It was in 1911 that a group of citizens, concerned that Bell Canada wasn’t rolling out service to rural areas fast enough, decided to create their own telephone system to serve the Grand Bend,  Zurich and Dashwood area. In 1995, the Hay Township Telephone Company, as it was called,  became a collaborative owned by its customers. Now, nearly 100 years since it was founded, Hay Communications has made a generous gift to the Grand Bend Community Foundation that will ensure the company is part of the community forever.

“We hope this gift will make Grand Bend a better place to live,” said General Manager Angela Schneider in announcing the gift. “We are very impressed by the variety and extent of the different causes supported by the Foundation. It has grown tremendously and we want to be part of its future, and the future of the Grand Bend area.”

Hay made an initial gift of $10,000 to the Grand Bend Fund in 2003, then added another $2,500 in October. The total contribution, together with any future contributions, will form the Hay Communication Fund within the Foundation’s general endowment fund.

“Hay Communications has been part of this area for many years,” said Hank Krech, Chair of the Foundation board. “This gift is a wonderful way to way to celebrate the special connection between our community and this company. By building our endowment, it will allow us to support even more great projects in the future.”