At the Annual General Meeting in 1986, and as part of our 15th Anniversary Celebrations, CFIB gifted me with a Karsh photo to remember the occasion. Having the photograph taken by one of the world's most famous photographers was an experience in itself. He talks with you to get the look he wants, and then to your surprise, takes a photo without warning.
From left to right, facing the gift photo is David Jackson, VP Field Operations, David Hull, VP Communications, Jim Bennett, VP Legislative Affairs, Karen Hollis, my EA, and next to me Brien Gray, VP and General Manager. To his right is my childhood chum and a founding member, Paul Richards.
It was a joyous occasion for the membership, with CFIB at the peak of its influence and enjoying a national membership of 75,000.
Another special event in our history was our 25th Anniversary, and this time as a surprise, the CFIB commissioned a bronze statue of myself. It was all done in secret from photographs, and only my wife Mary saw the statue before it was completed. "His nose is not that pretty." That comment to the artist was a great laugh around CFIB for several years.
One of the features of the 25th Anniversary celebrations was having Barney Danson, the former Minister of Defense as a speaker, and with great humour, he recounted sitting in the audience during the White Paper debate at the Royal York Hotel in 1970 and listening to me sounding off like a great evangelist. He was a valued colleague all during his years in parliament.
Ted Gammon, another founding member, spoke at the AGM. His father, as the former head of the Ontario Insurance Brokers Association, was one of our top supporters when I started CFIB. And another featured speaker was Bert Lesage, the top field performer for the last 15 years. And of course, Paul Richards gave remarks as a friend and passionate CFIB member.
Special occasions in an organization's history are not just about recognizing the founder or outstanding performers; instead it is part of the emotional glue that keeps an organization together then and now.