[0:01] [Music]
From inside the former council chambers,
[0:07] which were probably right behind us,
Nick Hadley shaped the township through
[0:11] his public service. As a member and
chairman of the board, his thoughtful,
[0:16] steadfast leadership, was really the
catalyst for advancing major projects,
[0:21] enhancing infrastructure,
and ensuring the township was prepared
[0:25] for the future through careful planning.
So the common thread in these projects,
[0:30] plans and programs is that they began
with a vision. He had an idea which was
[0:35] shaped inside the council chambers.
And then we had the idea of let's give
[0:40] that vision to staff, get out of their
way. And he navigated decisions large
[0:45] and small through conversations and
collaboration.
[0:49] A wise man plants a tree knowing he will
never get to enjoy the shade. There's a
[0:55] lot of shade trees in Cranberry. that
are here because of Dick. So, with his
[1:01] name forever attached to our council
chambers, my fellow board members and I
[1:06] and those that come after us will be
reminded of Dick's steady leadership and
[1:10] motivated to continue making the
decisions
[1:14] and using the leadership for which Dick
is remembered. As I said, every day when
[1:18] I make a decision or I think through
something or when I engage a citizen, I
[1:23] think there's a whisper of Dick in what
I'm doing because I don't want to
[1:28] disappoint him. And I say that because
he is alive and well. He's just on the
[1:33] other side. This is a celebration. I
think if he were standing here today to
[1:38] see all the dreams and all the ideas and
all the fruits of his labor come to
[1:43] fruition would have really really had an
impact on him. But you know what he
[1:49] would be on dreaming about what's next
and that's the way he always did
[1:52] something. And um what was really neat
his accomp accomplishments were
[1:56] meteoric. The things he did were huge.
Even if they were small little items he
[2:01] was working on had big dividends.
But he was more about the character,
[2:06] moral character. When you talk about
Dick, you talk about doing the right
[2:11] thing for because it's right, not
comfortable, not easy, but it's right.
[2:17] » I got to work with Dick for 24 years and
u it was a privilege and an honor. I
[2:24] mean, he showed me a lot cuz I really
didn't know anything about politics
[2:26] either or about local government. So,
you know, I think we all came in kind of
[2:32] cold and Dick was the uh the teacher for
all of us. Dick was a leader. He he
[2:38] worked hard. I think it's his leadership
that really set us over the top to make
[2:44] us what we are today.
>> When I came into this role, one of the
[2:48] things that um was said to me that I
have big shoes to fill. Well, they were
[2:53] really big shoes and they still were big
shoes. I wish Dick was here today so I
[2:57] can talk to him and ask him so many
questions. I have so many things to ask
[3:01] him and I'm just glad that he built this
legacy and I am so humbled to be a part
[3:06] of that and I just want to thank Dick
and Dick's family for all the sacrifices
[3:11] and for everything that you've done for
this township.
[3:13] » We're practically a a choir here singing
the same song. I mean we we know Dick
[3:18] very well. Dick is within the hearts of
his family and friends. He created a
[3:24] legacy. And what I really love, what I
enjoy is going under the bridge by the
[3:29] golf course and now seeing his uh uh
plaque up here. It's a reminder. It's a
[3:34] reminder of everything he did uh for the
community and also a guidance for all of
[3:40] us uh to go in that same direction. A
focus to community uh and and making uh
[3:46] Cranberry a better place to live. Count
everybody. Everybody ready? Count of
[3:51] three. One, two, three.
[3:57] [Applause]
[4:03] Go. One, two, three.
[4:15] We do more than just uh commemorate his
years of service. We recognized the
[4:20] values he stood for. Integrity,
humility, patience, and a steadfast
[4:26] commitment to the public good. There
were countless difficult decisions along
[4:31] the way. Uh, and Dick's voice was always
calm, thoughtful, uh, reminding me to
[4:37] focus on what truly matters, doing right
by the people we serve. He helped shape
[4:42] not only my approach to this role, but
also my understanding what genuine
[4:47] public service looks like.
[Music]