Tom Weisz, a 1967 McMaster graduate and honorary member of the Board of Governors, is among the seven outstanding citizens who have been named to Hamilton’s Gallery of Distinction.

Weisz is being inducted jointly with his wife Sasha in recognition of their numerous contributions to the community.

The 2017 inductees include leaders from health care, the arts, local business, community service, culture and heritage. Each has made a lasting contribution to Hamilton. They will be inducted at the 34^th annual gala dinner Tuesday, Nov. 14^th at Michelangelo Events & Conference Centre.

The 2017 Hamilton Gallery of Distinction inductees are:

TOM AND SASHA WEISZ

As volunteers, philanthropists and community builders, Tom and Sasha Weisz have devoted themselves to making the world a better place, in keeping with the Jewish concept of “tikkun olam” or perfecting the world through acts of kindness. Tom and Sasha have volunteered as leaders of numerous community and national organizations and supported such Hamilton organizations as McMaster University, St. Joseph’s Healthcare, Hamilton Health Sciences, Theatre Aquarius and The Art Gallery of Hamilton. Tom and Sasha have made a priority of preserving and enhancing Jewish life and culture through their leadership and support of local, national and international organizations including The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal, Yad Vashem and the National Holocaust Monument, Save a Child’s Heart, Larger Than Life, the Jewish National Fund and State of Israel Bonds.

ED CUMMINGS

It’s safe to say Ed Cummings has truly shaped Hamilton, just as Hamilton has shaped him. Born and raised on Mary Street, he would go on to serve the city as a police officer, as a businessman, and as a distinguished and long-serving volunteer, best known as the chief organizer of the Santa Claus Parade, from the 1970s through 2013. Motivated by the desire to give Hamilton kids a Santa Claus Parade of their own, he built a vast network of volunteers to run the event, through his connections to service clubs, the police service, the Irish-Canadian community, his business associations and his own initiative. Cummings, known as an affable and self-effacing man, did all this and much more for the community, while helping to raise seven kids and run an auto-body shop on the Mountain.

GWEN METCALFE (Posthumous induction)

Gwen Metcalfe gave her working life to Dundurn Castle, turning it from a local curiosity into a nationally ranked museum, becoming a respected member of Canada’s heritage community along the way. Metcalfe, who started as a summer receptionist at the castle, would go on to become curator and Centennial Project co-ordinator and the driving force in restoring the castle to its 1855 look, as the grand home of lawyer, businessman and Premier of the United Canadas, Sir Allan Napier MacNab. So complete was her devotion that she visited MacNab’s descendant, the Earl of Abermarle, who contributed numerous artifacts, including MacNab family portraits, to the castle. Metcalfe died in 1997.

FRANK RASO

Frank Raso’s early experiences of hardship growing up in wartime and post-war Italy drove him to make a success of himself and do all he could for his community. Searching for a better life, he arrived in Canada in 1956, at age 18. Two years later, he joined Allan Candy Ltd., and within three years was plant manager. He spent 16 years taking night school classes to build the skills that would see him through to his semi-retirement from Allan Candy in 2003. Frank has made a positive and permanent mark on Hamilton, as a founder of Festitalia, president of the Hamilton Congress of Italian Canadians and the Sons of Italy Hamilton, and founding Board member of the Sons of Italy Hamilton Housing Corporation and SOI Charitable Corporation (Villa Italia). He has served on the boards of Opera Hamilton and the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra.

VITEK WINCZA

Vitek Wincza has devoted his career to providing meaningful artistic experiences for children and adults alike ever since arriving in Hamilton in 1982, when he defected from Poland after a series of dance performances at Hamilton Place. Wincza later bought the landmark downtown building that had once housed the Hamilton Conservatory of Music and brought it back to life as the Hamilton Conservatory for the Arts, which today provides programming for 1,000 students each year. Wincza also created the Canadian Ballet Youth Ensemble, taking on ambitious projects and connecting young performers with experienced professionals. Wincza’s charitable organization, Culture for Kids in the Arts, brings the arts to thousands of children in Hamilton’s priority neighbourhoods.

MAUREEN WORRON-SAUVÉ 

Since being diagnosed with scleroderma in 2002, Maureen Worron-Sauvé has become a leader in the scleroderma community, serving as president of the Scleroderma Society of Canada and the Scleroderma Society of Ontario. Worron-Sauvé helped spearhead the foundation of the Hamilton Scleroderma Group and the Scleroderma Patient-centred Intervention Network.  Active in numerous international research projects and she has co-authored 10 medical research papers published in journals including Arthritis & Rheumatology. In 2014, Maureen received the Canadian Organization for Rare Disorders’ “Rare Honour Award”. In 2016, the US Scleroderma Foundation honoured Worron-Sauvé with its Messenger of Hope Award, citing her global volunteer efforts. Worron-Sauvé and her husband David Sauvé have also had a significant impact on the Hamilton community as business leaders. They own and operate seven Tim Hortons outlets and are co-founders of Core Urban Inc., the company that has redeveloped iconic Hamilton properties including Templar Flats and The W Lofts.

Background on The Gallery of Distinction

The Hamilton Gallery of Distinction is a unique institution that exists to recognize and celebrate Hamilton’s most distinguished citizens, both past and present. In 1984, as part of the hometown homecoming celebrations, the Hamilton Gallery of Distinction was created under the stewardship of a volunteer board of directors. To date, our community has celebrated the accomplishments of 203 (a number that will reach 210 after the 2017 induction) outstanding individuals.

The portraits and biographies of all inductees along with this year’s recipients are featured in the Gallery of Distinction display on the third floor of the Hamilton Central Library.

Nominations are received from the general public, and a panel representing the community is convened each year to select inductees.

More information: www.hamiltongalleryofdistinction.ca

Tickets to the Nov. 4^th gala dinner are available by calling 905-522-1151 (ext. 100)