IN MEMORY OF JON LORD: It was a beautiful celebration of Jon Lords life. Its my great honor to be invited by Jon Lords family to speak at his memorial service on April 2. Attending with me were Jons family and friends, government officials and many current/former elected colleagues. Following at transcript of my speaking note of my thoughts about our good friend and dedicated individual for public good. Speaking notes of Wayne Cao, MLA Calgary Fort Memorial Service of Jon Lord Central United Church, Calgary April 2, 2014 Dear Members of Jon Lord’s family. Relatives and Friends of Jon Lord Officials and colleagues from municipal, provincial and federal jurisdictions… Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends All… I wish to thank Jessica, Jon Lord’s daughter, for inviting me to speak at this event, as we say farewell Jon Lord and celebrate his life. I was deeply saddened when I heard of the news of Jon’s sudden departure for Eternity. I was surprised by the invitation for me to speak today, considering I was in still in first stage of recovering from a major heart surgery. Maybe it’s appropriate with my condition to share with you all, my own heart-felt thoughts and words about our dear friend Jon Lord. It’s my great honor to represent the Legislative Assembly and the Government of Alberta, Speaker Gene Zwozdesky and Premier Dave Hancock, and all my current and former colleagues, many are here today, to express our sincere feelings for Jon Lord’s family, and to celebrate Jon’s life. Today, flags at the Legislature Building are flying at half-mast for Jon. Over one hundred years of our Alberta history, Jon Lord was the elected Legislator MLA #719. Only a few have served in Calgary City Council and then as MLA like Jon. I served with Jon as MLA from 2001 to 2004. I was in my 2nd elected term, but Jon was already in his 3rd elected term, 2 as city councillor ! I was still nervous facing the public and the media, Jon was already a pro at it. Jon served on many MLA Legislative and Government committees, Standing Committee on Private Bills Standing Committee on Privileges and Election, Standing Orders and Printing Standing Committee on Public Affairs Chair of the Committee on School Construction and Operating Costs, which identified potential saving of 25% in new school building costs which identified potential $250M in savings. Chair of the Secondary Suites Review Committee which established building codes for secondary suites under the Alberta Building Codes for the first time. Chair of Special Places 2000 Committee which finalized the designation as environmentally protected of nearly 7,000 km2 of provincial land and created over 60 new provincial parks Jon Lord was one of three MLAs who requested and formed the so-called Dumb Rules Committee, aimed at reducing red tape and government inefficiencies. Jon also served with me on the Committee on Albertas Place Within Confederation of Canada, reinforcing the role of our Alberta in Canada. We also had fun in our MLA work too. My name is Cao and Jon’s name is Lord. One year, my assigned seat in the Chamber was between MLA Tony Abbott, a pastor with Reverend title, and MLA Broyce Jacobs, a Bishop of the Mormon Church. Sitting between a Reverend Pastor and a Bishop, I was promoted to the title of Holy Cao. I went to talk to Jon and proposed that it’s more appropriate that he should switch his seat with mine. In between a Reverend Pastor and a Bishop should be Lord, not Holy Cao ! We are the only 2 MLAs whom our colleagues call for help quite often, when they call out “Oh Lord!” or “Holy Cow !”. Jon’s name is called not just in the Legislature, but by people all over Alberta and Canada, and the world too ! Jon was also good at music, playing piano and strumming guitar. I still remember time during Christmas MLA event at Government House in Edmonton, Jon played on the piano and together we bellowed out some Christmas tunes. Besides knowing him as an effective representative in Alberta Legislature, I learned that Jon Lord was born in Calgary Jon started his first business at age 18 and has owned and operated small businesses ever since. Casablanca Video He then established Casablanca Video in Calgary, which became the 11-time Readers Choice Award Winner as Calgarys best Video Rental outlet . Casablanca was honoured as one of four finalists for Alberta Small Business of the Year, Premiers Award, Alberta Chamber of Commerce in 2007 and in 2012 was still open as one of Canadas oldest surviving video rental outlets. Casablanca is well known in the community for its support of volunteer charities and local community initiatives. In 1985, Jon was the Founding Chairman of one of Albertas first Business Revitalization Zones (BRZ) which named the district Marda Loop in 1985. Jon was Founding Chairman of Albertas first BRZ Summerfestival which they named