The San Benito County Chamber of Commerce dedicated a memorial
outside of its office on San Benito Street Thursday to a local
business and civic leader who passed away last year.
Hollister – The San Benito County Chamber of Commerce dedicated a memorial outside of its office on San Benito Street Thursday to a local business and civic leader who passed away last year.
Though Wayne Hone died on Oct. 17, 2004, his memory lives on in the hearts of the people who knew him and his name now graces a plaque dedicating the tree growing outside the Chamber’s office to him.
“We wanted to show our appreciation for his lifetime of support of our office,” said Theresa Kiernan, Executive Director of the San Benito County Chamber of Commerce. “We wanted to do something that would last forever or at least as close to forever as we can control, but we didn’t want to just do a plaque,” she said.
Kiernan found the idea to dedicate a tree in Hone’s memory from Shel Silversteins book “The Giving Tree.” The touching parable about giving all of yourself to the people you love reminded Kiernan of how Hone lived his life. The story tells the tale of a tree that gave everything it had to a small boy as he grew into adulthood. In the story, the tree first provides a place for the young child to play. As the child grows older, the tree provides shade to protect him from the sun while he rests. As the boy turns into a man, the tree gives its branches to build the man a home and its trunk to build the man a boat. When the boy has finally become an old man, the Giving Tree lets him rest upon its stump.
That is how Kiernan, and many others who knew him she said, remember Wayne Hone, a selfless leader dedicated to improving the lives of those around him and in his community.
“I truly believe in my heart that virtually everyone in this community has been touched by Wayne Hone whether they even knew it or not.” Kiernan said. “Because of what he’s given, he is one of those people who have touched almost everyone here.”
A veteran of the land title industry, Hone started forming San Benito Land Title in 1988 and opened its first office in 1989. By 1990 he had moved to Hollister and began his legacy of donating his time, skills and expertise to numerous businesses, community and nonprofit organizations throughout the county while living in Hollister. He died at the age of 72.
Kiernan said there was large support throughout the chamber’s board of directors to create a memorial for Hone and the annual dinner dance held each January was also dedicated in his honor. The annual dinner is also where the Chamber recognizes the man, woman and businesses of the year and Hone had been nominated for the honor but passed away months before the event, Kiernan said. The support of the chamber members to memorialize Hone was unanimous.
“Everybody was very much on board for doing something to remember to Wayne,” Kiernan said.
