Just Call Me "Hutch"

Yesterday, Mr. Robertson asked if I had my Chapel Speech ready for today. When your boss gives you an opportunity – even when he was probably joking – it’s a pretty good idea to step up. So of course I told him I was ready.

I made a huge list of things to say last night and one of them was to tell you about my School and my days in School. Wait – scratch that one – Mr. Hall did an amazing job last weekend didn’t he? My days in school would be too much like his – but not nearly as good. Not nearly as funny.

I also thought about giving you a few life lessons. I’ve not been around that long, but I think I’ve lived a little and learned a bit too. But I have a feeling that not many of you know me that well. This is the fourth year since I was the House Director in Lonsdale’s, a rowing coach and a teacher. I spoke to the Chapel a few years ago but I’m sure three-quarters of you are new to the School since then.

It’s hard to be a stranger and have any credibility with a crowd telling everyone how to live their lives when you haven’t earned their respect yet. Respect is an important word in my life – and I believe that it has a special role at Shawnigan – a school where it is held in a very unique way. You know that you are in the right place – the right school, the right job – the right family – when your belief about an important principle fits perfectly with how life is lived around you – when everything just feels in synch. I think my feelings about respect are in synch with this school.

But, as I said, I’m in no position to share any of life’s lessons with you because you don’t know me – I haven’t yet earned your respect. So – I’m Hutch. Well, I guess in this crowd Hutch is sitting with Ripley’s house. But I’m the other Hutch. We’re not related by the way. He spells his last name wrong.

I love that Mr. Robertson calls me Hutch so often. It means a lot on so many levels. It’s friendly. It’s familiar. It reflects how comfortable a community this is. It’s also what my whole family calls me – from my father to my mother and I’ll bet a few of you have heard my three-year-old son Matthew calling to my window from in front of the main building. “Dad, Dad, Dad…” and when he doesn’t get a response out comes, “Hey Hutch!”

So, it works for me because it’s a family name – and Shawnigan is all about family to me. Mr. Robertson told you not too long ago about hearing the Lonsdale’s boys at my wedding singing the House Hymn. Yes, that was me he was talking about. I can tell you with complete honesty that aside from our close family – parents and so on – the boys in the House and the girls that I coached were the most important people for Jill and I to have at the wedding – OH, and you, too, Mr. Robertson!

The guys in Lonsdale’s who know me call me Hutch. I’m sure it doesn’t feel right to some around here who are a bit more traditional. But the House was a big part of my family. So it felt right.

A lot of people feel that you should call your teachers Mr. or Mrs. as it’s a sign of respect. They aren’t wrong. It most certainly is. But by calling me Hutch I’m pretty sure the guys in the House or down at the docks were doing so in a respectful way. I like to think that it is inclusive. It’s a sign of the comfort that they have with me and with my family. I have earned the right to have them call me Hutch.

This School really is a special place isn’t it?

I say respect has a special place in my life because I spent time in the military. I was an infantry officer in the reserves. I’ve done all the tough boot camp type of training you see in the movies and I’ve marched at the head of the Guard onto Parliament Hill on July 1st in the same uniform you see in front of Buckingham Palace in London.

I still remember a lesson in the army when they asked us about respect and what it means. I had a lot of things going through my head because in the army, of course, you call the officers Sir, you salute all the time and stand at attention and march and so on. It’s as ‘Old School’ as it gets. But the instructor told us, “you’ll never get respect until you give it.” That was a powerful moment.

A good leader shows respect. He or she has a responsibility to look after “the troops.”
If you think about it – most of us respect our parents not because of the power they hold over us, but because of how they care for us – and show us respect.

That’s what I love about Shawnigan – there is a real feeling of respect that the staff give the students – and of the older students respecting the younger students. We get it in this community and I think that’s one of the most powerful things about Shawnigan.

I went to a school in Ontario – Upper Canada College, or “UCC”. I still remember my first few days in a very powerful way. Not in a “like it was yesterday” way – but in the way that it left an impression that has stayed with me and I have no doubt influenced who I am today.

It was a big school a long way from my home, full of tradition, started in 1829. My dad went to School there and won piles of awards. And yes, my family couldn’t afford the tuition and I was surrounded by a lot of guys whose families obviously could. I was very, very nervous.

But when I arrived the senior guys in my House were friendly and enthusiastic. They made me feel like part of the family right away. The Head of House had a party at his place – I’ll bet there wasn’t much to it but pop and chips and a cheesy movie (it was Godzilla) – but those guys in grade 13 made us feel welcome and I’ve never forgotten them. I don’t remember the guys in grade 10, 11 or 12 that year. But I remember Gus and Peter and Dave and Rocco like brothers.

I remember my house director and I remember my assistant house director too. He was not cool. He was nerd through and through. But if you and your roommate knocked on his door at 10:30 at night needing a break from your homework he was always up for a run to 7-11 for a slurpee. It would have been easy for him to slam the door and tell us to go to bed. But a little extra effort when it wasn’t required left an impression on me for life.

When I interviewed for my first job at Shawnigan I was hoping as much as anything that there would be room in a boarding house to give back a bit of the generosity Mr. Slemon showed us at UCC.

Those guys and teachers at UCC showed a little bit of respect and they have my respect for life. And a lot of Shawnigan guys and girls have gotten to know Hutch a bit because of the generosity of my parents, the donors to my School that helped us, and those guys in grade 13 in my first week at UCC.

I’m sure the English teachers in the room would like me to leave the not so subtle message hidden in that concluding paragraph. But, like Mr. Slemon, I’m a nerd and I’m no Cox or Mayes or Lane but I taught physics and computer science and even a bit of math so I’ll solve the equation for you.

Be a leader – be important in someone’s life here. Go above and beyond and above all show and earn respect. To you older students – look after the youngest in the School. The smallest effort you make will be with them forever. And they’ll respect you and support you 100 times more than they ever would if you could – like in Mr. Hall’s day – pull out the cane to try and enforce respect.

And the last part of the equation – say thank you. I’m not just sharing a bit of myself with you today – I’m saying thank you to the guys at UCC, the donors, my teachers and of course my parents.

Thank you for listening!