Perhaps no one would’ve enjoyed the night of good food, fellowship and laughter more than man of the hour Ken Seamans himself.

The community lost a committed public servant and all-around great man when former Mercer County commissioner and Wilmington Township supervisor Seamans passed away in March. But it was evident to all Wednesday that his boisterous spirit and dedication to helping others lives on.

The inaugural “Bibs and Blue Jeans Banquet” got fundraising for the Ken Seamans Memorial Scholarship Fund “off to a rousing start,” scholarship committee member Barb Brown said.

In fact, so many people were eager to honor Seamans that staff at Normandy Banquet Center in Hermitage were busy setting up extra tables as the evening’s festivities kicked off.

The event was a tribute to a “very special man,” said Pastor Rob Cypher of Victory Christian Center, Wilmington Township.

Proceeds from the fundraiser, which included a live auction by New Wilmington’s own Duke Whiting, will go to the scholarship fund. Annually two Mercer County graduates who intend to pursue a career in agriculture or animal science will be given awards.

Seamans was a “leader, farmer, neighbor and friend,” Pastor Cypher said. Seamans and his wife Kay raised beef cattle at Maple Drive Farm in the township, fostered children and worked with a number of agriculture and civic groups.

“Everyone knew Ken Seamans, and I do mean everyone,” said township secretary Wendy Campbell in a letter read Wednesday by committee member and Mercer County Controller Tom Amundsen.

Seamans lived an interesting life and Mrs. Campbell’s listed just some of Seamans’ experiences.

He met Martin Luther King Jr. while working as a police officer in Washington, D.C., and served as a military police officer in Okinawa, Japan. He was struck by lightning and lost his arm in a corn picker accident.

Knowledgeable in so many areas, Seamans was often called on for advice, Mrs. Campbell wrote. And he gladly took on causes and projects in the community.

“No job was too big or too small for a natural born leader,” she wrote.

Seamans’ colleagues shared tales about the man and “Ken-isms” throughout the night.

“There’s not a day goes by I don’t think of Ken, what he did for the county, what he did for all of us,” said Amundsen, who adopted two cats the Seamanses rescued and named them “Kenny” and “Kay.”

Always good for a joke, “He was quite a storyteller,” Mercer County Commissioner Brian Beader said of Seamans.