Dave Thomas

For Neil Aitchison, the 30th Annual Mayors’ Dinner was a very different experience. The well-known personality has hosted 24 of the 29 previous dinners, but this time he was the community member being fêted. A capacity crowd of more than 950 people were on hand to celebrate Neil, whose many community contributions over many decades include worthy causes such as Sleeping Children Around The World, United Way of KW and Area, Waterloo Region Home Builders’ Association, Western Ontario Athletic Association, KW Oktoberfest, Cambridge Chamber Business Awards, Rotary, Probus, as well as his beloved Drayton Entertainment.

If you have ever attended the annual Mayors’ Dinner, you know who Neil Aitchison is. The long-time host has emceed 24 of the past 29 Mayors’ Dinners, with his big smile and affable charm and is one of the major highlights of the yearly event. But it will be different this year at the 30th Annual Mayors’ Dinner. Neil will be the Guest of Honour, celebrated for his many years of community contributions.

Jassy Narayan says she never expected a tribute such as being honoured as one of the Guests of Honour at this year’s Mayors’ Dinner. As she puts it, she’s just an ordinary woman who grew up in rural Guyana who did not have much opportunity for formal education as a child, only being able to go to school until grade 8. But her journey has taken her on a long path of service to others in the community.

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.

The Mayors’ Dinner has recognized the substantial contributions of many prominent residents of Kitchener-Waterloo over the years, and Murray Haase is no exception to that tradition. Over the course of his life he has reached out to serve on countless community projects and good causes, touching many lives in the process, and building a much stronger community.

For the 950 people attending the 27th Annual Mayors’ Dinner on April 5, it was a night of singing, dancing and comedy as the community honoured this year’s Guest of Honour, Alex Mustakas, Artistic Director & CEO of Drayton Entertainment. It was one of our most successful dinners yet – and probably the most fun!

More than 900 guests were on hand to celebrate the accomplishments of community leader Ron Schlegel on April 6 at the 26th Annual Mayors’ Dinner at Bingemans. Schlegel, whose many roles include business owner, farmer, land developer, professor and philanthropist, was celebrated for a wide range of accomplishments, including the founding of the Schlegel-University of Waterloo Research Institute for Aging (RIA) and Schlegel Villages, a group of retirement and long-term care homes throughout southern Ontario that are based on a social model of senior care.

Ron Schlegel is like a polygon: he has many sides. This year’s Guest of Honour at the Mayors’ Dinner has led a remarkably active life as a professor, philanthropist, community leader, business owner, farmer, land developer, husband, father, grandfather… There are too many roles to count. All of those facets of Ron’s life have a common thread: using one’s talents and resources and working with others towards a common goal, to create a better community.