Kind words of encouragement are the currency of volunteer work
I’m pleased to share with you the following messages from the Malcolm Campbell High School Grads Facebook Page:
Left to right: Scott Munro, Lynn (Hennebury) Legge, and Gina (Davis) Cayer at the May 13, 2015 organizing meeting in Kitchener. Lynn is looking a the 1962-63 MCHS yearbook. Jaan Pill photo
Scott Munro retired some years ago as a geography professor at the University of Toronto. The photo is from a January 31, 2014 (that is 2014) blog post entitled: “Planning is now under way for an Early 1960s Malcolm Campbell High School Reunion.” Jaan Pill photo
Dana Michaels: you guys are doing great! Even though I don’t plan on attending I am enjoying reading the blogs and posts to the lead up. I graduated in ’70 or ’69? I have a bad back so choose my trips carefully.
Peter Mearns is owner of Bolton Lock and Security Ltd. Jaan Pill photo
Jaan Hendrik Pill: Wonderful to read your message, Dana. It means so much to us, to have a message from you, indicating that you enjoy the blogs and posts. Your message has prompted me to compose a whole essay, which I will post at the Preserved Stories website, as soon as time permits. The gist of the message is that there is so much value in networking, among MCHS graduates, whether or not they attend this particular reunion. As well, kind words of encouragement, in the volunteer work that people do, are in a sense the currency of volunteer work. They have such a positive effect on motivation, for those of us who are intensively involved in volunteer work, in this case on behalf of the MCHS reunion.
[End of texts]
We follow three page Facebook Groups focused on Malcolm Campbell high school.
Click here for links to the three MCHS Facebook Pages that we follow >
It was through other volunteer work that I learned about the value of using Facebook as a means to spread the word, and foster conversations, about events of all kinds.
Jaan Pill is a retired elementary school teacher. Selfie by Jaan Pill
I will follow up with a whole “high school essay” on the topic Dana Michaels has introduced. I’ve composed the essay in longhand, using pencil and paper. Thereupon, I’ve translated it into text using voice-to-text software.
People signing up for conference and reunions
On a separate topic, I’m pleased to share the following dialogue, this time from the MCHS ’60s Reunion Facebook Group:
Gary Lambertz: Can we get more of the attendee updates as they become available. It will help us at this end to push the people that are undecided.
Jaan Hendrik Pill: We will work to get the attendee updates in place. This is a key topic of interest for many people, and for good reason.
Bruce Goodman: We also found that it was slow early on – to get real paid commitments to our 1999 MCHS ’69er reunion in Montreal. Seemed many wanted to learn who was going before ‘they’ made firm plans.
Bruce Goodman: Likely the same is happening for your organizing committee.
Jaan Hendrik Pill: Bruce, we so very much appreciate your comments. What you have experienced is what I’ve experienced in conferences that I’ve worked at organizing in previous decades. I’m delighted to know that the same phenomenon is at play with the organizing of high school reunions!
[End of texts]
January 31, 2014 (that is, 2014) blog post
With the exception of the first photo, at the top of the page, which dates from May 13, 2015, the photos on this page are from a January 31, 2014 (no, that’s not a typo, though I am well known for the occasional typo) blog post:
Planning is now underway for a 1960s Malcolm Campbell High School reunion
Here’s my rational for my choice of spelling for “underway”:
Spelling and usage are topics that I often think about. I thought about these things all the time in high school. I believe one reason I so much enjoyed teaching spelling, in my years as an elementary school teacher, was because the topic is of endless personal interest for me. My students, I like to think, are all now the greatest spellers in the world.
Lynne Legge tells me Peter Mearns has just died. I cannot find anything about it. Are you aware of an obituary? May 17th, 2018
Lynne Legge has confirmed that Peter Mearns has passed away.
Peter Mearns (MCHS 1963), who lived in Bolton, Ontario, passed away on May 15, 2018. An obituary at the Egan Funeral Home can be accessed here.
One of the first thoughts that came to mind, when I heard that Peter had passed away, was the central and highly valuable role that he played in the organizing of out MCHS 2015 Reunion.
Peter got Lynne involved with the organizing of the event and also played a key role along with other people on the organizing committee to ensure that everything worked out as planned, at the event. Peter knew so many people from the MCHS days. That was another thing that came to mind at once.
Many memories come to mind. Peter, like so many others who have passed away, from our younger days in Montreal, remains with us in our thoughts and memories.