THE YEAR THAT WAS • GEORGIAN ENTREPRENEURS • SHENANIGANS

Fall 2007St. George’s School

GEORGIANSGEORGIANSHonouringHonouring

MANAGING EDITORGordon C. Allan

GRAPHIC DESIGNERBruce Elbeblawy

SENIOR EDITORChristine Moore

GEORGIANS EDITORBryan R. Ide '99Manager of Georgian Relations

ARCHIVES AND HISTORY EDITORElizabeth Knox

PRESIDENT OF THE ST. GEORGE’S OLD BOYS’ ASSOCIATIONA.G. (Alex) Tsakumis '84

PHOTOGRAPHERSGordon AllanDominic ChanBruce ElbeblawyFitness on the Go Georgian Photographers Andrew KayKyla Brown Photography www.kylabrown.com

Adam LorantGuy McKenzie-SmithRudy Nielsen Neil Piller School ArchivesEric StewartDavid Zhu

The Dragon is published twice per year,expressly for Georgians, parents, and friends of St. George’s School. It is also distributed to other Canadianindependent schools and selected public orprivate institutions. Comments about any ofthe articles are always welcome.

Address all correspondence to:Gordon C. AllanManaging Editor, The DragonSt. George’s School3851 West 29th AvenueVancouver BC V6S 1T6 CANADAPhone: (604) 222-5817Fax: (604) 224-4366Email: thedragon@stgeorges.bc.ca

Please contact our office to be added to themailing list.

PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40580507

RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO:

ST. GEORGE'S SCHOOL SOCIETY

3851 WEST 29TH AVENUE

VANCOUVER BC V6S 1T6

The Dragon is copyright © 2007St. George’s School, Vancouver BC Canada.

Reproduction rights: We encourage you to circulate or copy thismaterial unmodified for your own private use. You may quote anyarticle or portion of article with attribution. Quotation of any articleor portion of article without attribution is prohibited. The Dragon, its contents, or material may not be sold, intact ormodified, nor included in any package or product offered for sale.

St. George’s School is proud to be associated with:

Independent SchoolsAssociation of

British Columbia (ISA)

DRAGONTHE

DRAGONTHE

Fall 2007St. George’s School

Open HousesUpcoming Admission

SENIOR SCHOOL Grades 8 to 12 only • Tuesday, October 16, 2007

7:00 pm sharp

• Wednesday, November 14, 2007 7:00 pm sharp

• Tuesday, January 15, 2008 7:00 pm sharp

JUNIOR SCHOOL Grades 6 and 7 only• Wednesday, October 17, 2007

7:00 pm sharp

• Thursday, November 15, 2007 7:00 pm sharp

Grades 1 to 5 only • Wednesday, January 16, 2008

7:00 pm sharp

Grades 1 to 3 only • Tuesday, February 12, 2008

7:00 pm sharp

EDITORIAL

3 Entrepreneurs by Gordon C. Allan

SCHOOL LIFE

4 An Interview with the Headmaster by Staff

6 The Successful Entrepreneur by Peter R.B. Armstrong '72

7 The Challenge by Don Livingston

8 The Year that Was by School Staff and Students

13 The Next Generation of Entrepreneurs by Adam Lorant

14 Silent Service—Robotics at Saints by Andrew Kay

17 Business Education by Dr. Kooi Ong Tong and Laurier Primeau

18 Entrepreneur of the Year by Gordon C. Allan

18 Heart2Heart by Gordon C. Allan

19 History of the Senior School by Gordon C. Allan

THE GEORGIANS SECTION

SPECIAL FEATURE: ENTREPRENEURSHIP

23 The Three Ps of Entrepreneurship by A.G. (Alex) Tsakumis '84

24 Staying Connected by Bryan R. Ide '99

25 Georgian Entrepreneur: Daniel Mezheritsky '02 by Gordon C. Allan

26 Georgian Entrepreneur: Rudy Nielsen '60 by Bryan R. Ide '99

28 Georgian Entrepreneur: Guy McKenzie-Smith '75 by Bryan R. Ide '99

30 Boarding in the 40s by Tom Lymbery '46

32 Saints’ Shenanigans by Brian Lecky '65

34 Honouring Georgians by Bryan R. Ide '99

38 Saints’ Notes compiled by Elizabeth Knox and Bryan R. Ide '99

42 Help Find An Old Boy

43 The Gift of the Sower by William B. Choi '93

Fall 2007 • 3

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Shortly after our first thematic issue of The Dragonappeared last spring, an issue in which weexamined Georgians who were serving ourcountry and the work our Junior School studentswere undertaking researching Old Boys who had

been killed in action, Greg Devenish, Principal of the JuniorSchool, proposed the idea that we make “Entrepreneurship”the theme for our Fall 2007 edition.

The word 'entrepreneur' can be traced to the thirteenthcentury French verb, "entreprendre" which means "to dosomething" or "to undertake". However it wasn't until 1730that the Irish economist, Richard Cantillon, began to use theterm entrepreneur to mean someone who undertakes abusiness. Today, it connotes far more than someone whotakes on a business. It suggests one who takes risks, showsindependent leadership, has motivation, and can often seeopportunity where others have floundered. It brings to mindpeople like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, who were not merelycontent working for others. They were pioneers who sawglasses that were half full rather than half empty.

In a community like St. George's, entrepreneurship is alive atall levels. As you will read in this edition of The Dragon, thereare students who are studying the fundamental businessprinciples required to become a successful entrepreneur.One student was recognized as an Entrepreneur of the Yearat a local high school competition. Two boarding students setup a registered charity to build schools in China andgenerated over $50,000 in revenue. Junior School studentshave already been mentored as entrepreneurs and raisedover $1,000. A new investment club at the Senior School willhave the opportunity to invest a few thousand dollars. At thesame time, the members will learn about the importance ofhaving sound investment strategies. We also have Georgianswho, in their own right, have proven themselves aswonderful examples of entrepreneurship: some have juststarted out and others have made their company legendary.Amongst the latter, our Chairman of the Board of Directors,Peter R.B. Armstrong '72, is a highly regarded entrepreneurwho took a struggling railway and made it into the world-class Rocky Mountaineer.

Setting goals, taking risks, believing in yourself, beinginnovative, driven, and having a passion underlie much ofwhat is expected from a St. George's School student. As oursuccessful Georgian entrepreneurs will confirm, these are theskills more than knowledge acquired from books, whichguided them towards success. At St. George's School, we area community of learners, with our learning extending wellbeyond the four walls of the classroom into practicalapplication in the real world.

Sine Timore aut Favore

Alive at St. George’s School

“

Entrepreneurs

by Gordon C. Allan, Managing Editor

Setting goals, takingrisks, believing inyourself, beinginnovative, driven,and having a passionunderlie much ofwhat is expectedfrom a St. George'sSchool student.

“

4 • The Dragon

An InterviewAn Interviewwith the Headmasterwith the Headmaster

Nigel Toy has completed ten years at the helm of St. George's School. To mark this important

milestone, the editors of The Dragonmet him during the summer to hear

his reflections on the role he hasplayed in shaping a number of

key areas of the School.

SCHOOL LIFE

Fall 2007 • 5

You have completed ten years as Headmaster ofSt. George's School. What was your mandatewhen you first arrived at the School in 1997 andto what extent have you fulfilled this mandate?

I think I was entrusted to raise the profile of theSchool in BC and to establish it as the leadinginstitution in the Province (and Canada). Ofcourse, I inherited an extremely good schooland along with the Board and the Faculty weseem to have built on that foundation.

What are some of the biggest changes you haveseen during your tenure?

Obviously the School population has grownand we now have what I would call a criticalmass. This has helped to make St. George'scompetitive across all of its endeavours. Thisgrowth has also provided us with the ability tooffer a much broader range of options. Afaculty such as ours which is willing to lead,coupled with the successes that our studentshave achieved in all areas of the School, haveresulted in a school that has a confidence anda spirit of real community.

In what way would you distinguish St. George'sSchool from some of the other independentschools in the country?

St. George's with its West Coast location clearlyreflects the boundless opportunities andoptimism that is the West. As to what elsemakes us special, I would point to the uniqueway in which the School has been able to excelin Academics, Arts, Athletics, as well within theoverall Service and Leadership areas. This hasalways been its hallmark.

The pendulum seems to be swinging more andmore towards single-sex education. How wouldyou characterize the benefits of an all-boys‘school?

