Tribute to the life of Bill Moody at the Mount Forest United Church
Ted Arnott, MPP
Wellington – Halton Hills
Mr. Arnott was honoured to offer the following tribute to the life
of Bill Moody at the Mount Forest United Church on May 9, 2012
Kaye, members of the Moody family, Reverend Ferrier, friends, ladies and
gentlemen.
I feel so incredibly honoured that Kaye has asked me to say a few words today to
celebrate the life and honour the service of perhaps the greatest community
builder I have ever known.
John Chapter 3, verse 16 is one of the Holy Bible’s best known verses. Billy
Graham says that it contains all of the teachings of the Bible in a nutshell.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
When we think of this verse today, it’s easy to draw the conclusion that God so
loved the world, that he also sent people like Bill Moody into it…people who
devote their lives to making their communities stronger, better and more caring.
People who know Christ, and because of their good deeds, will know eternal life.
To suggest that “Bill’s dedication and commitment throughout his life to his
community will always be remembered,” is really an understatement of colossal
proportions.
Not only will his works be remembered, the seeds he planted continue to take
firm root, and they will grow, and will bear fruit for generations to come.
I think of the Lions Foundation of Canada’s Dog Guides Centre in Oakville. Our
mutual friend Jack Johnson always told me that Bill was instrumental in its
establishment.
With no government financial support, our Lions Clubs and others have funded
the training of more than 1700 dog guides for blind, deaf and other special needs
men, women and children. And with the successful training of each dog guide,
the quality of life of the person who receives the dog is enhanced beyond the
imagination of most of us.
The seeds were planted, they took root, and they continue to bear fruit.
I think of Lions Quest Canada, and the work Bill did as its founding Executive
Director. Lions Quest Canada has developed drug prevention, violence
prevention and anger management programming for elementary students. In
recent years, the programs have been adapted to meet the needs of older
students. In some respects this has paved the way for the discussions we’ve
been having on the issue of bullying in our schools. Today Lions Quest continues
to foster positive youth development as the focus of all its diverse and varied
programming.
The seeds were planted, they took root, and they continue to bear fruit.
There was his service on Town Council. Then there was his leadership as
National Director of Lion’s International, representing all the Lions Clubs of
Canada.
And, I remember the special talent Bill had for organizing new Lions Clubs.
How many were there? Who knows? Maybe too many to count.
But he had a real knack for inspiring small groups of like minded people to come
to together in collective purpose, with community betterment as the goal, and
teaching others how to do it. And once started, the small clubs grew.
Through his work, Lions International grows and grows, and the growth he
started has the potential to be exponential.
The seeds were planted, they took root, and they continue to bear fruit.
I’d like to think that I was one of those seeds, as well.
I came to know Bill well during Jack Johnson’s last election campaign in 1987.
Bill was Jack’s Campaign Manager, and I was just a kid really, 24 years old,
who’d volunteered to help them organize my hometown of Arthur.
It turned out to be the most challenging election the Ontario PC Party had ever
faced in anybody’s memory. On Election Night, across the Province, our Party
took a pasting. We really got slaughtered! Out of 130 seats, we won just 16.
But with Bill’s support and his experienced campaign leadership, Jack was one of
the 16 Conservatives re-elected to the Legislature, for his fifth consecutive term.
I’ll never forget the big bear hug Bill gave me when I walked in the door at the
victory party, giving me credit for helping them win Arthur. He almost broke my
ribs! But that was Bill…generously sharing the credit with those around him, for
the successes that he’d shaped, that he’d earned and that he deserved.
He and Kaye had been a big part of all of Jack’s provincial campaigns, but I think
that campaign in ’87 had to be one of their most satisfying because of the
overwhelming odds they faced and the success they achieved.
Later on he helped in 5 of my campaigns, chairing two of them in 1999 and 2003.
His commitment was 24/7. I am not exaggerating. He’d get into a groove, or a
zone maybe, and there was nothing short of victory on Election Night that would
get him out of it. We’d campaign from dawn to dusk, and the next morning he’d
give me a campaign memo that he’d written at 3 o’clock in the morning. His
commitment was total and his dedication and energy were unbelievable.
It wasn’t always easy. In each election, there was always a lot of pressure. And
the pressure would build.
When he’d start to turn as red as his hair, and his hands would start to shake,
And then when he’d turn white,
You knew he was about to blow off a little steam!
And then we’d be back to the task at hand.
But we had a lot of fun too. One time while Bill and about 20 of us were door-
knocking in Kitchener on a Saturday morning, a report came back that one of our
canvassers had knocked on a door, and the woman that came to answer the
door was stark naked!
I wondered what might happen next.
We were both afraid that all of our male canvassers would want to go back to
that house to check it out, perhaps to offer to put up an election sign, or enquire
whether the “constituent” needed some assistance with a provincial government
program!
But knowing Bill as I did, to this day I wonder if he made the whole thing up just
to keep our canvassing team going, and working hard until dark on a Saturday
night!
He always helped me put together my election brochure, and it was always
focused on local issues, not necessarily the messages the central campaign was
trying to get us to drive.
We’d sit by his computer in his home office, and we’d work together on the
content and what I wanted to say.
Then we’d discuss the photos which would be included in the pamphlet.
One time we were looking through the photos, and I asked him “Should we put in
a picture of our Party Leader this time?”
He chuckled, and replied: “You know we’re NOT going to put in a picture of the
Party Leader.”
And in that election, we didn’t. And it was a good thing we didn’t!
To Bill, his involvement in the political process was simply an extension of his
involvement in his community.
He also served the larger community of Ontario with distinction as the Chair of
the Ontario Film Review Board, which has the important responsibility of
classifying films to give parents the information they need, to decide which
movies their kids shouldn’t see.
He understood that in a democracy, through our freedoms of speech and
association, and our freedom to vote;
All of these rights guaranteed in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, but always
so messy and complicated;
He understood that during election campaigns we were debating and deciding
the future course of our communities.
So again it all came back to community, and the opportunity that he had to get
involved, work together, and make good things happen.
Identifying a community need, and doing something about it.
The seeds were planted, they took root, and they continue to bear fruit.
When I talk to my sons, Jack, Phill and Dean, about life, I tell them when you
grow up, you have three big obligations to fulfill if you want to have a full life:
You have your family life, your professional life, and your community life.
Each of these three aspects of life are like the legs of stool. You can’t have a full
life without all three.
Bill Moody’s life taught me that. Husband, father, Grandpa, teacher, Lion, political
organizer.
A full life, richly blessed by God, and we were all richly blessed to share our lives
with him.