Colleagues, yesterday, Sharif Rahman of Owen Sound was honoured as the 2023 recipient of the YMCA Peace Medal. This award recognizes special people who commit time without special resources, community status or money to promote and build a better community for us all.

Sharif is a very deserving winner of this award. Sadly, though, he is receiving this award posthumously. Sharif grew up in Bangladesh, attained a master’s degree at the University of Glasgow, and lived in England before moving to Canada in 2013. He bought The Curry House in downtown Owen Sound in 2015.

Sharif always looked for ways to help others in the community and did so in so many ways, but on August 17, everything changed. Sharif was the victim of an assault outside his restaurant after a dispute with three customers who refused to pay. The assault left him unresponsive and on life support. A week later, he died. He was 44.

The Owen Sound community was deeply impacted by this event. The night before Sharif’s passing, hundreds of people walked silently through the downtown. Many stopped at The Curry House to place flowers and shed tears.

The YMCA of Owen Sound Grey Bruce praised Sharif’s “unwavering dedication” to the community and “the genuine warmth with which he touched the lives of everyone he encountered.” Thank you, Sharif, for all you did for others, always thinking of those around you before yourself. May you rest in peace.

Applause.