Single-sex schools have been around forcenturies. However, I sincerely believe theboys' school has re-established its nicheworldwide in the past two decades. When youcome to know boys, it becomes incrediblyfulfilling to witness what they can achieve. Aschool that can focus on their needs can getthe very best from them individually andcollectively, particularly in an environment likethe one that exists at St. George's.

The School has an excellent reputation inAcademics and Athletics, but its recent successesin the Arts are not as well known. Can youdescribe the growth in these areas?

As I alluded to earlier, the depth and breadthof our Arts and Cultural program is quiteremarkable. Once that culture is embodied itcarries its own momentum. In so many areaswe have gifted faculty and the boysthemselves want to excel in opportunitiesbeyond the classroom and the sports field.Nationally ranked musicians and award-winning artists are now commonplace at theSchool.

The School continues to have a thrivingboarding program. What role does boardingplay in a school like St. George's?

We are fortunate to have a boarding facility,Harker Hall, with room for 125 essentiallySenior (Grades 6 to 12) students. This allows usto seek boys worldwide to enrich the entirestudent body. Like any ex-boarder, I havealways understood that the boardingexperience is an education in itself.

The media often characterizes independentschools as places for the privileged and élite andyet St. George's is giving away more financialassistance than ever before. Is this an importantobjective for you?

The word 'élite' is inevitably ascribed to privateschools. I accept that. However, I have alwaysaspired to see it in the context of striving forhigh standards and ultimately for excellence. Ifseeking to be the best is perceived as élitist,then that is how the word has been distorted.No school in the world can really be thedomain of the privileged and expect tosucceed. We all need to be open to theinfusion of many types of students whocoalesce, because they want to do well. Forsome, scholarship and bursary assistance willbe critical. As a headmaster, this is truly one ofthe most rewarding things to do.

What role does fundraising play in a school likeSt. George's?

Fundraising belongs now to all private andindependent schools and St. George's is no

exception. We want to add facilities andresources and to grow our Endowment Fundto provide scholarships and bursaries. Vibrantfundraising allows us to achieve these goalsand maintain fees that are realistic for mostfamilies.

The School has just come out of a major buildingcampaign. What were the main objectives of thiscampaign and where does the School movefrom here?

The objective in our Building and CampusDevelopment is simply to give faculty, staff,and students a fine environment. Thatendeavour never stops. So many ideas change,therefore we must keep forging ahead andnever be complacent.

What have been your biggest challenges asHeadmaster of St. George's during the last tenyears?

As I reflect over the past decade, there havebeen many challenges! Really that has beenwhat has driven me. If there is one ongoingchallenge, it is trying to enrich and expand theSchool and at the same time hold fees to arealistic level. To have a great school meansconfronting that challenge everyday.

In closing, are there any further observations onwhich you would care to comment?

I have always wanted a school where boysenjoy attending and from that, all else flows.

SCHOOL LIFE

6 • The Dragon

“

Peter R.B. Armstrong '72, Chairman

Entrepreneursknow howimportant it is tocultivate a strongbusiness networkand to have closefriends who canstep in to helpalong the way.

Some thoughts from our Chairman, Peter R.B. Armstrong '72

The Successful Entrepreneur

In addition to being Chairman of the Board at St. George's School, PeterR.B. Armstrong '72 is Founder, President, Chief Executive Officer, and aprincipal of the Armstrong Group, which owns and operates RockyMountaineer Vacations, the largest privately owned passenger rail servicein North America. He also owns and runs Gray Line West, which is a

successful motor coach operation based in Western Canada.

Mr. Armstrong's entrepreneurial spirit became evident when, as a 21-year-olddoorman at the Hotel Vancouver, he formed Spotlight Tours, a small,specialized sightseeing bus company. But this was only the beginning of hiscareer in the tour industry. In 1979, he initiated the privatization of Gray Line, aProvincial Crown Corporation. This was the first such privatization ofgovernment assets in BC and he became a partner in the private company andalso took the lead as President.

In 1990, the federal government decided to cut Canada's national passengerrail service or VIA Rail as it was known. It had been a heavily subsidizedoperation and instead the decision was to privatize the Rocky Mountaineertourist service which had been introduced in 1988 and was in operationbetween British Columbia and Alberta. At this point, Mr. Armstrong sold hisshares in Gray Line and assembled a team which successfully bid on thefledgling Rocky Mountaineer.

Led by President Peter R.B. Armstrong '72, this select group of former railroadexecutives and leading tourism experts developed a visionary plan for theRocky Mountaineer. The plan was to run a two-day all daylight journeythrough Canada's West and the Rocky Mountains. For the next 18 years, thebusiness enjoyed significant growth and success. Moreover, the company'sturnaround and subsequent prosperity has been achieved withoutgovernment subsidy.

In 2005, the Armstrong Group, replacing GCRC as the parent company,experienced its biggest change to date by acquiring Gray Line West, an alreadysuccessful motor coach operation based in Banff, Alberta, and Vancouver,Whistler and Victoria, British Columbia. Then, in 2006, the company introducedtwo new rail-tour routes: the Whistler Mountaineer service between NorthVancouver and Whistler and the Rocky Mountaineer's Fraser Discovery routebetween Whistler and Jasper, Alberta with an overnight stop in Quesnel, BC.

Rocky Mountaineer Vacations (RMV) is now renowned globally and washonoured with a World Travel Award as the "World's Leading Travel Experienceby Train" for the second consecutive year in 2006.

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR?Peter Armstrong attributes much of his grounding asan entrepreneur to the education he received at St. George's School and when asked by the editors ofthe The Dragon for the top five requirements to be asuccessful entrepreneur, this is what Peter had to say:

• Be PassionateEntrepreneurs are driven to succeed and believepassionately in their dreams.

• Be a VisionaryEntrepreneurs often see the bigger picture and arenot discouraged by small obstacles or setbacks.

• Use your NetworkEntrepreneurs know how important it is tocultivate a strong business network and to haveclose friends who can step in to help along theway.

• Work Hard and Don't Give upEntrepreneurs are willing to set massive goals forthemselves, roll up their sleeves, and work hard.

An unyielding sense of optimism prevents them from giving up when timesget tough.

• Believe in your own good fortuneEntrepreneurs are tenacious and often believe in their own good luck orsuppose that there is an element of fate associated with their dreams.

“

SCHOOL LIFE

Fall 2007 • 7

to Keep the Bar High

Although St. George's School has not been acommercial venture for many years (it is now a not-for-profit society) the definition of an entrepreneurcertainly suited Captain Danby-Hunter when in1930, at a cost of $10,000, he purchased a farmhouse

and four acres of land to start a school.

As we all know, 77 years later, St. George's has evolved from itshumble beginnings and stands today as one of the finest schoolsof its kind in the world. That's not to say there haven't been somechallenges over the years. Consistent with any start-upenterprise, St. George's has had its peaks and valleys, especiallywhen dealing with finances. Over the years many a board ofgovernors has wrestled with how to help the headmaster of theday fulfill his vision for the benefit of parents and students alike,while keeping a prudent eye on the financial situation of theSchool. Several old boys, including Peter Bentley '47 and Ron Cliff'46 have shared with me their memories of having helped theSchool through some difficult times in the early 1960s.

It's not easy running a not-for-profit school, at least one like St. George's that aspires to be the best of its kind anywhere. Onehas to balance trying to secure the top faculty, maintainingfacilities that are up to standard, ensuring that the curriculum hasa breadth and depth of academic, athletic, and artistic programs,and keeping the School as accessible as possible to all qualifiedboys, regardless of their family's economic situation. It takes acommitted group of volunteer board members and a vigilantadministrative team to prudently manage the finances of aschool our size.

To keep school fees reasonable, fundraising has been an essentialelement of maintaining the financial health of St. George's overthe years. Many Georgians, Board members, and parentsgenerously give their time, money, and expertise to raise fundsfor capital improvements and financial aid every year.

One of the hallmarks of an entrepreneur is the independence heor she has to run with a vision of how the business shouldoperate. The School is no different, in the sense that within thebounds of government policy and regulation, we want to be freeto offer our students as much as possible in the way of additionalopportunities to develop their skills and expand their thinking. Atruly enhanced program that delivers on the School'scommitment to the "well-rounded boy" requires innovativethinking, a degree of risk-taking, and of course, appropriateresources. Something every entrepreneur understands.

This fall, when you are asked to support the Georgian AnnualFund, please consider how you can help the next generation ofentrepreneurs, teachers, scientists, athletes, musicians, and themany other careers St. George's boys move into by making yourfinancial contribution to the School.