Marda Loop Marda Gras summer festival,first held in 1985. Jon became the Founding Chairman of the Federation of Business Revitalization Zones (FedBRZ), representing all the provincial BRZs in the Province of Alberta, encompassing about 5,000 mostly small businesses. City Council Lord ran for Calgary City Council in 1995, and was elected as Alderman for Ward 8 for two consecutive terms. He was initiator of 31 Notices of Motion, from starting the Snow Angels program to energy and building retrofits that saved in excess of $100 million dollars to introducing ISO14000 which was instrumental in Calgary winning a World Environmental Achievement Award. Numerous initiatives included calming Electric Avenue and strategizing and resolving the 30 year battle between the Stampede and Victoria park over expansion issues. Jon introduced ISO14000 while on Calgary City Council, now the basis of the Citys environmental planning policies. Jon ran in the 2013 Calgary civic election for mayor. He gained 21% of the popular votes. He provided us, voters, with serious choice against the incumbent, like the current Mayor stated. We could have the Lord Mayor like city of London in the UK !. Besides being Lord of Casablanca, Jon is Lord of the Grill He was Chairman of BBQ on the Bow, Canadas oldest Kansas City Barbeque Society sanctioned barbecue competition. Several years I met Jon and his BBQ Team cooking up great BBQ items, creating excellent dishes. Many of us in Judge Team had the chance to enjoy the culinary products from Jon, Lord of the Grill. Now, I wish to share some thoughts and words from our mutual friends on Facebook. Lynne MacQuarrie : So very sorry to hear that Jon Lord ( Jonathan Lord) passed away. He was an invaluable part of Calgarys political and business scene. Having known Jon for many years and always enjoyed our diverse conversations about politics, entrepreneurs, business, etc. He was passionate about Calgary and Calgarians. He was king of the BBQ, a great piano player, and a gracious human being. My condolences to his family and friends, especially Sheryl Guillaume. This is a huge loss to Calgary. Jeanette Chernow: Jon was one of the good guys, he cared about other people and was always willing to help them. He fought the good fight - now he continues his journey into eternity - I will remember you Jon. My prayers are with your family. Good Night Sweet Prince! Alara Payten: Love you Jon! Blessings for your journey and your Great Work from the other side. TV Anchor Nirmala Naidoo: I am deeply saddened to hear of former Alderman Jon Lords passing. Throughout my career as a journalist, and much more of late, we would chat from time to time. I was always struck by his passion for politics while running a successful landmark small business. My heartfelt sympathies go out to Jons lovely family. I know the pain youre suffering and my thoughts are with you. Your husband and father, gave much of his life to this city. I hope youll take comfort in what he achieved for all of us. Reporter David Heyman: Id like to ask my friends in journalism to mention in their Jon Lord obituaries that he led the fight on council for the City of Calgary to install energy-saving street lights. His actions continue to save Calgarians millions of dollars annually. I covered city council at the time and many of his fellow aldermen considered him a crank but many of his ideas were sound and have since been adopted. Jessica Barnes: Rest In Peace, your legacy will live on. Those are samples of thoughts and words from some our mutual friends. On my personal note, Jon, our family always treasures your encouraging note that you sent me when I was in the hospital right after my heart surgery. Jon wrote: “You are providing much inspiration for others who may be facing similar circumstances. Wayne - keep up the great work. Glad to hear it is working out well. Modern medicine is creating miracles every day now”. Jon, thank you for those words. Jon, I know that you are physically not here with us, but you live on as the link between the long chain of your ancestors and your descendents. You live on as genes among your descendents. You are now among the many ancestors of yours, and if you inquire back far enough, you may find that we share same too ! And Jon, we all know that, with your name sake, you are in good hands of our All Mighty Lord ! God bless you and your descendants, and please help guide us from where you are ! Jon, thank you for having shared time and space with us in this world. To Jon’s family, thank you for giving us the opportunity to celebrate Jon’s life with you. Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you all for the opportunity to share my heart-felt thoughts about our dear friend Jon Lord. Wayne Cao, MLA
Posted on: Sat, 05 Apr 2014 07:46:11 +0000
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