On Tuesday night, Osburn mayor Kip McGillivray awarded lifelong Osburn resident Jay Bell with the first ever Osburn Lifetime Resident Award as well as a ceremonial key to the city.

The impromptu ceremony was during the Osburn City Council meeting, one that Mayor McGillivray had invited Bell to, but after several minutes Osburn police officer Jason Woody was dispatched to make sure Bell hadn’t forgotten.

Bell, in his classically wit ways, walked into the meeting saying, “this better be important, it’s my bedtime.

McGillivray decided to give Bell the award after having a conversation with him and realizing just how much Jay Bell has meant to the City of Osburn.

“Jay Bell doesn’t mean something to the city, he is the city,” McGillivray said. “I had a long conversation with Jay and he started telling me stories about Osburn and how it had changed over the years and it really hit what a true icon he was to the city.”

The lifetime resident award made a lot of sense for Bell to receive, but giving him the key to the city made even more sense according to McGillivray.

“I told him he deserves the key because he is the only one that knows where the lock is,” McGillivray said with a laugh.

The impact that Bell has had on the Osburn community has not been small, and McGillivray wanted to make sure that he got the recognition he deserved.

“I know when a question arises concerning something from the past about Osburn I can go to him and he can tell us exactly what it is or what is was in the past,” McGillivray said. “He is truly an amazing man. As far as an award like this I don’t know of one, people have been recognized for things through the city but I believe Jay is the only one to receive a lifetime citizen award, which was long overdue.”