, Wilf Warkentin. On Tuesday, board members, executive director and driver of the van met at Morden Park to dedicate the new vehicle to Warkentin, who passed away in February of this year. The new vehicle services areas beyond Morden, including Manitou, RM of Stanley and Winkler.
Warkentin was a board member for the Tabor Home for more than 30 years and in the early 1980's, recognized the need for accessible service for older adults and those with physical restrictions requiring a more suitable service for their needs. Nedohin said the work began to get Morden's first Handivan in 1982 and in 1984, the first Ford was purchased and in use. Nedohin joined the Morden Community Handivan Board shortly after Warkentin left in 2014.
Nedohin, who is also a driver, said the process of getting the latest new vehicle was a bit of a process.
"We ordered it in 2022, but it did not arrive until 2023. It started off in the mid 80s, like 80 thousand for the vehicle cost, by the time we were done in February of 2023, it was at $109,000. We're thankful. We have a number of decals on the vehicle that identify individuals and groups that have contributed to it. The Thrift store has been very good to us. They've contributed probably about a good one third of the cost of that vehicle."
Nedohin added, when Homestead South was built, many people moving into the new senior's complex sold their vehicles and now rely on the Handivan for transportation.
Tami Thiessen was at the dedication of the Handivan to her father and she shared her thoughts on behalf of the family.
"This is a special day to have a little decal on the van. My dad worked so tirelessly and hard with the Tabor Home in general, building the new Tabor home, and getting the Handivan many, many years ago, getting it up and running and being on the committees for that. Both of those things, the Handivan Committee and the Tabor home, were near and dear to his heart. He spent a lot of hours and it's just a very humbling and surprising thing we are extremely grateful for as a family, that he can be remembered in this way."
Warkentin passed away in February of this year, shortly after his wife passed away in November of 2022.
"We did have quite a tough year losing them three months apart and both of them basically unexpected. So, this is also unexpected, but in a different way, in a very happy and grateful way. We're just very grateful he will be remembered and obviously we hold him dear in our hearts and it looks like other people do too. And so, we're very appreciative of that."
Nedohin served on Morden City Council with Warkentin. He recalled Warkentin stressing the importance of the service every year, when the city would pass its support for the Handivan.
"Wilf was a person of quiet thinking, but when he spoke, it was worth listening to. And from that standpoint, when we were on council together, that was one thing I really identified about Wilf that was very important. He had lots of experience in the community. Before, he'd been at the dealership, it was the Dodge dealership here in town for a number of years with his partner. And from that standpoint he knew the community, he knew what the community needed. I guess when 1982 came around, he said, 'You know what? We don't have any transportation for seniors and or people who have wheelchairs.' So, that was important to me to have Wilf as a friend and also as a colleague."
In 2015, Warkentin was named Morden’s Outstanding Volunteer of the Year, for his service as a school board trustee, city councilor, one of the first board chairs of the Morden Corn and Apple Festival, along with his service on the Tabor Home and MCH boards.
When the idea of dedicating the vehicle to Warkentin was proposed, Nedohin said he was the first person to say, "Yes, let's go for it." adding, it is important to identify those individuals who have made the community strong.