Today’s celebration is a special one — a tribute slightly delayed, but no less heartfelt. Earlier this year, our club honoured Larry Paikin with a Paul Harris Fellowship Plus 4, but Larry was unable to attend. He was, fittingly, at another ceremony — honouring his son, Steve Paikin, upon Steve’s retirement from TVO and The Agenda. In true Paikin fashion, service and family came first. Today is not an afterthought — it is our proper moment to honour Larry, in his presence, and in his Rotary home.It’s the year 1956: Elvis Presley was shaking up the airwaves with Heartbreak Hotel, the Suez Crisis was challenging world diplomacy, and the Trans-Canada Highway was still being laid across our nation — and Larry Paikin joined the Rotary Club of Hamilton. While fashions, music, and skylines have shifted dramatically over the decades, one thing has remained constant: Larry’s steadfast commitment to Service Above Self.
A Paul Harris Fellowship is among Rotary’s highest honours. It does not recognise a single act, but a lifetime marked by goodwill, generosity, and quiet leadership. Paul Harris believed Rotary should be “friendship in action.” Larry has lived those words — not through grand speeches, but through steady presence, compassion, and constancy of purpose.
Larry is known in this club for one constant truth: he is always the first to step up. Whether the need is time, resources, or hands-on labour, Larry never hesitates. One clear example is his leadership in our park clean-up projects. While most of us discreetly eye the clock or the pizza, Larry is still out in the grass, picking up that final scrap of paper. He donates not only his time, but also his treasure, supporting every major initiative of this club as well as the Rotary Foundation itself. For Larry, generosity is not seasonal — it is a lifelong habit.And if loyalty is the measure of character, Larry’s record is unmatched. He has stood by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats with devotion only true believers can muster. Through championships and losing streaks, cold bleacher seats and roaring crowds, Larry has worn the black and gold with pride. While some invest in teams only when winning is easy, Larry’s support has been steadfast — the very image of Oskee Wee Wee endurance. Of course, in an otherwise unblemished reputation, for some reason he is a Boston Red Sox fan and has toured baseball stadiums across North America with his sons.
Larry’s influence on the cultural life of Hamilton — and beyond — is profound. Together with his late wife, Marnie, he helped shape the artistic landscape of this city. They became pivotal in the development of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, and their legacy continues through the Marnie & Larry Paikin Music Education Initiative — bringing orchestral experiences to schools and communities. Larry also helped launch the Canadian Brass, now a world-renowned ensemble. Though he never sought the spotlight himself, he remains a devoted amateur clarinetist — regularly sending me YouTube videos of virtuoso bassoonists, shared quietly, musician to musician. That is Larry: sharing what he finds beautiful.
Professionally, Larry helped build the Golden Horseshoe skyline — contributing to one of Canada’s great engineering feats, the Skydome, now the Rogers Centre. But Larry never believed in retirement — not for buildings, and not for people. Even at ninety-one, he still spends several hours each day selling locomotives and railway equipment across North America. When asked why, he simply replies: “Do you need another locomotive? If you do, give me a toot.” He often recalls the advice once given to him personally by famed conductor Arthur Fiedler: “Young man — you retire, you expire.” Larry took that to heart — he never expired. He just kept moving, kept building, kept contributing. And if you spot a Lexus in Hamilton with the licence plate “REBAR,” that is no vanity — it’s a signature, the mark of a man who reinforces everything he touches.
Larry’s service extends far beyond Rotary meetings. As a founding supporter of the Eva Rothwell Centre, he helped create one of Hamilton’s most inspiring community spaces. Just outside these doors stands one of his most imaginative contributions — the Larry Paikin Literacy Express, a restored railcar turned travelling library. More than $100,000 was raised to bring that dream to life. Today, children step aboard to discover books, imagination, and possibility. It is not just a structure — it is a moving symbol of hope.
Larry’s influence is woven into Hamilton — visible and invisible, public and deeply personal. At every turn: culture, literacy, music, environment, mentorship, family — there is evidence of his hand, and more importantly, his heart. He has said that his greatest joy is not in what he has built, but in watching what his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren become.
So today, in this Rotary lunch, among friends, family, and fellow builders, we honour not just a member or a donor, but a quiet architect of community who continues to build, to speak, and to listen.
Larry, on behalf of the Rotary Club of Hamilton — thank you. Thank you for reinforcing our city with generosity, uplifting it with music, and guiding it with integrity. This club stands a little taller because of you.