So when Mr Eames (62) found out he was being awarded one of the highest honours in St John, he was ''blown away''.
''It was extremely humbling,'' he said.
The title of Knight of the Order of St John will officially be conferred on Mr Eames at an investiture later this year.
The first Waimate recipient of the honour, he was also the only South Islander among the five new knights and dames named in the St John honours list announced on International Volunteers Day last month.
The citation said Mr Eames continued to give ''exemplary service'' to St John.
He was a person of ''unquestioned integrity'', with sensitivity to the needs of others.
He had an inherent desire to see St John succeed and progress and readily accepted responsibility.
He had an awareness of the ''total'' St John, having started in youth, served as a volunteer ambulance paramedic and been a training instructor, superintendent of community service and divisional manager.
Mr Eames, who owns a business in Timaru, has had a life-long interest in health and medical matters.
He recalled getting the job of taking boys down to the accident and emergency department while he was at boarding school in Timaru.
His 36-year involvement with St John dated back to 1974, when he joined Twizel St John while living at Lake Ohau, and continued after shifting to Waimate in 1981.
He has served in a variety of positions and has been an elected member to the Northern Region (South Island) Trust Board since its inception in 1987.
Mr Eames stopped going out on the road in ambulances after 26 years. That had been a major commitment for both him and his family.
He recalled the many occasions when he was about to sit down for a meal and had to leave, and getting out of bed in the middle of the night, and taking the RT radio to church - in the days before pagers - hoping it did not ''scream'' in the middle of prayers.
While he no longer did road work, his role now involved working to improve things for volunteers and, therefore, make it easier for people to volunteer.
Another highlight last year was attending the organisation's 125th anniversary celebrations and meeting the Grand Prior, the Duke of Gloucester.
One of the highlights of being involved with St John was meeting people from all walks of life, Mr Eames said.
He had no plans to retire from the organisation. In fact, there were still other aspects of St John that he would like to get involved with, including Friends of the Emergency Department.
Mr Eames is also chairman of LineTrust South Canterbury and a member of the Rotary Club of Waimate.
