Postponed
Due to unforeseen circumstances, the family has requested that Gerry Furney's Retirement Gala be held this summer.
Date to follow.
CAMPBELL RIVER—The city of Campbell River will be making a donation to the Town of Port McNeill to help recognize one of the longest serving mayors in Canadian history.
Council, at its Monday meeting, voted to contribute $500 towards a community clock which will serve as an ongoing tribute to former mayor Gerry Furney.
Coun. Charlie Cornfield served with Furney on the Island Coastal Economic Trust board and said it was appropriate that the city honour a man who contributed a large portion of his life to local government.
Mayor Andy Adams said other Island communities have also contributed towards the clock, with donations in the hundreds of dollars.
A letter from the Town of Port McNeill reads that the clock will represent “‘time well spent’” helping to build the Town of Port McNeill.
Furney, who spent 46 years in public office, and 39 of those as mayor, arrived in Port McNeill in 1956 as an Irish immigrant.
He was elected to Port McNeill’s first council in 1966, and served as councillor for seven years before becoming mayor.
Since then, he’s lost only one election.
After his first term as mayor, Furney lost his bid for re-election by just one vote in the early 1970s.
But three years later, he got himself back into the mayor’s chair and held onto the job until this past November, when Furney elected to retire from political office. The Town of Port McNeill will be honouring Furney next month at a community celebration to recognize his lifetime contribution to the community.
The event takes place Saturday, Feb. 7 from 1 to 4 p.m. at North Island Secondary School in Port McNeill.