ROTARY CLUB OF GRAVENHURST PRESENTS PAUL HARRIS FELLOWSHIPS

From Left To Right; Rotary Representative Enno Hoesktra, Robert Currie, Theresa Morley and Andrew Currie.
(Photo by Fred Schulz)

GRAVENHURST ROTARY CLUB AWARDS BOTH CURRIE LADS WITH PAUL HARRIS FELLOWSHIPS TODAY

A NICE SURPRISE, AND A HUMBLING AWARD FOR DOING WHAT COMES NATURAL

     THIS IS MY OPINION. IT WAS NOT WRITTEN BY MY SONS. THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN AWKWARD AND A TAD SELF SERVING. I OFFER AN APOLOGY FROM THE BEGINNING THAT THIS WILL READ AS ONE MIGHT PREDICT WHEN A FAMILY MEMBER IS HONOURED BY THE COMMUNITY. BUT MORE SO THIS IS A REMINDER THAT YOUNG GRAVENHURST CITIZENS CAN STAY AT HOME AND SEEK THEIR FORTUNES AND SUCEED.  I KNOW THAT ANDREW AND ROBERT'S GRANDPARENTS, NORM AND HARRIET STRIPP AND ED AND MERLE CURRIE WOULD HAVE BEEN OVERWHELMED WITH PRIDE AT WHAT THESE LADS HAD ACCOMPLISHED, AS RECOGNIZED THIS WEEK BY THE ROTARY CLUB OF GRAVENHURST. 

     EXCUSE ME FOR THIS BIT OF NEPOTISM. IT'S REALLY HARD TO HAVE A BLOG, AND TWO SONS WHO HAVE JUST BEEN HONORED WITH PAUL HARRIS FELLOWSHIPS, AND NOT EXPEND A FEW WORDS. ANDREW AND ROBERT CURRIE WERE PRESENTED WITH THIS PRESTIGIOUS AWARD, THIS AFTERNOON, AT THE WEEKLY LUNCHEON OF THE GRAVENHURST ROTARY CLUB, BASED ON NOMINATIONS. I KNOW WHO SUBMITTED THE NOMINATIONS, BUT I WILL RESPECTFULLY KEEP THAT PRIVATE FOR THE TIME BEING. BUT BLESS YOU.

     IT WAS A PARTICULARLY POIGNANT OCCASION, AT THE GRAVENHURST OPERA HOUSE, WHERE BOTH OUR SONS USED TO WORK, BEFORE THE RECENT CHANGES IN OPERA HOUSE PROGRAMS, AND  I DARE SAY, PROTOCOLS. THEY BOTH WERE FORCED TO RESIGN THEIR TECHNICAL POSITIONS, DUE TO THE FACT THEY COULD NOT DEDICATE THEMSELVES TO THE FORMAT CHANGE, HERALDED BY THE TOWN. THE MOST UNFORTUNATE SITUATIONS, WAS THAT NOT A SINGLE TOWN COUNCILLOR, SOME WHO KNOW THE BOYS WELL, WOULDN'T APPROACH THEM FOR AS LITTLE AS A FAREWELL HANDSHAKE. BOTH LADS WERE HURT, BECAUSE THEY LOVED WORKING AT THE OPERA HOUSE, AND WOULD HAVE REMAINED THERE FOREVER, IF PUSH HADN'T COME TO SHOVE. AND IT DID. THE RIGHT DECISION WAS MADE, AND THEY FOCUSED ON THEIR BUSINESS THIS SUMMER, AND MADE GREAT STRIDES WITH OTHER LOCAL ENTERTAINMENT VENUES.

