Edgar (Ted) Ford of Engadine has more than one reason to celebrate his 87th birthday tomorrow.
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Mr Ford has received the Medal (OAM) of the Order of Australia for service to youth, and to the Uniting Church in Australia.
It was growing up during the tough years of the 1930s that gave him a concern for others.
"During the Great Depression my father, mother and myself drove to Melbourne and back in a motorcycle and sidecar a couple of times looking for work," he said.
Mr Ford started his working life as a Singer sewing machine mechanic and then worked for Bell & Howell Cameras.
He became involved with the church in the 1950s, initially as a member of the Waverley Methodist Mission.
He and his wife Valerie moved to Engadine in 1956 and have been involved in the local Uniting Church ever since.
Mr Ford has been a lay preacher since 1962 and has held many voluntary positions with the church including the Out of School Hours Management Committee and the Aged Care Committee.
He has been a homes administrator with Uniting Care and an industrial officer with the Voluntary Care Association of NSW and ACT, now Aged and Community Services Association.
Mr and Mrs Ford have two children and two grandchildren. They also adopted a son who died of leukaemia aged three.
Mr Ford became involved with the Australian Air League after taking his son John to meetings.
"It was the achievement of these lads that was great to witness," he said. "Some have gone on to become pilots with the airlines."
