Brewer names Citizen of Year

BREWER – After serving nearly half a century on City Council and decades on other community boards, Gerald Robertson slowed down just enough on Saturday to accept the city’s Citizen of the Year award.

Robertson, who is an octogenarian, first served as a city councilor at age 23 and then spent 46 years serving Brewer, 19 as mayor.

“We’re honoring a person with a record of public service that will never be matched,” Councilor Mike Celli said on Saturday just before announcing Robertson’s name.

Robertson was given a standing ovation during the ceremony at the Brewer Auditorium that was part of the annual “Brewer Days – A Hometown Celebration.”

“I did not do it for the prestige, and I did not do it for the recognition, but rather as an obligation to make our community the greatest in the state of Maine,” he said after he was named as Citizen of the Year. “Brewer is my home, even though I didn’t move here until I was 19.”

Serving as a councilor is just one of many jobs that the Robertson has undertaken over the years.

And he hasn’t stopped.

Robertson is serving as chairman of the Brewer Housing Authority and has served on the board since 1997. He also has been a Brewer planning board member since 1996.

He is president of the Eastern Agency on Aging, a member of TRIAD, an executive committee member of Maine AARP, and a member of the Brewer Economic Development Corp.

He also served as Brewer’s representative to the 103rd Maine Legislature, helped to organize the Eastern Fine Paper Credit Union, which is now known as Brewer Federal Credit Union, and has sat on various committees under former Govs. Joseph Brennan and Angus King.

Tire Warehouse operators Halis Sirimoglu and Jodi Renshaw were recognized as the New Business of the Year during the ceremony, and Ed Darling accepted the Business of the Year award for Darling’s Toyota.

To end the ceremony, Councilor Manley DeBeck announced: “I declare the rest of the day as Gerald Robertson Day.”

DeBeck then presented Robertson with a ceremonial clock.

“It’s been a distinguished and honest pleasure and privilege to serve this city,” Robertson said. “I am happy. I still have a little bit of service left … and will continue to do it.”