     THE REASON THIS IS RELEVANT, IS THAT BOTH ANDREW AND ROBERT WERE SHOCKED TO HEAR THEN, VIA ROTARIAN MARK CLAIRMONT, THAT THEY HAD BEEN CHOSEN BY THE GRAVENHURST ROTARY CLUB, TO RECEIVE THE REVERED PAUL HARRIS FELLOWSHIPS, A SUBSTANTIALLY HIGH AWARD FOR NON-CLUB MEMBERS. THE ONE STUMBLING BLOCK, WAS VISITING THE OPERA HOUSE, WHERE THERE ARE NOW SOME UNFORTUNATE MEMORIES. WHILE ANDREW HAS BEEN HIRED TO DO SOME FREE-LANCE TECHNICAL WORK FOR AN OPERA HOUSE USER-GROUP, EVEN THAT HAS BEEN DIFFICULT UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES. ROBERT DIDN'T HAVE THE DECADE OF OPERA HOUSE EXPERIENCE, BEHIND HIM, BUT HE STILL HAS FELT A TREMENDOUS LOSS, LEAVING THIS HISTORIC VENUE…..WHERE HE AND HIS BROTHER ORGANIZED MANY COMMUNITY FUNDRAISERS, INCLUDING THE FIRE-RELIEF CONCERT SEVERAL YEARS AGO, FOR RESIDENTS WHO LOST ALL THEIR POSSESSIONS IN THE THREE BUILDING INFERNO. THEY STARTED OFF PLAYING AT THE GRAVENHURST HIGH SCHOOL "PURE GOLD" CONCERTS AS KIDS, WITH HIGH HOPES AND ELECTRIC GUITARS, AND THEY GRADUATED TO HOSTING ANNUAL CHRISTMAS THEMED CONCERTS, AS FUNDRAISERS FOR THE SALVATION ARMY FOOD BANK. THEY ALSO EARNED MONEY, THROUGH CONCERTS FOR THE WOUNDED WARRIOR FUND, OF CANADA. THEY HAVE ALSO ASSISTED THE O.S.P.C.A., AND RAISED FUNDS, WITH THEIR STUDENT CONCERTS, TO HELP FRED SCHULZ BUY EQUIPMENT FOR THE BARGE.

     THEY HAVE BEEN DOWN IN THE DUMPS ABOUT THEIR SEVERED RELATIONSHIP WITH THE OPERA HOUSE, AND THE SILENCE OF LOCAL COUNCILLORS, BUT HAVE BEEN BOLSTERED IN GOOD HUMOUR ALL SUMMER LONG, BY WORKING WITH FRED SCHULZ, AND THE MUSIC ON THE BARGE CONCERT SERIES…..WHICH JUST WRAPPED UP WITH THE GOOD BROTHERS CONCERT, LAST SUNDAY AT ROTARY GULL LAKE PARK. IT'S NOT WORK. IT'S PLAY. AND THEY ENJOY, SO MUCH, WORKING UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF BARGE MANAGER FRED SCHULZ, AND, EVEN MORE THAN THIS, ENJOYED THE OPPORTUNITY OF WORKING WITH FRED, DURING HIS STINTS AS OPERA HOUSE MANAGER. THEY LEARNED A LOT ABOUT CIVIC PRIDE, AND VOLUNTEERISM, FROM THE KINDLY MR. SCHULZ, WHO CAN RAISE AN AUDIENCE OUT OF THIN AIR, AND THESE ARE JUST HIS FRIENDS. THE FINAL BARGE CONCERT, HAD ONE OF THE LARGEST CROWDS IN BARGE HISTORY……AND BOY OH BOY, DID THE GOOD BROTHERS EVER BESTOW HONORS ON OUR TOWN, THE BARGE, THE HELPERS BEHIND THE SCENES, AND MR. SCHULZ.

     ONE WOULD ASSUME, BY WHAT I HAVE WRITTEN SO FAR, THAT ANDREW AND ROBERT OWE THEIR SUCCESSES, TO THE FAITHFUL TUTORSHIP OF FRED SCHULZ. WELL SIR, THAT IS MOST DEFINITELY THE CASE. ANDREW AND ROBERT BEGAN APPRENTICING WITH FRED, ON THE BARGE, AND FOR ANDREW AT THE OPERA HOUSE, MORE THAN A DECADE AGO, AS KIDS, BUT AS ADULTS, THEY WOULD NEVER THINK OF MISSING A MUSIC ON THE BARGE EVENT. IN FACT, ANDREW, A SOUND TECHNICIAN FOR GRAVENHURST'S POPULAR ENTERTAINMENT VENUE, "PETER'S PLAYERS," DECLINED TO WORK WITH JOHNNY WINTER, AN INTERNATIONAL MUSIC ICON, IN ORDER TO WORK WITH FRED, AND CONNECT WITH HIS OLD FRIENDS, THE GOOD BROTHERS…..WHO HE HAS BEEN JAMMING WITH FOR YEARS. AS BOTH BOYS AREN'T MUCH FOR WRITING, BUT DAD CAN'T GET ENOUGH, I VOLUNTEERED TO WRITE THIS LITTLE NOTE OF THANKS, TO MANY OF THEIR FRIENDS IN MUSIC, BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL COLLEAGUES, AND TO FRED SCHULZ, FOR BESTOWING SO MUCH GOOD NEIGHBORLINESS FOR SO MANY YEARS…..AND BRINGING TO FRUITION, THE BEST REALITIES OF LIVING IN THIS CHARMING COMMUNITY IN BEAUTIFUL SOUTH MUSKOKA.