“

The Challenge

by Don Livingston, Chief Advancement Officer

To keep school feesreasonable, fund-raising has been anessential element ofmaintaining thefinancial health of St. George's over theyears.

“

St. George's School enjoyed anotheroutstanding athletic season which included 22sports programs and 65 teams.

• THE JUNIOR SCHOOLSwimming: ISEA Championship winnersCross Country: ISEA Championship winnersCAIS U13 National Basketball:Championship winners

• THE SENIOR SCHOOLSoccer Team: Reached the Provincial finalsSwim Team: Provincial ChampionsCross Country Team: Finished second at theBC School Sports Provincial ChampionshipsHockey Team: Championship winners at theRidley College InvitationalRowing Team: Two national gold medalperformancesSki Team: Provincial ChampionsSnowboard Team: Provincial ChampionsUltimate Team: Reached the Provincial finals1st XV Rugby: Second place at theProvincial Championships

8 • The Dragon

T H E Y E A R

St. George's students continue to perform very well onyear-end external exams. In June 2007, St. George'saverages were above Province-wide averages for everyProvincial exam in Grades 10 to 12. In Grade 12 Provincialexams, the average St. George's result was approx-imately10 per cent higher than the average result in therest of the Province. In Provincial exams for Grades 10 to11, the average St. George's result was approximately 15per cent higher than the average result in the rest of theProvince. Based on their scores on the Grade 12 Provincialexams and in District Scholarship presentations, 60 percent of St. George's graduates earned scholarships for$1,000 from the Provincial government.

In the very challenging Advanced Placement exams, St. George's students achieved excellent results. Theseexams represent work at the level of first-year university. InMay 2007, 156 students wrote a total 390 AP exams. Ofthose exams, a remarkable 50 per cent received a score offive, a total of 75 per cent received either 4 or 5, and 92 percent received three or more.

ACADEMICSBy Bill Collins, Associate Principal of the Senior School

ATHLETICSBy Richard Cohee, Director of Athletics

Destination Imagination is a team-based activity whichencourages creative thought and problem solving througha variety of technical and artistic challenges. During the2006–2007 season we entered three teams at the Grade 8,9, and 10 levels. Our first competition was in March 2007when our Grade 9 and 10 teams placed first overall and ourGrade 8 team came in second place. A month later, in theProvincial Tournament, the competition level increased. TheGrade 10 team finished fourth, the Grade 8 team wassecond, and the Grade 9 team came in first place. With afirst- place finish, the Nines won the right to compete in theglobal finals in Knoxville, Tennessee in May 2007. TheGlobals are, as the name suggests, an international eventwith competing teams from as far away as China, Columbia,and Denmark. Although the Saints’ team was up against 40other teams from around the world, the boys acquittedthemselves well in their first ever Globals competition andfinished in the top 10 for their technical design.

Saints' Debating Club was very active once again this past year. Starting in October with our Grade 8 baptism of fire at St John's School andending with the pizza debates, the students argued and pontificated with the greatest of verve. At the UBC tourney in November, Benjy Lipseyand Clint Paulus made it to the semi-finals and third place by arguing most wittily in favour of the motion that: "this House would fast-trackadoptions by celebrities". Later in the month, debaters attended the Newman FISA debates at Collingwood School, arguing on the topic "thatthose who abuse their health should face economic penalties."

We also hosted three competitions ourselves: our tenth annual bilingual tourney in December, the Regionals in February, and the pizza debatesin May. Marko Horvat (third individual) and Jonathan Choi took second place team in the Regionals, winning berths to the Law Foundation Cup(Provincials, English division) in Kelowna in March. Jonathan later ranked eighth in the Province at the LFC, also qualifying to attend were RobbiePatterson and Jason Dowlatabadi. On the following weekend, other debaters competed in the bilingual section in Burnaby.

Rounding out the year, we entered the Western Public Speaking Tournament at Mulgrave and the Barry Sullivan Cup and Keith Miao came inthird place.

All in all, it was another whirlwind year. Next year sees the Saints' club hosting two rounds of the National Debating Seminar (November 22),club travel to the Durham Debating Union in the UK, and participation in the Harvard Model Congress, Athens.

Fall 2007 • 9

National Debating Seminar to beco-hosted by Saints

Saints’ Debating Club will be hostingpart of next year's National DebatingSeminar on Thursday, November 22

for two rounds in the afternoon.Students from all provinces and

some territories will be attending.The level of debate is sure to be

high. If you can help judge, pleasecontact Catherine Mori atcmori@stgeorges.bc.ca or

(604) 221 3635.

T H A T W A S . . .

DEBATINGBy Catherine Mori, Faculty

DESTINATION IMAGINATIONBy Bernard Ho, Grade 12

During the past year, Saints' Players Theatreenjoyed three successful productions.

The fall production was You Can't Take ItWith You. This is the story of an eccentricfamily discovering through the twists andturns of fireworks manufacturing andmailmen who deliver letters (andthemselves), that people are moreimportant than things.

The Junior School production was Lord ofthe Flies, a classic story of how people(children) devolve to very basic behaviourwithout the structures of society.

The final show was The Black Bonspiel ofWillie MacCrimmon, a W. O. Mitchell story ofa struggle between the devil and the desireto win. Set in rural Alberta, we examined thegame of curling, finding out a great dealabout ice, hell, and happiness.

The Discovery 10 program was also very busy and included approximately 65field days over the course of the year. With one trip per month, the boys hadan opportunity to get out and see many diverse areas of the Province. Theirfirst initiation was a winter blizzard above the Duffey Lake Road in earlySeptember, to be followed by a beautiful fall canoeing and hiking trip toWells Gray Provincial Park, and wet sea kayaking trips up Indian Arm inNovember.

The winter included a range of activities focusing on our avalanche unit andculminating in four-day backcountry ski, snowboard, and snowshoe trips. Thespring offered cultural trips to the Stein Valley with a native elder, an excitingbackpacking trip to the remote west coast of Nootka Island (with float planeaccess), and sea kayaking in Clayoquot sound ending with a soak in thespectacular Hot Springs Cove.

The final year-end trips provided two choices: a 15-day sea kayakingexpedition in Queen Charlotte Strait (between Port Hardy and the mainland)and an 18-day canoeing expedition to the Stikine River in northern BC andAlaska. Both trips were challenging with the kayakers forced to the shore formany days confronted by high winds and the after effects of a late winterdeep snow onshore for almost the whole trip. The boys rose to thesechallenges and all had memorable experiences. The group is now focusingtheir energy on an exciting humanitarian mission to Peru over the 2008spring break.

10 • The Dragon

T H E Y E A R

DISCOVERY 10By Neil Piller '85, Head of Outdoor Education

DRAMABy Ed Mortimer, Director of Theatre Arts

The outdoor education department continued to offer a range of programs this past year. The Grade 8 classwas first up with a trip to Camp Elphinstone on the Sunshine Coast. This was followed by the Grade 7 classtrip to Camp Stillwood at Cultus Lake and the Grade 6 class at the Sea to Sky Outdoor School on the KeatsIsland. The Grade 9 class participated in Explorer, our expedition-based program that includes a choice ofbackpacking, canoeing, or sea kayaking. The Grade 4 class had plans to visit the North Vancouver OutdoorSchool in November but we were forced to move the program to January due to extreme weather. TheGrade 5 class enjoyed their trip to Zajac Ranch on Stave Lake in January and proved that winter is no reasonnot to get out and enjoy the outdoors. The Grade 7 class also braved the snow and enjoyed snowshoeingat Mt. Seymour in March. The spring saw the Grade 10s participating in a host of Sea to Sky expeditionsaround southern BC including sea kayaking, canoeing, snowshoeing, backpacking, and mountain biking.Last, but definitely not least, were the primary students (Grades 1 to 3) who enthusiastically participated intheir day outings to Spanish Banks, Lighthouse Park, and Bowen Island.

The 2006–2007 season in the Music Department was anoutstanding one. Each performing ensemble, from Grades 6 to12, set new standards and 'raised the bar' in their performancelevels. After an impressive first appearance at the RemembranceDay service, the Senior Concert Band, along with the Junior andIntermediate Concert Bands, and the Junior and Senior JazzEnsembles performed to a full house in Woodward Auditoriumat the Winter Concert. They were joined by euphonium soloistBrad Howland, who wowed the audience with his musicality andtechnical mastery.

