Celebrating Bedford’s 2019 Citizen of the Year ~ Jeff ‘JHO’ Hoyland

November 14, 2019
Jeff JHO Hoyland, with his family

 

Master of Ceremonies and Chair of the Selectmen Mike Rosenberg opened the program to celebrate the 2019 Citizen of the Year, by acknowledging that he has known  Jeff ‘JHO’ Hoyland since his years at Bedford High School. Rosenberg displayed a vintage clipping showing Hoyland as Number 84 on that year’s BHS football team. Rosenberg quipped, “Jeff was a track star .. .. .. and he played football.”

Just out of college, Hoyland carved out a media career, founding a video production business in North Cambridge. As a member of the Community Preservation Committee,  he videotaped Don Corey describing Old Town Hall before its renovation, on September 11, 2001.

In 2010, Hoyland was diagnosed with cancer of the tongue. His physical appearance changed in service of staying alive, and he reinvented himself as a cancer survivor with a will to live and a spirit to match.

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Technology has remained Hoyland’s friend. He uses blogs and social media to share song lyrics, random observations, and odd holidays (a new one every day!)

And up-to-date posts on his Facebook pages:

It may be for Bedford Snapshots that Hoyland is best known around Bedford. With thousands of superb images of Bedford athletes, musicians, actors, and others, Hoyland goes everywhere, celebrating optimism and resilience with his sidekick, CAMERA.

Bill Kenerson and Chip Newman, friends from Bedford High School, helped to voice Hoyland’s message: Push boundaries; “Why be average when exceptional is an option;” and “No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care,” before singing a very short chorus of the Monty Python anthem, “Look on the bright side of life!”

In his remarks, Hoyland returned often to the phrase, “You didn’t have to do that, but you did,” allowing that he had not gained a superpower through his first round of radiation, but in the second he realized his capacity to bring people together.

Click this link to read the full text of Jeff Hoyland’s remarks  or  click this link to watch the evening’s proceedings on Bedford TV.

Faces in the Crowd

 

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