Legacy complete

Life in the local education circle will soon change, a direct result of a happening at the close of June 2023. 

For a collective 95 years, 3 Uber influential, charismatic, brilliant educational leaders will push the 'I need a change' button and sidle into their retirement years, and like many in the system, I am of two minds with this particular changing of the guard. While I truly couldn't be happier for them since I consider each to be a good friend, I am a little sad that their loss will be of significance to the educational community by depriving the coming generations of students the opportunity to experience their sheer awesomeness.

Greg Brucker and Pete Bowman will be long remembered as trend-setting Principals with huge hearts, wide smiles, and tremendous charisma. Doug Woods has also profoundly impacted the schools he's been placed as a respected and beloved Vice Principal, he too possessor of a wide smile, engaging personality, and huge heart. All three have bettered the lives of students as both teachers and administrators, the student's affinity for them readily apparent as they interacted in the hallways, gymnasiums, fields, and classrooms. Like all administrators, their influence started at the chalkboard, the stories of their popularity like whispers on the wind to the rest of us, but seeing their brilliance firsthand as my colleagues and I adopted the pupil role, it's as clear as the prominent nose on my face. 

I've led a blessed educational career, thanks in part to the pure luck of great administrators. While I haven't necessarily agreed with each's pedagogy, their leadership has prompted both respect and growth, the mark of true leaders. From Harry Hughes, to John Dunlop, to Mary Ellen Smith, to Craig Hawkins, just to name a few of those who impacted my growth, my career peaked with my 'swan song' 12+ years under the supervision of two giants in the Biz, first with Russ Atkinson and then with Greg. That's frickin' awesome sauce for anyone who knows Russ and Greg because they are widely held to be some of the best to ever have steered the ship, not to mention both were named as Outstanding Principals by The Learning Partnership. Not to sell Pete and Doug short because they were amazing VPs when we shared the halls and would certainly have secured spots on my personal top 5 list but I wasn't ever gifted the opportunity to crew the ships they captained. 

Greg Brucker has been my dear friend since I was 13 and moved with my family from Barrie's east end to Sunnidale Road, 4 houses down from his parent's place. Although a year younger, we quickly connected through a mutual love of being active, the somewhat new craze of skateboarding being the lynchpin. We spent many an hour together zooming around the neighbourhood streets, he on his Kryptonite wheels, me on my YoYos ... IYKYK! Being residents of 'Snob Hill' (not so affectionate 70's moniker for Sunnidale Rd), we eventually offered our abilities to the already stellar REP of Barrie Central through our shared love of athletics and willingness to work in the classroom. As the teen years flew by, we spent a boat load of hours doing adolescent things, getting up to our collective no-good while bursting into belly laughs even Santa would be envious of. With parents who were educators, it was no surprise when we both chose to follow in their footsteps as a career choice. 

Without Social Media to fuel our connectedness, we toiled in the trenches separately, every once in a while crossing paths thanks to educational opportunities, but it was pure kismet when we joined forces thanks to his placement as captain of the good ship Central. 

At the risk of treading on some heart strings, the combination of sheer educational brilliance with a long-standing affinity for each other's company, I'd have to rank my years with Greg as being the coup de grace of my career. Although we will most assuredly still go out of our way to stay in touch in retirement, I'll miss the familiar "Mr Port-aire", his personal greeting of habit, his genuine smile of connection, and his renowned razor-sharp wit. He's easily one of the most intelligent individuals I've ever shared a friendship with, making the tremendously difficult task of leading a high school look like it's a walk in the park. The highest praise I can offer to ensure that Joe Public will grasp the loss would be exemplified by the 1000 watt smiles on the painted faces of dozens of students who interrupted their North Fest fun and frivolity to go out of their way to offer their congratulations to him.

I personally feel that's NOT a normal occurrence!

Pete Bowman and I first met through our days at BCC when he was the leader of the Barrie Alternative School that was attached to Central. I was immediately drawn in by his 'larger than life' personality, quick grin, and genuine compassion, but it was the time we spent together when he became North's VP, then Admin Rep on GBSSA council, that I grew to appreciate his leadership skills. When he was promoted to Principal at OSS, I knew that what was Orillia's gain would be North's loss ... my loss, if I'm being selfish. Obviously a key component to the job, Pete also brought his Uber sharp mind to party. 

He just flat out gets it, of that I'm sure!

Doug Woods and I have also known each other for a large number of years, working together at first BCC then BNC when he was placed in both as VP. I could copy snippets of my descriptors for both Greg and Pete, paste them in right here, and they'd fit like the proverbial glove, but I think one of Doug's greatest assets are his 'Cool Hand Luke' personality. He rarely gets flustered, and always seems to have nailed the analysis of the situation. Like Pete, we also shared time on GBSSA council, but like Greg, we also got to know each other better by sharing time outside of the school walls. With Woodsy, it was our shared love of cycling that afforded us hours in the saddle to 'think-pair-share' (to coin some edu-lingo), a habit that has a high degree of likeliness to continue now that he has freed up some time. 

The perfect phrase that begs when describing Doug is 'Salt of the Earth'.

So, all of this begs questioning ...
What will the local school scene look like in their absence?
Will others be capable of filling in the gaps?

Who knows? I have my own ideas, but for once I'll keep them to myself. 

I'll simply end by sincerely thanking this trio for the impact they've made on my life and wishing them much happiness as their sights refocus after so much time and energy so willingly given.