All ensembles performed above expectations at the KiwanisConcert Band and Jazz Band festivals in March. The Senior Band,after a brilliant concert tour to the Portland area in February, wasmost impressive and earned a birth at the Nationals (MusicfestCanada), where they earned 'Gold' from each of the four judgesafter an astonishing performance. At both the Junior School andSenior School Spring Concerts, the major Music DepartmentAwards and Trophies were awarded to our top students. This wasin addition to the wonderful music provided by all the boys, aswell as our special guest conductor Dr. Gillian MacKay, andsoloists Nicholas Tong and Jacky Huang. Many studentsdistinguished themselves repeatedly from the newest Grade 5instrumentalists at their first concert to the now graduated Jazzimprovisers at the May Fair. Great music and wonderfulmemories were at the heart of it all.

Fall 2007 • 11

T H A T W A S . . .

MUSICBy Marko Rnic, Director of Music

OUTDOOR EDUCATIONBy Neil Piller '85, Head of Outdoor Education

During 2006–2007 we exhibited a wide range of works of art,not only of our own visual art students, but also of significantlocal artists: Michael Abraham, Leslie Poole, Thomas Anfield,and that of the late Cameron MacLeod, a prolific young artist,who was the joint recipient of the School's first RiggScholarship in 1978. The range of art included digital, 2-D,ceramic, and sculptural works.

Over the course of the year a number of local artists visitedour Visual Arts studios, providing workshops in ceramics,painting, and drawing, including monthly life drawingsessions. However, it was during Arts Week that studiosbecame especially active with our artist-in-residence for theweek, Nick Lepard.

We are extremely proud of the work displayed by theapplicants for the Rigg Scholarship. The work was of such ahigh standard reflecting much artistic innovation and depthof thought. In December, Ontario College of Art and NovaScotia College of Art visited St. George's to review portfolios.

In June, we celebrated the success of those candidates whowere awarded District Scholarships. All applicants who hadapplied were successful and this was certainly a very proudmoment. From the enjoyment and successes of "the year thatwas" we are all very excited about "the year that is to come."

St. George's School continued to be a major force in BCSchoolreach this past year. On March 3, the Junior team placedthird in a field of 36 schools in the Provincial tournament. Overthe last 12 years, our junior teams have won seven titles. In thesenior division, Saints took back the Provincial title afterqualifying in a 38-school seeding round and then went on towin top prize among the 16 finalists on Knowledge Network inApril. The following month saw our youngest team evercompete in the Nationals in Edmonton. With only one Grade12, two Grade 11s, and one Grade 10, we managed to placethird in the country. Congratulations to John Choi, JasonDowlatabadi, Daniel Siu, and Desmond Jung.

12 • The Dragon

2 0 0 6 – 2 0 0 7

SCHOOL REACHBy Eric Stewart, Faculty

VISUAL ARTSBy Brian O’Connor, Director of Visual Arts

“At St George's, we believe in the well-rounded boy. Iwanted to give our boys an alternative to the strongathletics program we already have in place. I like theSchool to be an active, vibrant community, bothduring and after school hours."Mr. Greg Devenish, Principal for the Junior School.

When you think of extracurricular activities at St.George's Junior School, you tend to think of sportsprograms like swimming, basketball, track andfield, or cross country. Maybe you think of band,choir, or chess. Well this year, the School addedsomething new—entrepreneurship. The programwas founded by three fathers who are allentrepreneurs in their own right: Rick Gill, RogerGraham, and Adam Lorant.

"This program is sort of a blend of Junior Achieversand The Apprentice (except nobody gets fired),"claims Lorant. "We quickly learned through trialand error that lecturing—even for 15 minutes justdoesn't work. By the time the boys come to theYoung Entrepreneurs' Club at the end of the day,the last thing they want to do is sit in their seatand listen to someone talk to them. They want tobe active, stimulated, and have fun. We had tocome up with interesting ways to bury thelearning in games."

From the outset, the boys from Grade 3 to Grade 7were divided into three companies. Each elected aPresident and Vice Presidents of Sales, Finance,and Manufacturing. They were faced with a seriesof short challenges as well as an overarchingproject. All were designed to foster leadership,teambuilding, and problem-solving, while givingthe students the opportunity to work on practicalentrepreneurial skills such as business planpreparation, marketing, sales, negotiation, supplyand demand, and price elasticity.

"I certainly gained a whole new level ofappreciation for how hard it is to be a teacher,"says Gill. "Keeping the kids motivated andengaged is both mentally challenging anddraining. It's also extremely rewarding whensomeone comes up with a breakthroughcomment. Each session, we'd get at least one deepinsight—like the time when we were doing a role-playing exercise on negotiation skills. The boyswere tasked to find a win-win but the two sides ofthe negotiation were clearly getting further andfurther apart until one Young Entrepreneursuggested that everyone should pool the profitsand divide them equally—in essence he hadinvented profit sharing. It is breakthroughs likethis that make the program so rewarding."

"Many of the younger boys started the year quiteshy and reserved," said Graham. "Our firstchallenge was to see which team could raise themost money by selling Hallowe'en candy. Theyhad to develop a business plan ahead of timewhich considered packaging, pricing, andadvertising strategies. They also had to considerwhere they were going to sell their product. Thecatch was that each team had 60 minutes and allteams had the same amount of candy. There'snothing like a competition, candy, and money toget over shyness and foster teambuilding. Theboys got out there and started talking to potentialcustomers. They tried to convince theirschoolmates to buy from them rather than theothers. Here again, we had some wonderfullearning points about pricing to reflect supply,demand, and competition."

At the end of our first year, we raised close to athousand dollars. The boys then got together andbrainstormed to which charity they should donatethe money. After careful consideration and someimpassioned discussion, the boys decided to splitthe donation between World Wildlife Federation,Save the Panda Fund, and the BC Children'sHospital Foundation.

To cap of a successful first year, the YoungEntrepreneurs' Club hosted one of the mostpopular booths at the St. George's Fair. 'The WiiZone' consisted of five Nintendo Wii stationswhere people could play this popular new gamestation. In an exciting series of "special event"battles, a number of staff took on the students.And the score? Students 3: Staff 0.

"It was exciting and rewarding to see thisinaugural year of the Young Entrepreneurs' Clubcome together and we look forward to continuingthe club next year," said Lorant, who can alreadysee some future entrepreneurs in the making.

THE NEXTGENERATION OFENTREPRENEURS

THE NEXTGENERATION OFENTREPRENEURS

by Adam Lorant, St. George’s School Parent

The St. George's Young Entrepreneurs' Club

Fall 2007 • 13

SPOTLIGHT ON STUDENTS

Submariners were histor-ically dubbed the "SilentService" because of theirlimited communicationwhen operating under-

water. Maybe Robotics at Saintsshould be nicknamed the same asour activities usually take placeunderwater or behind the scenes.

Working quietly has always been thehallmark of Robotics at St. George's.It's inevitable given that its groupbecomes intently focused onproblem solving in machining,electronics, programming, sponsor-ship, and funding areas. Since theprogram's initial success in 2003 atthe Marine Advanced Technology inEducation (MAT) Remotely OperatedVehicle (ROV) Competition inMonterey, California, Saints' Roboticshas continued to collect first placetrophies for design, innovation, andengineering.

The MATE ROV competition offersthree levels: Scout, Ranger, andExplorer. Each of these affords itsparticipants varied levels of difficultyin terms of the tasks that need to becompleted and limits the amount ofpower an ROV can utilize tocomplete the required tasks.

The 2006 Robotics team (AlbertChiang, Harry Fan, Rich Hong, MarkoHorvat, Eric Hwang, Dan Kuo, RickyPai, Clint Paulus, and Collin Shuen)

earned St. George's Schoolinternational accolades in therobotocist's magazine, SERVObecause of its success at theMonterey, California Regionalscompetition. The team also becameeligible to attend the InternationalRanger class competition at NASA'sNeutral Buoyancy Lab in Houston,Texas. Building on last year's success,the 2007 Robotics team began tomature, and the time became rightto push the students' comfortenvelope yet again. Saints wouldfield an Explorer class team. Typically,Explorer class-level competition isonly attended by post secondaryinstitutions and has ROVs running atmuch higher power ratings thanRanger class machines.

