“Thank You For Paving The Way For All Of Us”

Our gentle giant, Chris ‘the-kindest-soul-you’ll-ever-meet’ Huriwai has just announced his retirement. Our KEE man is one of those rare, special people in life that everyone loves. He is not only one of the most respectful workers to work with, but also one of the most respected in the industry. If you have ever met Chris, you will know what we are talking about. No one has anything but good things to say about our man. Everyone agrees it has been an absolute pleasure to have Chris on the team and he will be greatly missed.

The leaving party was therefore an emotional time for all. Surfacing Administrator Anita King and Surfacing Manager Bumpy Samuel organised food and drinks at the Empire Bar, where more than 50 of the team, crew and a few ‘old faces from the past’ came together to celebrate Chris’s time at KEE. We flew Chris’s wife Jasmine (pictured with Chris and Bumpy) to Perth for the occasion, and their daughter and her partner also joined the evenings tribute.

Chris was presented with a heart-felt gift from all of the crew. The large, framed piece showed faces of his asphalt crews on a road behind a paver with the quote “Thank you for paving the way for all of us.” Bumpy wanted to make sure that Chris knows how well respected he is by everyone and how his tremendous amount of knowledge has been passed onto the crews, something the men can now keep with them and also pass on. 

Chris has been with us at KEE Surfacing since 2016, working as our Asphalt Superintendent. Chris always leads by example, and is an exceptionally hard worker. Chris’ speech touched on his character when he thanked the families and partners in the room for their understanding of the job. He said, “In this industry we don’t know when we are going home each day, we go home when the job’s done.”

The party showed how well liked and respected Chris is, with more than a few tears shed at the end of the speeches. The high-light at the end of the evening, was the Haka, performed by his friends, family and crew, which was both a powerful and emotional tribute to our KEE leader, Mr Chris Huriwai. Keep in touch bro, we love you!