It's been a trying year in Tecumseh between severe flooding and the tragic passing of a town councillor.
Mayor Gary McNamara says the sudden death of Mike Rohrer stunned the community.
"You look at someone who has tremendous potential in the community and he was young, vibrant and the most important thing was the love of his community," says McNamara.
Rohrer was 44 years old when he died of a heart attack in May.
Rohrer family friend -- Bill Altenhof -- won the by-election held to replace the late councillor.
McNamara says the flooding that hit his town hard has shown how resilient residents can be.
"A tremendous hit to obviously the municipality, but the resiliency of our folks who basically rolled up their sleeves and basically said, 'Well, we need to rebuild' and they did," says McNamara.
Despite the hardships Tecumseh faced in 2016, the mayor calls it a "banner year" for the town.
"We had a lot of new assessment come into the community, new investment, close to 17 new businesses that were established in a short period of time in 2016. We're seeing a resurgence in the commercial area," says McNamara
The mayor thinks 2016 has set the town up well for 2017 with major projects on the horizon including a new sportsplex and the $18.8-million rebuild of Tecumseh Rd near Lesperance Rd.