After seven months of design,building, testing, re-design, re-building and re-testing, the team'screation started to take its final form.The main ROV frame evolved into anoctagonal prism into which therewas a channel that could facilitatemission tasks. The control systemconsisted of microcontrollers, an RS-485 network, IGUS armoured cabling,an Intel duo core laptop, and a SaitekUSB gaming joystick. The drivesystem used a combination of twoold modified 72-Watt bilge pumpsfor vertical motion and four newhigh efficiency 800+ Watt brushlessmotors for horizontal motion. The

THE TEAMLeft to right: Ray Yu, Tim Wai, Rich Hong, Albert Chiang, Dr. Shuen, Harrison Fan, Eric Hwang, Colin Shuen

SILENTSERVICE

ROBOTICS AT SAINTS

Team wins awards at university-level competition

by Andrew Kay, Faculty

14 • The Dragon

SPOTLIGHT ON STUDENTS

Fall 2007 • 15

ROV could float mid-water, unpowered,using a floatation system the teamfashioned from foam, fibreglass, epoxies,and polyester resins. Vision for the pilotswas provided by the six video camerasobtained for an incredibly low pricethrough Ebay vendors.

The team's experience in waterproofingelectronics served to modify thesecameras for underwater use. Othersensors, like home brew capillary depthgauges and automotive compasses, wereadded to help the ROV pilots guide theirmachines efficiently. As the processmarched on, the machine was completedand readied for testing.

Dropping a new machine into the heavilychlorinated waters of St. George's pool isalways a tense moment. With memories ofcircuit board copper completely dissolvingin the pool's chlorinated mix, the teamheld its breath as the ROV touched theliquid surface for the first time. The sealswere good and it was on to the next phaseof testing: adding power.

Power was connected to the machine, thecircuits re-checked, and the computer re-booted. Fingers were crossed as thecontrols were activated for the first time. Itlurched forward! Exclamations of "Look!It's moving. It's alive. It's alive…IT'S ALIVE!"reverberated throughout the pool area,creating a scene reminiscent of the 1931classic Frankenstein with Colin Clive. Thethrill of that moment was undeniable. Nowit would take several more launches tofine-tune the ROV and its customizedmission specific tools, and to practice

manoeuvering the ROV in readiness forthe competition.

About a week prior to departure, the ROV(now dubbed the "Defiant" because of itsresemblance to a Star Trek starship) wasreadied for travel. The Great Little BoxCompany in Mitchell Island volunteered itsservices to crate the machine against thebaggage gorillas working in air transport.

Seven students (Albert Chiang, HarrisonFan, Rich Hong, Eric Hwang, Colin Shuen,Tim Wai, and Ray Yu) would carry theproject to completion in Newfoundland.When they looked at who theircompetition would be, they found schoolslike Texas A and M, British ColumbiaInstitute of Technology, MassachusettsInstitute of Technology, University ofVictoria, University of Waterloo, CityUniversity of Hong Kong, and IsfahanUniversity of Technology (Iran), to namejust a few. Nineteen teams in all were onthe competition list. Mr. Kay would start torefer to the members of the St. George'steam as "the seven dwarfs" from that pointonward.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007 meant twothings for the robotics team: EnglishProvincial examinations for Grades 10 and12 and departure for St. John's,Newfoundland at 10:30 pm. The sevendwarfs, the two mentors (Mr. Kay and Dr.Shuen), and team families met at 9:00 pmat the Air Canada gate at VancouverInternational. Spirits were high until theymet the unreasonable baggage clerk atthe oversized luggage counter. After manyminutes of negotiating with him, it was

clear that he was going to prevent loadingand was not interested in the fact that theDefiant's crate was within Air Canada'sshipping specifications. The clock was nowrunning down and the choice betweengetting the Defiant loaded on to the planeor missing our flight entirely was now anissue. We decided to board the flight andtry to get the Defiant shipped first thingThursday morning. Harrison Fan's fatheragreed to take the crate back home withhim.

Immediately after clearing the aircraft inSt. John's, the group's cell phones werebuzzing as members tried to look at waysto get the Defiant across the country. Theteam was still holding its luggage in theterminal when the first estimates startedto come in. The first quotation of $1,600was from FedEx, promising a guaranteeddelivery for Friday at 10:30 am. A fewmoments later, another call was receivedfor $340, FedEx could deliver the Defiantby Friday at 3:30 pm. It was an easy choiceto make. With the issue of the Defiant'sdelivery set for 3:30 pm, Friday, the teamwas a little more relaxed, but still uneasy.Check in at Memorial University's studentdormitory was smooth, but many of theteam found the facility somewhat Spartan.Dinner at The Keg that evening made itfeel a whole lot better.

Friday morning brought the start of thecompetition. Hundreds of students andmentors filed in to register and the comp-etitor briefings went on until lunch. As thestart of the ROV shake down period beganfor other teams, our cell phones started tobuzz again. Dr. Shuen was attempting totrack the inbound package. Theunwelcome news, "your package was noton the flight," landed like a bombshell.More calls to more offices over a period ofan hour were made. More information wasrevealed. FedEx does not actually fly itsplanes into St. John's! Instead, it booksspace on West Jet aircraft. This fact,coupled with the backlog of passengersremaining from two days of delayedflights, meant the Defiant was "bumped"for passenger luggage.

Another disturbing fact was that the June23 to 24 weekend was a Provincial holidayand FedEx offices would be closed onSaturday. A pall began to fall on the team'sspirits. Even with this unsettling news, thewill to do something useful was still there.It was decided that the seven dwarfswould re-work their engineeringpresentation to compensate for themissing robot. Meanwhile the mentorswould work on getting the Defiant back. Atone point, there was a plan to buy a flightto Halifax to retrieve the crate manually.That plan was cancelled when FedEx couldnot confirm in which warehouse our

Test cruise in St. George's Pool

SPOTLIGHT ON STUDENTS

16 • The Dragon

SPOTLIGHT ON STUDENTS

package was or if it was even in Halifax. Theonly certainty was that it was somewherein Nova Scotia. By dinnertime the situationseemed grim. The only word from FedExwas that there was an outside chance thecrate would land in St. John's on Saturday.In this scenario, delivery was not an option,but the warehouse people were willing torelease it if someone were there to pick itup.

A good dinner always helps and the CellarRestaurant was the best prescription toboost our spirits. When the team returnedto their dorms, a chance meeting with oneof the event volunteers who was also apilot, provided some interesting options toimprove the chances of a Saturdaydelivery. Dr. Shuen and our new friend leftto bang on the FedEx's warehouse dooraround 10:30 pm to bend the ear of thenight manager. Meanwhile, more latenight preparation for the engineeringevaluation was completed.

Saturday was opening day for thecompetition. The seven dwarfs were up fortheir engineering interview in themorning and so was the aeroplane thatwould hopefully be carrying the Defiant.The boys knew that the interview wouldbe their only shot at achieving any score atthis competition. It would have to beexceptional and that knowledge pumpedtheir stress level to new heights. So whileDr. Shuen left the group to go and stalk theFedEx truck that would be shuttling thecargo from the airport to the warehouse,the team worked feverishly on apresentation of the Defiant using a collageof blueprint drawings, digital pictures,demonstrations of the specialized toolsfashioned for each mission (these were notshipped in the main crate), and a fullexplanation of the design and testingprocess that followed. Every team memberwould have his time in the limelight toexplain each subsystem of the Defiant. Atthe end of the presentation, the teamwould be questioned by the engineeringpanel as a means of determining whethereverything had been all rehearsed orwhether in fact the team did have anunderstanding of the ROV and the issuesinvolved with its design and fabrication.

The dwarfs were on the grill for a half hour.At the end, the engineering panel waspolite but seemed neutral. Perhaps theirperception was fogged by the naggingquestion, "would the Defiant arrive, or wasthat it?" The team walked back to the dormfrom Memorial's engineering building.They had been unwinding for a little overan hour when the cell phone rang."Christmas Day has come early!" exclaimedDr. Shuen. Morale flipped like a switch.There was no middle state.

When Dr. Shuen arrived, there was a flurryof activity to move the Defiant into Mr.Kay's room where there was a big table onwhich the team could prep the machinefor use. A runner was sent to talk to MATEofficials, who were informed of thesituation and questioned about re-scheduling sortie times.

Amazingly the Defiant had not beendamaged during transit, but all of itswaterproof compartments had to beresealed because they were opened fortransport. Past experience had showedthat sealed containers can pop whentransported in an unpressurized cargo bayof an aeroplane. Without a power supply inthe dorms, it was impossible to test theDefiant's function.

