Charter President Hazen Hogg's funeral service was on Saturday, Feb 22, 2019, and many thanks passed for those Rotarians who attended. Bruce Northrup asked for a moment of silence for Hazen, who will always be remembered as a great Rotarian...
The following article was from The Kings County Record Feb. 26, 2019, written by Tammy Scott-Wallace: When Hazen Hogg opened the first meeting of the new Rotary Club in Sussex 42 years ago, the pledge he made to service above self stayed with him a lifetime, his friends will say. Hogg passed away on Feb. 15 at the age of 84, leaving behind a legacy of volunteerism and community building. Bob Hutton was at that first meeting at the Maples Hotel in November 1977, now All Seasons Restaurant where Rotary meetings are still held every Monday. “We were friends for a long, long time,” Hutton, 85, said of Hogg. The club Hogg led really fostered that camaraderie, he explained. It was a gathering of businessmen in the day, and Hogg as a Sussex entrepreneur was determined to start a group in his growing community, sponsored by the Saint John club. “He really felt Sussex was ready for a Rotary club, and it really has turned out to be a successful one,” his wife Birdie of 62 years said on Thursday. “Rotary and what it stood for was so important. He always thought it was special.” Hogg helped collect 22 local business leaders who would come together for networking and friendship, and to give back to their community. Hogg was the charter president of the Sussex club, and because of his contribution to Rotary, he was named the Sussex club’s first Paul Harris Fellow in 1986. It is the highest honour a Rotarian can receive, named for Rotary’s founder from New York, Paul Harris. Birdie said that recognition was among her husband’s proudest moments. The Hoggs also hosted the first Rotary exchange student from Mexico in 1984, who they stayed in touch with over the years. While family came first, Hogg had an undeniable passion for business, Birdie said. “At 25 we moved into a brand new, two -story duplex on PEI he had planned,” she said. “One side’s rent paid for ours. Two years later he went around the corner and did the same thing again and rented those,” she explained. “He was ahead of his time in many ways, and he had more spirit like that than most people.” Hutton admired that entrepreneurial spirit. “Hazen was an entrepreneur through and through, but he also liked to be involved with what was going on in his community and with his family. That was very important to him,” said Hutton, who at the time Rotary was formed was running Huttons Dry Cleaning at what was the new Sussex mall downtown. Hogg grew up on Prince Edward Island and came to Sussex with the PEI Schurmans to work at their lumber and building supply business in the old Sussex Ginger Ale building on Pleasant Avenue. “After Schurmans left Sussex, Hazen decided he would strike out on his own and form his own business, HB Industries,” Hutton said. “The family was really settled here by then and wanted to stay.” For 21 years at HB Industries, Hogg’s staff made scouring pads. Later he formed HB Marketing, which he worked at until he was 74, often making calls from the road as he travelled with Birdie in their motorhome, often to warmer climates in the winter, and parked on the shore of St. Andrews in the summer. “He was a real salesperson, very outgoing” Birdie said. “He loved talking to people, and he was always sincere. “He had a real wit and make people laugh. “He was my best friend and soul-mate.” The Hoggs raised four daughters in Sussex, and had several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Hogg was active in St. Paul’s United Church, serving on many committees and as an elder for 30 years, and was active with the Liberal party. |