Natalio Sadsad

HFCC’s special tribute to a Filipino pioneer who is considered the “father of early Filipinos that settled in Hamilton in late 1960’s”. Natalio Sadsad or Nat was one of the filipino pioneers that settled in Hamilton and the first filipino that got hired by Stelco, the largest steel company of Canada at the time. He and his wife Linda started the first Filipino store in Hamilton. In Nat’s vision of a unified young filipino community he organized the very first community meeting of all filipinos that passed by their store. The meeting was held at the Hamilton Communiy Centre in Catharine street attended by handful of new filipino immigrants. That was the birth of Pilipino Canadian Association of Hamilton 1n 1974. Nat served as officer of the organization from 1974 to 1981. He was a dedicated hard working officer who organized the first Phil. Independence Gala Night and the very first community summer picnic. Then in 1990 when the community centre project came into fruition he served the Bingo committee to raise the necessary funds till the property was bought in 1993. At the same time that he was serving HFCC, he concurrently serving the newly formed Philippine Basketball Association of Hamilton. He was a player and officer at the same time. Nat exemplify a person of a true volunteer that did not have to be prompted or reminded what to do. Pareng Nat, your legacy is etched forever in our  community, thank you for steering us to the direction we are in now.

Article by Bonner Villabroza