Tremendous crowd at Victoria Gathering

The Union Club was the scene this past Tuesday as Shawnigan welcomed alumni, parents, friends and well-wishers to our Annual Victoria Gathering. More than sixty guests packed the MacKenzie Lounge to hear Director of Advancement Steve Housser’s report on the School, its achievements over the past year, and the optimism over the direction in which it is headed. Highlights included a viewing of “The Shawnigan Advantage,” the School’s most recent video, and a slide show detailing, amongst other things, our triumph at the Royal Henley Regatta and the record-setting snowfall that beset the School for most of the past four months! Steve also provided an update to attendees on the state of Shawnigan’s latest capital project, the Centre of Excellence (aka the “Sportsplex”), which will add four new squash courts, a cardio fitness centre, and a state of the art field hockey artificial turf field to the School’s growing arsenal of top class athletic facilities.

Adding some extra flavour to the evening’s festivities were the presence of four “Guests of Honour” - former Headmasters Pat MacLachlan and Horace McClelland, teacher Peter Kearns, and the legendary Graham Anderson! These four venerable gentlemen delighted in the opportunity to visit with past students and exchange stories of their shared time at Shawnigan. Former students were surely shocked when they learned exactly how much their former masters knew of their “behind the scenes” antics!

The evening was a tremendous success, with representation from nearly all eras of the School’s existence, from Jack Reynolds ‘32 to Lauren Burnett and Aaron Kelly from the class of 2008. There was also a noticeable and vocal presence from alumnae of Strathcona Lodge School - a trend which we hope continues to grow. We are already looking forward to making next year’s event even better!