The runner came back from the eventcommand centre with good and badnews. The good news was that theschedule would be adjusted to accomm-odate the team on Sunday. The bad newswas that the team would have to runthrough all three missions at the end ofthe day with only 30 minutes betweenmissions. Furthermore, it would beimpossible to reschedule the practice timemissed. This was really bad news, becausethe team had never encountered theactual environments which each of thethree tanks offered. Those environmentswere Arctic ice, a fast flowing current, andwave action. Normally, regular missionspacing allowed for three hours to movefrom tank to tank. In the 30 minutesallotted, the Defiant would have to bemoved over five kilometres to anotherfacility building, all specialized toolrefitting would have to happen flawlessly,and the dwarfs would have to exhibitperfect teamwork to pull it all off.

Sunday morning arrived and the firstmission was in the flume tank. This tanksimulated a 0.25 metre per second currentin which the Defiant would have tooperate. Earlier in the day, other ROVs hadbeen launched into this tank and had spunaround like fishing lure spinners at theends of their tether. The mission was to seta messenger line to retrieve a lost anchor.The trick to this mission was to sink quicklyto the bottom where the current was notas strong, and manoeuvre therein. Theteam encountered difficulty. The Defiantwould not submerge fast enough and thecurrent was carrying it out of bounds,forcing a restart. "If only we had thepractice time to experience then preparefor this," thought the Defiant's deckhandlers, before improvising a partialsolution. Every single available hand toolavailable was fastened to the bottom ofthe Defiant. It worked a little at solving theproblem, but it was not enough to fix itcompletely. Time elapsed before it was

time to transport the Defiant to the nextbuilding.

There was no time to think about "waterunder the bridge." The ice tank provedmuch better. The Defiant had to deploy asimulated sonar beacon in a target zone,and collect a simulated jellyfish at thebottom of the tank and a simulated algaesample lying at the top under the ice.Success brought some relief to the teammembers as they moved to the final tankdown the long hall to the final venue.

The Defiant was the last to perform thesubmerged oil rig repair simulation. Thismission started off fine, but took a wrongturn as the Defiant's video systems wentdark. Driving blind is no way to find a smalltarget. Drivers are prohibited from lookingover the pool edge to see where they aregoing. The team quickly determined thatthe video system was failing because thebatteries that had been running all daywere no longer providing their normal13.8 volts of electricity. The quick fix for thiswas to drive blind for a second, shut downall systems to let the battery reboundenough to provide video for a second, re-orient, and drive for another second. Aspainstakingly slow as this process was, itwas the only way to get to the oil rig andperform the repair task. The allotted timeran out and the dwarfs took a mediocreperformance score with the opportunitygranted, which was better than no chanceat all.

Sunday evening was the closing ceremonyand awards banquet. The dwarfs feltsatisfied that they had given it their bestshot, but they were not expectinganything but a good meal by attending. Itwas an utter surprise when St. George'swas called for Best Technical Docum-entation in the Explorer Class. The sevendwarfs were in shock as they stumbled tothe stage to receive their trophies. Then afew minutes later their jaws dropped againwhen St. George's was called back onstage for Best Engineering in the ExplorerClass. There was a long period of pausebefore the realization finally sunk in: St. George's robotics had successfully com-peted with some of the world's majorengineering universities!

The completed Defiant just before shipping

Thank you to thefollowing generoussponsors whoprovided materials forthe Defiant project:

• The Auxiliary• Dr. Donald Shuen• Gordon Krueburg '78• Don Anderson '77 of

Waysmall computers

• Iqbal Ladha of Steveston Marine

• Al Nortman at ABC Traders

• Vic and Shelly Berbarat Wriason Seals

• J.D. Blade at Sevylor Canada

• Charles Gordon of IGUS

• RP Electronics• Lee's Electronics• Dunbar Lumber

SPOTLIGHT ON STUDENTS

Earlier this year, St. George's School parent,Dr. Kooi Ong Tong (father of Han Tong inGrade 8), presented a wonderfulopportunity to the School. He wouldprovide $50,000.00 to a Senior SchoolInvestment Club which, in turn, wouldinvest the money under the guidance ofChris Nicolls, the School's Chief FinancialOfficer. Dr. Tong also agreed to make wholeany losses incurred by the club. Here is afirst-hand account of Dr. Tong's project:

Looking back at the years when I was abanker and a stockbroker, and now as aninvestor, I realize how often the hard-earned savings of many are lost.Interestingly, investment losses are notlimited to the domain of the lesseducated. We often hear of lawyers,doctors, and even business people losingtheir fortunes in the equity markets.

Yet, to many people, it is often necessaryto invest one's income and savings inorder to secure a comfortable retirement,to provide for children's education, tohedge against inflation, or to cope withemergencies. Despite this, the majority ofpeople are ill prepared to invest wisely.

Many investors can understand the basicfundamentals of risk and rewards. Theycan read the financial reports ofcompanies, have some basic grasp ofeconomics, and make use of the variousalternative financial instrumentsavailable. But without practice andexperience, many are often carried awayby exuberance, emotion, and irrationality.

For the reasons above, I am of the viewthat it is useful for children to be familiarwith investment, yet protected within anenvironment where there is appropriateguidance. In combining education withreal-life experience, an Investment Clubwithin a school environment, guided byteachers and assisted by investmentprofessionals would, I believe, be ofbenefit to many students.

With the help of the School'sadministration, I initiated an InvestmentClub at St. George's School. The club isorganized by School staff. Various

analysts, financial advisers, andinvestment bankers will be invited tospeak to the club and investment bookswill be made available to thoseinterested.

Presentations will be made to the entireInvestment Club, but students from eachgrade will form their own sub-groupswhere they will make their actualinvestment decisions and execute theirtrades with the assigned financialadvisers. Each of these sub-groups will begiven an initial capital of $10,000 toinvest or a combined total of $50,000 forthe Club.

The investment universe should be keptfairly simple. No shorts and no deriva-tives. All investments are limited to theCanadian securities market (equities,bonds, and mutual funds). After makingmoney, the students should also learnhow to spend it responsibly. To inculcatephilanthropy, at the end of each schoolyear, 50 per cent of the gains on the fundwill be contributed to a charity, to bedecided by the Club. The sub-fund forGrade 12 graduating students will bepassed on to the entering Grade 8students.

The sub-fund managed by the Grade 8students will stay with them until theygraduate in Grade 12. This encouragesthe students to invest for long-termgains. It also teaches the pitfalls ofspeculation and taking excessive risks,but also the necessity to take somecalculated risks.

The teacher will assist the club and thesub-groups to discuss their investmentsand to analyse the results of theirinvestments. Some attempts should bemade to help the students understandthe concept of risk and returns.Obviously, students should be firsttaught the basics of investing. However, Iwould encourage the teacher to allowthe students much leeway in makingtheir own decisions, even if they appearimprudent and irrational. We can learnmuch from our mistakes.

BusinessEducation

A Saints' Snapshot of Business Education and Entrepreneurshipby Laurier Primeau, Faculty

Studying at St. George's School involves muchmore than the three "Rs". With over 40different academic options from which tochoose, today's students have access to one ofthe finest high school curriculums in thecountry. One of the academic options theSchool offers is Business 10—An Examinationof Capitalism and Entrepreneurship.

This locally developed course begins with thebasic tenets of personal finance—chequewriting, budget balancing, and family banking.A mastery of these primary skills leads to moredeveloped concepts within the businessworld—private versus public ownership,finance and investment, and stock marketoperations. Finally, the course graduates fromtheory to application as students examine thedevelopment of the entrepreneurial idea.

Throughout the year guest speakers arebrought in to present real world experiences.Investment bankers, real estate lawyers, andentrepreneurs from our community sharetheir triumphs and failures and are candid inanswering questions about their respectiveoccupations.

Students leave this course with a strongnotion of business operations and skills whichwill enable them to run the most commonbusiness in the world—the family compact.The year-long experience should also leavestudents with a better idea of whether theypossess the personal requisites to makebusiness a career choice.

Fall 2007 • 17

ST. GEORGE'S PARENT FINANCES SENIOR SCHOOL INVESTMENT CLUB

by Dr. Kooi Ong Tong, St. George’s School Parent

Laurier Primeau with Business 10 Students

In newspapers or on television, we have allseen the images of young children livingin poverty. But how many of us canactually say that we have responded tothese images in a tangible way? David

Zhu '07 and Marco Chen, Grade 12 can. Theyare the co-founders of Heart2Heart, which is aregistered charity helping to build schools inremote areas of China.

