Earlier this year, Ray Carlton's status as a 'living treasure' of Brimbank was confirmed.

Last week he spoke to the Advocate about his contribution to the community through Sunshine Rotary Club.

"I'm glad they put the word 'living' in the front of that," he says.

"Rotary nominated me and I try to help in the best way I can. About two-thirds of my life has been given to Rotary."

Sunshine Rotary Club membership director Tony Ebejer describes Mr Carlton as a great character who has played a valuable role as an "over-achiever" in the club's history.

"Ray made a presentation to club members at a recent meeting. It was supposed to go for 15 minutes - Ray went for 50," Mr Ebejer says.

Mr Carlton has celebrated more than five decades with the club, having joined as a charter member in 1956.

At the time he was working as a production manager for the Sunshine Advocate - the first locally produced newspaper, which was started by his father, C.G. Carlton, in 1924.

Mr Carlton says the opportunity to help make a positive change in the community inspired him to join Rotary.

"The satisfaction of knowing you make a difference in somebody's life is what got me," he says. "To give them meaning and purpose; that's what I've found out of it."

He says the biggest highlight throughout his time with Rotary was helping to set up a shelter workshop in Sunshine for intellectually disabled children in the early 1960s.

"I travelled throughout Victoria looking at other workshops to set up the best workshop we could."

The program aimed to integrate children in the community and give them skills to find employment.

"That involved packing work mainly, and other types of work they could cope with." Mr Carlton says helping Tibetan refugees with tuberculosis and establishing an educational program for children in Samoa were other notable achievements.