    THEY ALSO WANTED TO THANK BARRY BROWN, ONE OF THEIR MENTORS, FOR ALL OF HIS SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS. HIS NAME HAS BECOME VERY FAMILIAR IN OUR HOUSEHOLD, AND HIS FRIENDSHIP, OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE TO BOTH OUR SONS.

     THERE ARE MANY YOUNG PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY TODAY, WHO ARE DOING THEIR BEST TO SUPPORT AND REPRESENT THEIR HOMETOWN. THERE ARE SO MANY GOOD CITIZENS WORKING ON THIS TOWN'S BEHALF, AS VOLUNTEERS, WORKING WITH SERVICE CLUBS, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, YOUTH GROUPS, LOCAL ATHLETICS, SCHOOL AND CHURCH GROUPS, TO MAKE THIS A FINE PLACE TO LIVE. ANDREW AND ROBERT LOVE THIS TOWN, AND EVEN THOUGH THEY HAD A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO RENT A BUSINESS LOCATION IN BRACEBRIDGE, NINE YEARS AGO, THEY DECIDED TO INVEST THEIR MONEY AND TIME, TO PROVE THAT GRAVENHURST CAN BE A HIGHLY PROFITABLE PLACE TO LIVE AND WORK. THEY WANTED TO SHOW THEIR CONTEMPORARIES, WHO HAD A NEGATIVE VIEW OF POTENTIAL IN GRAVENHURST, THAT THEY WERE WRONG TO DISMISS THE POSSIBILITIES CASUALLY. THEY BOTH ADMIT, THAT THEY HAD, IN THOSE EARLY YEARS, FAR MORE CRITICS THAN SUPPORTERS, AND IT WAS AN UPHILL FIGHT, TO PROVE TO LOCAL CITIZENS, THEY WERE SERIOUS BUSINESS MAN…..WHEN REALLY, THEY WERE JUST TEENAGERS TRYING TO FIND THEMSELVES….AND WHAT CAREERS THEY WISHED TO PURSUE.

     IN ORDER TO FIGURE IT ALL OUT, THEY DECIDED TO PUT ON SHOWS AT THE OPERA HOUSE, AND ON THE BARGE, WITH THEIR FIRST GUITAR AND DRUM STUDENTS, AND WHEN THEY STARTED GETTING BIGGER CROWDS AT EACH EVENT, AND MORE VOLUNTEERS WISHING TO PARTICIPATE AS SHOW ASSISTANTS, IT BECAME A REAL COMMUNITY EFFORT. UNFORTUNATELY, RENTING THE OPERA HOUSE BECAME TOO EXPENSIVE, AND IT WAS CUTTING INTO THE AMOUNTS THEY COULD OFFER THE RESPECTIVE CHARITIES. THIS WAS ANOTHER BLOW TO THEIR FUTURE PLANS, BUT THERE WAS NO OTHER VENUE BIG ENOUGH. SO INSTEAD, THEY BEGAN USING THEIR SHOP AS A SORT OF MUSICIANS' CLUB, WHERE YOUNG AND OLD ARE INVITED TO COME AND VISIT, AND JAM IF THE MOOD SUITS. THEY HAVE EXPANDED THEIR BUSINESS TO INCLUDE A SMALL STAGE AT THE BACK, WHERE THEY OCCASIONALLY OFFER FREE MINI-CONCERTS, WITH DONATIONS BEING SPLIT AMONG THE PERFORMERS. THEY HAVE MORE COST CONTROL HERE, THAN AT THE OPERA HOUSE…..BUT THEY DO HOPE, THAT A FUTURE COUNCIL WILL LOOK AT THE INEFFICIENCIES AT THE TOWN FACILITY, AND MAKE IT AFFORDABLE FOR TOWN USER GROUPS ONCE AGAIN. ISN'T IT A SHAME WE HAVE THIS WONDERFUL ENTERTAINMENT VENUE, AND SO FEW LOCALS ABLE TO BENEFIT FROM IT?

     IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO WRITE ABOUT TODAY'S ROTARY HONOR, FOR BOTH BOYS, WITHOUT PROVIDING A BIT OF BACKGROUND. WHAT'S SO IMPORTANT ABOUT THIS HUGE SHOW OF SUPPORT, IS THAT IT WILL INEVITABLY ENCOURAGE BOTH OF THEM TO CARRY ON, FULL SPEED, TO NAVIGATE THROUGH POLITICS, TO KEEP ON DOING WHAT THEY LOVE SO MUCH…….AND IT'S ALL ABOUT HELPING TO SHAPE A BETTER COMMUNITY……ONE WHERE THEY WILL APPRECIATE FOR THEIR FUTURE FAMILIES. WHAT A GREAT SENSE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT, SUZANNE AND I FEEL, THAT OUR BOYS HAVE COME TO RESPECT HOMETOWN POTENTIAL, AS WE ALWAYS HAVE……SINCE ARRIVING HERE BACK IN 1989……WONDERING IF WE HAD MADE THE RIGHT DECISION. AS I WROTE ABOUT SOME TIME AGO, I HAVE TO GIVE SOME CREDIT TO MY OLD WRITING COLLEAGUE, HUGH CLAIRMONT, BECAUSE IT WAS HIS ENDORSEMENT OF GRAVENHURST, THAT CONVINCED US TO MOVE SOUTH FROM BRACEBRIDGE. "YOU'LL LIKE GRAVENHURST TED." HE WAS BANG-ON, AND THE BOYS CAN THANK OLD HUGHIE, FOR HIS ADVICE, BACK IN THE LATE 1980'S…….BECAUSE THEY WOULDN'T BE HERE OTHERWISE. MAYBE THEY WOULD BE MAKING THEIR BUSINESS SUCCESSES IN BRACEBRIDGE OR HUNTSVILLE. SO HOW FITTING WAS IT, THAT MARK CLAIRMONT, HIS SON, CAME TO TELL THE BOYS THAT THEY HAD BEEN SELECTED AS PAUL HARRIS FELLOWSHIP AWARD WINNERS FOR 2013. I SAY PROVIDENTIAL. HUGHIE WOULD LAUGH AT THIS REMARK. TO HIM, HE WOULDN'T HAVE OFFERED THIS KIND OF LIFE CHANGING ADVICE, IF HE HAD ANY DOUBTS. YOU MAY NOT BELIEVE THIS, BUT I TOOK A LOT OF ADVICE FROM HUGH CLAIRMONT, FROM ONE WRITER TO ANOTHER, AND HE NEVER GAVE ME ANYTHING LESS THAN HIS WORKABLE, SENSIBLE PHILOSOPHY.

     THERE ARE MANY DESERVING PEOPLE IN GRAVENHURST, WHO ARE DESERVING OF THIS AWARD. THE ROTARY CLUB IS AWARE OF THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS. TODAY, IT WAS OUR TWO SONS, WHO HAVE BEEN BEAMING ALL DAY, AT THE HONOR BESTOWED. IT HAS MADE UP FOR SOME UNFORTUNATE CIRCUMSTANCES OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS, AND GIVEN THEM THE VALIDATION THAT THEIR EFFORTS ON BEHALF OF THE COMMUNITY, WERE APPRECIATED. THEY DON'T SEEK AWARDS FOR THEIR EFFORTS, OTHER THAN THE SUCCESSES OF WELL ATTENDED EVENTS…..BUT THIS ONE JUST CAME AT A PIVOTAL TIME OF SELF-DOUBT FRANKLY, ABOUT THEIR RELEVANCE TO THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE. YOU COULDN'T TAKE THE SMILE OFF THEIR FACES, AT THIS MOMENT, AND THE GOOD CHEER IS LIKELY TO LAST A LONG, LONG TIME.

     THANK YOU TO THE GRAVENHURST ROTARY CLUB FOR YOUR COMMITMENT TO ENRICHING AND ENCOURAGING GOOD NEIGHBORLINESS, AND CIVIC PRIDE.