Dorchester’s Macx MacNichol was honoured earlier this month for his longtime service to his country and to the Queen.
In a ceremony at Government House in Fredericton on Feb. 15, MacNichol was awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, an honour for which he says he is very proud.
“It was definitely a surprise,” he said. “It was so unexpected because I had got the first one (the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002). For me to have been nominated a second time, it was an honour.”
MacNichol, who began a military service career nearly 50 years ago when he joined the regular forces in 1965 as a recruit at Camp Borden and later went on to become a corrections officer at Dorchester Penitentiary until his retirement a few years ago, served as commanding officer for the 681 Tantramar Air Cadet Squadron during the 1980s and early ‘90s.
Following that, MacNichol took on the aide-de-camp post for former Lieutenant Governor Marilyn Trenholme Counsell in the late 1990s and has remained in that same role for more than 15 years, under two succeeding lieutenant governors – Hermenegilde Chiasson and Graydon Nicholas.
“It’s been a heck of an experience,” he says. “They’ve all been fine people to work for.”
MacNichol was among about two dozen recipients who attended the ceremony in Fredericton to accept the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee award, a commemorative medal that was created to mark the 2012 celebrations of the 60th anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the Throne.
“It was a lovely afternoon,” he says. “It was a great opportunity to meet people from all over the province, people who are doing some great things.”
MacNichol was nominated for the award by the lieutenant governor to celebrate his commitment to service in this province.
