Mr McElwee is the grandson of the late Arthur Wheeler, who established the Leedstown Trust.
The trust has supported a lot of young local sports talent, particularly if they reached national standard in New Zealand, over a wide range of disciplines.
Mr Brown said the water feature in Majestic Square and a mobility van for Kowhainui were made possible by donations from the trust.
In more than 20 years, the trust has donated about $800,000.
Mr Wheeler established the trust in 1959 with a sum of £6000.
Initially, the Marton sheep farmer was both settlor and trustee and this was later changed to two trustees and then three.
Since the trust's establishment, the capital has grown to more than $1 million, with some of the income being distributed regularly as grants.
In May 2006, the trustees of the day, Wanganui lawyer Dennis Brown, investment adviser Hamish Mackay and Mr Wheeler's grandson, Clayton McElwee, confirmed the trust's objectives as giving priority to "the standard classic charitable objects of religion, education, poverty and community benefit".