There was also the head of the Bata University in Zlin, South Bohemia, Ignac Hoza. The funeral took place in the Toronto St Bonaventura church in the presence of about 800 mourners, Czech general consul in Toronto Richard Krpac said. The ceremony was opened by a performance of a Scottish bagpipe band from the regiment of the Canadian volunteer army in which Bata served and got the rank of colonel. The main speech was delivered by Thomas Georg Bata, Tomas Bata's son and current head of the shoe-making empire. Two closest friends of Tomas Bata and Czech, US experts close talks on industrial cooperation agreement ...
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Czech national musician Bedrich Smetana's symphonic poem Vltava (also known as the Moldau) was played at the funeral. Along with family members, there were representatives of the Czech community in Canada, a number of general consuls and ambassadors as well as representatives of the shoe-making company from India, South America, China and Switzerland. Among the mourners, there was former prime minister of Ontario Rob Ray. The Czech government was represented by Cunek who laid flowers at the memorial to the victims of Communism in Toronto's Masaryktown before the ceremony. Cunek said the family's attitude was fully of pride and hope. "The funeral was a celebration of Bata," Cunek said, adding that most of the wreaths in the church were decorated with Czech national colours. Tomas Bata Jr continued the shoe-making tradition of his father, Tomas Bata, who in 1894 founded the famous shoe company in Zlin, which grew into the major industrial enterprise in the region before World War Two and thanks to which Zlin was transformed from a small village into a large town. After the communists seized power in then Czechoslovakia in 1948, Bata's factories were nationalised and his son fled to Canada. Bata Jr then established the new Bata Shoe Organisation in Toronto which he headed until recently when he assigned his son with the management. Following the fall of Communism in 1989, Bata Jr and his wife Sonja, by whom he had one son and three daughters, were among the first post-1948 emigrants to return to the Czech Republic where the Bata corporation resumed its business activities. In the spirit of his father, Bata Jr also supported education of young people. He established the Junior Achievement educational organisation for young businessmen. Ten years ago he set up the Foundation of Tomas Bata in Zlin, headed by his daughter Monica, and he sponsored its activities both financially and intellectually. Bata also helped found the University of Tomas Bata in Zlin and chaired its board. Moreover, he contributed to the shoe-making industry, in particular he directly participated in the development of a computer technology for shoe design. Bata Jr was the president of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)'s Business and Industry Advisory Committee for the transformation of the Central and East European countries. Thanks to his initiative, the Czech Republic and Slovakia were accepted to this organisation. In his lifelong work Bata promoted the ethical rules in business. He was awarded many high decorations, such as the Czech state Order of T. G. Masaryk and the Slovak White Double-Cross. He received honorary doctorates from a number of world universities.
(Ceske Noviny)
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