The idea for Heart2Heart first germinated inthe summer of 2006 when Marco, a resident ofShenzhen, China saw a story in his localnewspaper and on the regional televisionnetwork profiling a series of initiatives whichhad been launched by the ChineseGovernment to bring education to isolatedcommunities. Marco and his friends decided tosee first hand what aid was needed by visitingone of the profiled areas, the small mountainvillage of Xiao Gao Shan in the Province ofGuizhou.

When they arrived at this remote mountaincommunity, they distributed pencils andbooks to children who were living in harsh,impoverished conditions and who werewithout access to a basic education. Marcowas so moved by the experience that he feltcompelled to make a difference.

Later that same summer, Heart2Heartorganized a fundraising Tea Reception inShenzhen and successfully raised $20,000,which was enough to build a school in XiaoGao Shan and to equip it with books andsupplies. After this successful initiative, Marcorealized the potential for his charity and, withthe help of David Zhu, set about to registerHeart2Heart formally as a Canadian YouthSociety.

During the winter of that same year, Marco andDavid returned to Xiao Gao Shan to see theimpact of their initial $20,000 donation and tofilm a documentary entitled A Journey fromHeart2Heart depicting the conditions of thearea and the emergence of their new school.When both boys returned to St. George'sfollowing the Winter Break, they presentedtheir documentary to the School community.This, in turn, inspired the School to rally arounda series of bubble tea sales which Marco andDavid organized and which raised anadditional $2,000 for the charity.

Despite the demands of the final term at theSchool, both boys decided to launch an evenmore ambitious fundraising activity: a galadinner at $100 a plate at the Sheraton WallCentre in downtown Vancouver. This eventtook on a life of its own as parents, local

businesses, staff, and members of the Chinesecommunity pitched in to make it a reality. Inthe end, 40 volunteers along with 400 guestsraised in excess of $50,000. Heart2Heart wasnow in a position to apply to become a non-profit charity eligible to issue tax receipts.

In looking back at this entrepreneurialexperience, both Marco and David admit thatit was not without its challenges. JugglingSchool commitments, convincing businesspeople to take them seriously, managingmedia interviews, preventing over-zealousvolunteers from derailing logistics, learning toorganize people, and managing operationalbudgets took their toll on both boys. However,in the end it was more than worthwhile astheir efforts were about to change the lives ofmany and leave a legacy of which they can feeldeeply proud.

SPOTLIGHT ON STUDENTS

18 • The Dragon

It starts with a germ of an idea: aconcept, a possible niche, anopportunity to make money. Could itbe the makings of a business? Well, ifyou are trying to convince your local

bank or investors that you have a viableenterprise in the works, you had betterhave a well-developed business plan tomatch your request.

No one knows this better than Keith Miao,who is the current Assistant Head Boy andCaptain of Boarding. In 2006, he was awinner of the Briefcase Business PlanCompetition, an entrepreneurial platformfor youth which offers workshops hostedby some of Vancouver's most seasonedbusiness leaders. At the conclusion ofthese workshops, participants areexpected to conceive of a new businessand execute thorough business plans tosupport their business visions. Thecompetition, which is co-sponsored byACE (Advancing Canadian Entrepreneurs)and the Sauder School of Business at theUniversity of British Columbia, attractshigh school participants throughout thegreater Vancouver area.

Keith's brainchild was to create a localexpress grocery delivery service, which hecalled Vancouver Food Express. After

conducting his own market researchusing surveys, face-to-face meetings, andtelephone interviews, Keith determinedthat there was a growing need for home-delivery grocery services. He did identifyone local supermarket that alreadyoffered this service and was willing todiscuss its experience, but Keith realizedthat there was still room for other players.His next move was to approach MarketPlace (IGA) and Safeway, both of whomwere willing to look at a strategic alliancewith Keith's company.

Following the presentation of hisbusiness plan at the competition, Keithwas recognized for creating the BusinessPlan with the Most Potential and awardeda $2,000 university scholarship for beingan Entrepreneur of the Year.

When asked what he feels is the key tobeing a successful entrepreneur, Keithdoes not hesitate in his response:"Passion! You have to enjoy what you aredoing and believe in your product. Irecognize this from studying many of thesuccessful companies out there." Keithhas since taken his experience andfollowed through with a concept forhomemade dog food, which he is in theprocess of test marketing.

Entrepreneurof the year

Building FuturesHeart 2 Heart

Recognition for a Business Plan

by Gordon C. Allan

by Gordon C. Allan

Fall 2007 • 19

The Original Mather School House

New Wing at the front of the Senior School

History of the

SENIOR SCHOOLSENIOR SCHOOL

On Tuesday, June 5, 2007, Headmaster Nigel Toy and Chairman Peter R.B. Armstrong '72 officially opened the new wing to theSenior School, thus completing one of the most ambitious building projects in the School's history. During the last three years alone,the School has benefited from four new tennis courts, four outdoor basketball courts, a new track, an award-winning Great Hall, a

field house, a new theatre and lecture hall, and new classroom and administrative facilities. In contrast to the School's humblebeginnings, these additions are emblematic of a school that has truly come of age.

History of the

BUILDING ON OUR PAST

Originally founded in 1930,the first "St. George'sSchool" was a ramblingold country house. TheMather Farmhouse, as it

was known at the time of purchase, satat 3954 West 29th and barely met theneeds of up to 40 students with itshandful of classrooms, Spartandormitories in its attic, and diningfacilities. However, during the summerof the School's first year, FoundingHeadmaster, Captain Danby-Hunter,with the financial backing of parents,was able to add an additional wing thatoffered four more classrooms and an all-purpose space serving as both agymnasium and chapel.

Initially, the School's sports field waslocated on the south side of theproperty. But by the early 1930s, theSchool's second headmaster, JohnHarker had become aware of 37 acres ofproperty known as the UniversityEndowment Lands, which were owned

by the Jesuit Fathers of Upper Canada.These plots of land (later known as"Topside 1 and Topside 2") were even-tually leased by the School to offer amore comprehensive sports program.By 1944, the School was able topurchase a significant amount of thisproperty outright for $6,500.

With the acquisition of this new land,John Harker had visions of a new schooland memorial chapel. However, theSchool's finances were alreadystretched to their limit and when theprojected costs came in at $200,000, herealized that he would have to shelvehis plans temporarily. In the meantime,the School's enrollment continued togrow and it had to rent housesadjoining the property to accom-modate additional boarders.

By 1948, the School had become a non-profit benevolent society and itsfinances were on a more solid footing.This new status allowed the School to

purchase five of the houses it had beenrenting. These became known as theBlock 60 properties. By the middle ofthe next decade, Harker had securedtwo more acres of land to add toTopside and the building of a newschool could finally be envisaged.

On a wintry day in January of 1959, the'New Classroom Block' as it was called,was officially opened by UBC PresidentDr. Norman McKenzie on the existingsite. This addition became home to theSenior School while the rapidly growingJunior School moved into the originalschool house. The new classroombuilding was clearly functional, but itlacked any real aesthetic value. The boysquickly dubbed it the "Cell Block".Nonetheless, this much-needed facilityallowed the School to offer expandedprograms and to accommodate growthin enrollment. But the vision for an evenbigger and better school remainedstrong.

20 • The Dragon

An Original Classroom, c. 1930

It wasn't until 1964 that DouglasHarker (John's brother), who had nowtaken over as the School's thirdheadmaster, received permissionfrom the Provincial Government tobuild on Topside. At last, the Schoolwould be able to realize a properfacility with a gym, library, dining hall,and room for the Arts. In Septemberof 1965, the core of the current SeniorSchool finally opened and within thenext four years, a swimming pool andstudent centre were added. By the1970s, Woodward Auditorium wasbuilt to meet the needs of thedeveloping theatre program. A musiccentre, Cliff Hall, and the Alan BrownLibrary rounded out the new facility.

The new school served theadministration well for about 20 yearsbut by the end of the decade,significant change was already afootunder the leadership of the fourthHeadmaster, Alan Brown '54. The firstimportant event was the purchase ofthe Convent of the Sacred Heart in1979 for $2,050,000. This building wasto become the new home for theJunior School and boarding program.Shortly thereafter, the original JuniorSchool buildings were knockeddown, the Block 60 properties weresold, and the Senior Schoolcommunity moved into portableclassrooms as its facility underwentmajor renovations. By 1986, theSenior School building had re-opened with a new library, swimmingpool, second gymnasium, cafeteria,and laboratories.

The 1990s saw two further buildingdevelopments: the construction of amodern boarding facility behind theJunior School in 1993 (later to benamed Harker Hall Residences) andthe addition of McLean Hall whichnow serves as a showcase dining hallat the Senior School.

