by Dave Thomas
Published in June 2015
A friendly atmosphere permeated the room at the 28th Annual Mayors’ Dinner. That was especially fitting, given that Murray Haase was the Guest of Honour.
Murray, who’s known for his long-standing, energetic and tireless commitment to community service in Kitchener-Waterloo, doesn’t seek the limelight. But the 900+ crowd gathered at Bingemans, celebrated the man who in his quiet, engaging way works to make Waterloo Region a better place for all.
Bringing that strength of spirit to so many good causes, such as health care, education, amateur sports and social services, for more than six decades, Murray has had quite an impact, and made a lot friends in that time. Many brought greetings and made tributes, either in person or by video. Presenters included longtime Lutherwood Foundation colleague Donna Buchan, fellow Rotarian Jim Erb and many of Murray’s family members, including his son Brian and daughter Susan. Susan said to her dad: “What an amazing honour. What an amazing man. You have done so much for so many people for so many years. And I cannot think of one person who would be more deserving of this. Not only have you helped the community, you’ve helped your family. You are a wonderful father, grandfather and friend.”
Mayors Berry Vrbanovic and Dave Jaworsky, hosting their first dinner, provided a humorous A-Z list of Murray’s accomplishments. Rotarian Candi Harrington said that Murray is “the best kind of community builder,” adding that Murray knows “you need to do more than just write a cheque. You need to roll up your sleeves and get involved.”
Lisa Talbot, executive director of KidsAbility Foundation, described Murray as “humble, kind, compassionate and genuine.” John Neufeld from House of Friendship pointed to “Murray’s spirit of kindness and generosity.”
Marcus Shantz of Mercedes Corporation may have summed it up best when he spoke about Murray’s values, that he embodies “the idea that we all owe something to the community. We’re all responsible to the community, and our companies are responsible to the community. It’s been great to have Murray as a mentor, as I’ve tried to find my way in the community.
“Murray is absolutely relentless when he’s behind a cause. … He’s not ashamed to push you to do more. It’s fashionable to talk about social entrepreneurship or corporate citizenship, and I can tell you that Murray has been doing that and living that, before there were words to describe it.”
The spirit of generosity was contagious. One fine example was when Shelumniel Tabije representing Bell won $4560.00 in a heads-or-tails 50/50 draw, and immediately donated his winnings to The Working Centre.
Overall, the event raised $80,000 to support The Working Centre and St. John’s Kitchen.
