Chris Neal only has to glance down at his arm for a reminder of the driving tenet of his life.
The word “Goodness” is tattooed there — and also on the arm of his brother and business partner — “as a daily reminder of how we choose to live our lives and our business,” the 2024 Portraits of Giving honouree for Aurora said at his award ceremony at Delmanor Aurora Nov. 13.
The longtime Aurora resident and co-owner of Neal Brothers Brands is being recognized for his numerous contributions to improving the lives of others in his community and beyond by donating both his time and money toward causes that include food insecurity, juvenile diabetes, mental health and health care.
Neal said he is “incredibly humbled and honoured” to join the alumni of more than 100 recipients of the initiative celebrating inspiring community leaders now in its 15th year.
The annual Portraits of Giving initiative's crystal anniversary theme "embraces optimism, joy, hope and connection that our honourees all share — each having a unique and inspiring impact, helping to make York Region a brighter place to live, work, learn and give," according to founder and local photographer Karen Merk.
The 2024 Portraits of Giving event has been touring throughout York Region, wrapping up in December, with a display of photographs of each of the honourees in their community.
Neal and his brother, Peter, began making croutons as a business in the kitchen of their family home in 1988 , and now Neal Brothers is a leading brand and distributor of organic food products in Canada known for its unparalleled standards and practices. A portion of the firm’s profits is donated to community food centres across the country through Community Food Centres Canada.
“From the earliest days of founding Neal Brothers in 1988, Peter and I have both been active in giving back to our communities, and goodness has been at the heart of our business. We were united in the premise that giving back would be a fundamental tenet of who we wanted to be,” Neal said to the audience of family, friends, business associates, other Portraits of Giving honourees, and community members gathered to celebrate him.
As well as serving on the board of directors of the Aurora Food Pantry, Neal and his wife, Wendy, have raised more than $250,000 for juvenile diabetes research since the diagnosis of one of their daughters with the disease in 2011.
The couple recently led the volunteer community fundraising campaign for the NICU at Southlake Regional Health Centre, where their twin daughters were born.
“Community involvement in its many forms is a lesson that my brothers and I learned at a very early age, and I have to thank my parents, Mary and Stan, who are with us tonight, for showing us the way,” Neal said.
“I've always said that, like so many other things in life, participation in your community is a learned trait, and my brothers and I learned from two of the best. I'm very fortunate to have partners in life — my wife, Wendy, and my business partner and brother, Peter — who are both completely aligned with the same thought process of giving back, paying it forward, getting involved, etc, in order to leave our circles better because of our contributions.”
The success of his businesses, not only Neal Brothers Brands but also Crank Coffee and Jonluca Neal, a national natural foods distribution business, has given Neal the opportunity to both give back and pay it forward.
They marked the business’ 30th anniversary in 2018 by performing 30 acts of goodness across the country, he said.
Their cookbook titled Goodness was published to raise money for Community Food Centres Canada and “to help elevate the unfortunate and uncomfortable discussion around food insecurity that it is a serious issue in our country,” he added.
“Making a difference where you can and affecting change where you see it needed is a very rewarding life,” he said. “The Neal Brothers’ dream was to create a culture of respect and as such, the team is very aligned in core values. The synergy that exists is much like family – always taking them into consideration before making big decisions and often involving them in the decisions that need to be made. Mental health and wellness are open and appreciated topics of discussion at work and at home. If one of us is not OK, most of us can step up, and we do. Staying the course, together.”
Aurora Mayor Tom Mrakas attended the event to acknowledge Neal’s impact on the community.
“I know one of your quotes is it takes both time and money to make a difference, but the truth is not everyone who has the means and the time chooses to give back. You have and we’re all better because of it,” he said.
“You are a true leader and inspiration to all of us and the work that you do is improving the lives of so many people in our community.”
