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HAY RIVER - Delmer Lafleur is on his knees, scraping old flooring from the Royal Canadian Legion dance hall on Wednesday night, after spending a day working in a warehouse in town.

Delmer Lafleur does some dirty work at the Royal Canadian Legion dance hall in Hay River, last Wednesday. - Herb Mathisen/NNSL photo

He is there a couple nights a week, helping to renovate the hall - tearing up old floor tiles and laying new ones, replacing ceiling tiles, and painting walls.

For this and other reasons, Lafleur - who has spent most of his 41 years in Hay River - was recently named the Legion's volunteer of the year.

Fittingly though, for a man who thinks so often of others, it's a title he says he doesn't deserve.

"There are a lot of people that helped out on this," he said, scanning the room, which is a few jobs away from completion. Tables and chairs are piled in the middle of the hall on the newly-laid dance floor.

"I was quite surprised," he said of the recognition.

"There are a lot of people who didn't get recognized," he added, eager to deflect the attention.

He then listed off the names of a half dozen others who helped fix up the hall since Christmas, prettying it up for the Legion Command Dart tournament held in late-February.

Chris "Chip" Jesche, last year's volunteer of the year, "does nothing but work here," said Lafleur.

Paul Power and his family, he said, "were here till 2 a.m. sometimes."

Speaking of Tracy Cross Gauthier, president of the legion, "Even she's been up here sweeping floors. Holy smokes!" Lafleur laughed.

Cross Gauthier said Lafleur teamed with other dart players in town to initiate the renovation to the hall and prep it for the tournament, which had never before been held North of 60.

"It was just a tremendous, tremendous undertaking and Delmer was right in the forefront of all of that," she said.

She said Lafleur continues to work on the renovations and his volunteerism doesn't end there.

"We have no hesitation whatsoever to call on him," she said, adding he is a handyman who performs ongoing maintenance at the hall and sometimes, if taxi services aren't available for events, Lafleur will offer to drive people home at the end of the evening.

"He gives a tremendous amount of his time to the Legion," she said.

Lafleur, a second-year member of the legion, said he has no problem helping out.

"I enjoy it," he said.

"There's lots of reward in it."

"I don't drink or anything, so my weekends are pretty free," he smiled.

Lafleur, a darts enthusiast, said he wanted the legion to look good for the tournament, and the gussied-up hall is something he, and the rest of the members, can enjoy long after.

Although he said he isn't much of a competitive darts player, he likes watching it played at a high level.

"I never place (in tournaments)," he laughed.

"I'm a wannabe darts player."

He said, however, there is some real talent in Hay River, including his girlfriend Samantha, who handed him some dry meat as he took a break from his work to speak with News/North.

There is a pride Lafleur takes in the work he does.

"It's my home," he said.

"This is where my parents are. This is where the first for everything happened for me."

He said he finds the residents of the community to be very helpful and does his best to reciprocate.

"The way it all can be pulled together when something happens. It's more like a family - Hay River - than a town," he said.