Tribute to Wayne Wright ONZM, Plain Language Awards benefactor and friend
Remembering Wayne Wright, Wright Family Foundation
Kua hinga te tōtara i te wao nui a Tāne | A tōtara tree has fallen in the great forest of Tāne.
As many of you will already know, our dear friend and Awards benefactor, Wayne Wright Snr, passed away unexpectedly last month. We are forever grateful for his steadfast support for the Awards, through the incredible Wright Family Foundation. If you have been to any Awards ceremony over past years, you’ll have seen and maybe chatted with Wayne and his amazing wife Chloe who was our Awards patron. Even soon after Chloe’s sudden passing, Wayne was at the Awards showing his support.
Wayne’s service, held in Tauranga, had a huge attendance as you would expect. Along with deep sadness and shock at such a loss, I felt honoured to sit in the company of so many whose lives had been touched by this extraordinary man. Many who spoke shared gratitude for the work of the Foundation, but there were many more whose stories revealed lives that had been touched individually by Wayne’s personal kindnesses and his one-of-a-kind spirit. Looking back over 40 years, I count myself lucky to have known Wayne — first as a dear personal friend and mentor, and then as friend to the Awards.
It’s hard to believe Wayne and Chloe are both gone. But then, they were an inseparable pair. Through their Foundation’s motto of Grow the Good, Wayne and Chloe leave a legacy of generosity and care that is a shining example and inspiration to me.
The work of the Wright Family Foundation now continues thanks to the energy and dedication of Wayne and Chloe’s large and wonderful whanau.
Arohanui dear friend
Lynda Harris
Plain Language Awards founder and Chief Executive, Write Group
Posted In: Communications, Social good, Sponsors
