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  • Writer's pictureMillsman
    • Nov 6, 2020
    • 7 min read

Forward Friday Unsung Heroes Installment #13! An Ode To 4 Of My Mentors…. They Grinded For Me!!



So we are back for another installment of Unsung Heroes.


Now more than ever, it is important to focus our attentions on stories that will encourage us, enlighten us and also sensitize us to, about and for people.


Most people go about their daily lives doing what they do and many if not most times, no one takes notice but if they didn’t do what they did………

Our communities I dare say would not be better off if these unsung heroes were not there.

The fatigue of this period of time has worn on so many so some real stories of everyday people can be just the right medicine to help us raise our eye levels a little bit past this 6 month grind of Covid, political uncertainty etc.

So normally, I choose someone for my unsung hero segment but this Forward Friday unsung heroes installment #13, we salute mentors I’ve had in my life and I am highlighting 4 that have mattered to me. This is part of a rebroadcast from the early blogging days but seemed fitting to salute them this week.

I am truly thankful for the influence my parents have had in my life and the mentors I’ve been blessed to have had in my life who still continue to influence my life.


So, Let’s Get Into This!

Care & Humility Looks Like Bob Brown…


When I think of care, I look no further than a man I truly admire and his name is Bob Brown.


To this day, I still can’t call him by his first name; not because he and his wife haven’t told me to do so but the respect and admiration I have for them is enormous.

For me, one moment out of many stands out.

When I was 13 years old, the youth group went on a weekend camping trip. I was so excited because I had heard about all the fun these trips were so I was amped up for it.


The weekend was great but then Sunday afternoon came. We’re getting ready to go and the youth leader said that I couldn’t back in the van with my friends and he was going to stick me with the older kids.


I begged him not to as I really didn’t know them but he said too bad, this is it, live with it.

This guy wasn’t the most pleasant guy to be around and his people skill set was, shall we say weak.

I remember starting to burst into tears when out of nowhere, Mr. Brown scooped me up and said, “You’re driving home with me, Dave!”

That ride home started a fascination with cars to this day. By the time we reached the church, I was happy that I got to spend all that time with Mr. Brown.

I didn’t realize it then but it was from that point that I began watching how he worked with people but more importantly, how he cared, connected with and for people.


He still has the ability to make everyone just feel like they are part of his family.


To this day, there are moments when I think of how would Mr. Brown handle this moment with a person and I am thankful that I got to experience first hand the greatness of a humble man in Bob Brown.


Leaders Step To The Plate: That Was Bob Senechal

If there was one leader who marked my younger self as a leader to be more, it was Bob Senechal.


Bob was my second youth pastor/minister and I was on his youth leadership team as the treasurer.

Bob was a great leader and no nonsense type of guy when it came to leading. He expected us to learn our job and ask questions when we were stuck or needed help.

The Fork In The Road moment came during a meeting one evening when I had to produce my monthly report.

I can’t remember why, for this meeting, I wasn’t ready but that night I wasn’t. I knew all the numbers and where we were but that’s not a report; that’s just numbers in my head.


Later on, I found out that he knew I wasn’t ready but he also knew my love of numbers.

He quizzed me every which way and while the other team members were amazed at my rattling off numbers, I knew it was subpar because as he said to me privately, “you didn’t step to the plate; it sounded good but it was far from your best!”

“You didn’t step to the plate; it sounded good but it was far from your best!”

Those words stung because I knew he was right and the only thing that saved me was my memory.

He loved me through that moment and helped me begin the process of working on my skill sets.


He moved away from the city but almost every summer up until a few years ago, I would see him at the camp where he had a cottage.

I would never hesitate to tell him every time how much he meant to me and helping me grow up into becoming a leader.

He would always say he didn’t do much because he said it was all inside of me but I would tell him that it takes a skilled and developed leader/mentor to draw it out.

Sadly, Bob passed away a little while ago and while I miss him, the handprint of his life and leadership still carry on in my life! Bob was a great man!

Great Leaders Shepherd/Guide: Dick Meades

Of the many leaders I’ve had the opportunity to serve under, I cherish the 10 years I served with the chief, Dick Meades.


I came on staff @ Westmount High School during a tumultuous time of change and re-organization and I couldn’t have been in better hands than the “Chief” as I liked to call him.

To tell you how my tenure came to be would be another blog but suffice to say, “Chief’ saw something in me from an interview with someone else and that meeting propelled me into a destiny I could have only dreamed about.

If there was anything I could say that would encapsulate my time with “Chief” was that with all the various skills I had been blessed with and the multiple roles and portfolios I ran with, I needed someone to help guide me along in learning how to grow my abilities with clarity and consistency.

From my educational well-being to my professional well-being, “Chief” would walk me through scenarios that happened, could happen and give me food for thought so that I could continue getting better.

“Chief” would bring me along to school board events so I could see how the inner workings happened; the car rides home and talking about what I saw were invaluable.

One of my biggest takeaways was a monster 5 day camp, where we were having: a leadership camp, grade 7 camp out, Austrian exchange students week up north compressed into those 5 days.

I was in charge of overseeing, cooking the multi-layered camp plus a few other things.

I thought I had it all figured out well but ran into some glitches.

I was flustered by the time I got there. I was late, the overseer in charge, not ready for the first group but…..

“Chief” whispered in my ear that everyone was taking their cue from me so I had to hold it together.

The rest of week went off well but when it was over, the shepherding, the advice, the guidance and the manner in which it was done created this new quest to become better.

If I became a better leader “Chief” would say, then everyone else could become better in their skill sets and leadership levels under me.

I think of how that moment and so many more transformational moments in my years working with the “Chief” helped shape my leadership thinking and progressions!


I’m one grateful guy for meeting and knowing the Chief; Dick Meades!

Teresa Saucier Restoring Faith In The Process


I could have never guessed that a one day subbing moment at an elementary school could have been a catalyst for healing the spirit from some devastating pain in leadership.

I had been in a nomadic period of time; I had a crippling body blow from 2 previous work experiences and without realizing it, it wasn’t hard to distrust many forms of leadership.


I would respect the position in many cases after those episodes but to say that I could and would trust the leader would be another story.


Then came Coronation school.

What I didn’t know was that it was a set up and the beginnings of not only a comeback to flourish in a leadership capacity but to learn that I could not only respect the position of a leader but to respect and grow in relationship with that leader.

Teresa is one of the warmest, considerate and smartest people I’ve ever come across. I think we spent more time laughing during a day then getting work done.. (Did I say that?)


Spending time with Teresa and seeing how she embodied how a leader influences, empowers, cares for, instructs, trusts, gives, presses forward in the good and bad moments was powerful and inspiring.

Some people talk about what they would or wouldn’t do but Teresa just was it and did it..

One thing that always stays in my mind is one day in the spring some years back, we wanted to surprise the teachers with coffee and crumpets time in their classroom while they were teaching.


Part of it was to say thanks but part of it also was to subconsciously let the students know how valuable we felt the teachers and staff were to us.

Sounds easy but it wasn’t. After Teresa retired, for 2 years, some of the teachers would say that of all the things they missed the most about Teresa’s time with them was how she just made them feel special.


Not just talked about how special they were but showed it.

Loyal, honest, humble, fun loving, caring, Teresa restored my faith in trusting the leadership line above me and in doing so, helped me once again see how important it was/is to be the kind of leader that those behind me would want to trust the person and not just the position.

Teresa is also partially to blame (that’s a joke) for the genesis of my blogging; sitting in a mall food court challenging me to think about using my writing skills for the good of others. So much to thank her for.


Thank you Teresa: You are a Gem!!

Maybe we have or maybe we haven’t but if a mentor of ours is still alive, why not send them a thank you for their contribution to helping us grow.


If they’re not still in the land of the living, a note to their family would and could be a nice gesture to say thanks.


Or maybe it’s not too late to be a positive influence in the lives of others. I think that when I look at the positive influence of the mentors in my life, I can’t help but want to have a positive effect on others.

I’m grateful; are you?

Dave


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