A decade later, under the leadershipof Nigel Toy, the seventh headmaster,the Millenium Project was launchedwhich envisaged much of the recentadditions that we see today.

BUILDING ON OUR PAST

Fall 2007 • 21

Gym and Chapel c. 1930

First Senior School Cafeteria c. 1965

"The Cell Block" c.1950

The Original Gymnasium, 1933

22 • The Dragon

The editors would like to acknowledge the following from whichmuch of the information for this article was derived: Without Fear

or Favour: A History of St. George's School 1930 to 2005, by JohnLawrence, The History of the School, an article by Brian Lecky '65,

which appeared in the 75th Anniversary Commemorative Program,and data from Chris Nicolls, the School's Chief Financial Officer.

THE SENIOR SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT TIMELINE

1930 Mather Farmhouse at 3954 West 29th Avenue ispurchased to house St. George's School

1944 Acquisition of university endowment propertyfrom the Jesuit Fathers of Upper Canada for $6,500.(later to be known as Topside 1 and Topside 2)

1948 School purchases five houses on 29th Avenue toaccommodate the growing boarding program(known as Block 60 Properties)

1959 A new classroom block opens dubbed the 'CellBlock' by students

1965 A new Senior School is opened

1974 Addition of the Woodward Auditorium, musiccentre, Cliff Hall, and the Alan Brown Library

1979 The Junior School is moved from the originalschool house to the Convent of the Sacred Heartwhich the School purchases for $2,050,000.

1980 The original school house is demolished and Block60 properties are sold

1985 New science wing added

1988 A newly renovated Senior School re-opens withupdated library, new swimming pool, a secondgymnasium, new cafeteria, and laboratories

1993 A new boarding facility (later to be known asHarker Hall Residences) opens

1997 McLean Hall becomes the new showcase dininghall

1999 Opening of the Grad Centre

2004 Maintenance, outdoor education, and caretakerbuilding erected; athletic centre, track, and newtennis courts added

2005 Opening of The Great Hall, classrooms andauditorium renovated, new change rooms added,Dixon Gym upgraded

2006 Addition of a new Science Lab, opening of the St. George's/UBC Boathouse, acquisition ofproperty at 4344 Kevin Place

2007 Acquisition of property at 4185 W. 29th Avenue,new front of School opened, north-west fieldrestored, music room receives acoustical upgrade,library mezzanine renovated, faculty and staff roomrenovated

to 1978

Senior Campus c. 1970

IN THIS SECTION:• Georgian Entrepreneurs page 25

• Boarding in the 40s page 30

• Saints’ Shenanigans page 32

• Honouring Georgians page 34

• Saints’ Notes page 38

Fall 2007 • 23

In the days of my grandfather, who landed at Ellis Islandin New York City in 1898, entrepreneurship was all aboutthe New World. The boat ride across the vast Atlanticalmost surely secured a better life. But with many a goldrush broken and the experience of the Depression, he

returned home without much more than with what he left.

Timing, as we say, is (sometimes) everything.

By the time my father arrived to these shores in 1957, therewere no guarantees for anything. The great immigrant wavebrought many a talent and although opportunities narrow-ed, they still remained in abundance. Competition, then, wasreaching its zenith.

But movement gave way to opportunity again.

Business, as it has evolved from the days of the Robber Baronto today's techno-steeped, latte-swiller, is no longer aboutworking hard. Anyone can do that. It's about working smart.

What is that?Well, it's a simple calculus, that's never easy to execute.Today's entrepreneur relies more on his natural-born skillthan his MBA. Educated derelicts abound, whereas purebusiness sense is a rare commodity.

Here are the three P's of entrepreneurship:• Perseverance

I always looked at it as the difference between those whofail and subsequently wallow in that failure and those whofail and rise from the ashes, to fight another day. Move on...Failing is, ultimately, about winning, just not right away.Being able to persevere is the single most admirablequality in business today.

• PressureThere's nothing like it. A deadline is the adrenaline junkie'sdream in business. It's often where you'll locate your bestwork and, always, where you'll see what you're made of.

• PrideThere are so many short cuts in life and a ton of them inbusiness, but there's only one honest path. If it's a dealworth doing, you cannot walk away from the table as theonly winner. Shaft the other party, and it will be the lastdeal, or certainly one of the last, you'll do in this town. Takepride in knowing it took you longer, but that you're cleanthrough the door of success.

My business hero, former CEO of General Electric, Jack Welch,said it best:

"The best goddamned business isn't the one with thebiggest bank account, it's the one with the most honestpeople...you can make money anytime, but you can't make astraight shooter, you're born with it, so use it! No one wantsto work with a bunch of jerks. Life is hard enough withouthaving to do that".

The Three Ps of

“

Entrepreneurship

by A.G. (Alex) Tsakumis '84President of The Georgians

I always looked at itas the differencebetween those whofail and subsequentlywallow in that failureand those who failand rise from theashes.

“

24 • The Dragon

“

by Bryan R. Ide '99Manager of Georgian Relations

We hope that youtoo can look backat your time at St. George’s andfind experiencesthat helped toshape your life.

“

In this issue of The Dragon, you will encounter some very interestingstories of Georgians, from those who are just embarking onambitious projects, to those who have built up successful companiesand who are now leaders in their industries, and to this year’srecipients of the Georgian Honours.

These stories highlight the different paths our Georgians have takenemphasizing the common theme uniting them the integral role playedby St. George’s School in shaping their lives.

Georgians may be hard-pressed to remember the quadratic equationthey learned in Math class or how to conjugate verbs in French, but askthem how St. George’s prepared them for life and they are quick to asserthow the School instilled such values as perseverance, integrity, honour,and camaraderie. Students at the School are constantly reminded tostrive for success and to do their best at all times and at the same time tomake sure that they play fairly.

We hope that you too can look back at your time at St. George’s and findexperiences that helped to shape your life. Moreover, here are ten ways inwhich you can stay connected to the community which helped to shapeyour future.

Ten Ways to Stay Connected with Saints

1) Register on the Georgian Directory. By registering, you will receivenews of future events and updates on the School and the Georgians’Association. Registration is quick and easy simply click on the “StayingConnected” menu item when you visit the Georgian homepage atwww.georgians.ca.

2) Come out to our events! Meet other Georgians at a variety of functions,whether it’s helping to stock hampers at the Hamper Drive or sharingstories of Saints shenanigans at the Annual Georgians’ Dinner.

3) Read the Class Notes section in The Dragon and send in your updates.Your fellow Georgians want to know what is going on in your life. Didyou recently get married? Have you been promoted? Perhaps you’vejust completed a degree? We are always interested in knowing whatyou are doing. You can send your class note to: thedragon@stgeorges.bc.ca.

4) Stop by the School. St. George’s is fortunate to have two spectacularcampuses, from the heritage building of the Junior School to themodern facilities of the Senior School. Indeed, much has changed evenin the last few years.

5) Visit our website. We are constantly updating information andannouncing future events of interest to Georgians. The Georgians’section of the School’s website is easy to find just remember this onesimple address: www.georgians.ca.

6) Keep connected with other Georgians. One of the great privileges ofbeing a Georgian is access to an exclusive group. Georgians areworking and living in all parts of the world and are a great resource.Help us expand the Georgian network!

7) Let us know if you have moved or if you have a new email address. Wewant to ensure you continue to receive materials from the School,whether it’s a copy of The Dragon, invitations to future events, orgeneral news of the School. You can update your contact informationon the Georgians Directory or email thedragon@stgeorges.bc.ca.

8) Contribute to the School’s Endowment or to the Old Boys’ Fund. Withyour generous support of the School’s various endowment funds, youprovide students who could not otherwise afford to attend St. George’sthe opportunity to benefit from one of the finest schools in thecountry. To make a gift, you can visit our website or call the School at(604) 224-1304.

9) Be a mentor. Our students and our younger Georgians, who may justbe starting out with their careers, can benefit from the wealth of yourexperience. From time to time, we may request to put a student oranother Georgian in contact with you. We hope you will beencouraged to speak or meet with them.

10) Volunteer. Whether it is participating in the annual Career Day, whenGeorgians come to the School to share their work experiences or tohelp organize a Businessmen’s Luncheon for Georgians, please let usknow if you are willing to help. The reason our events are such greatsuccesses is because of your hard work.

StayingConnected

THE GEORGIANS

Fall 2007 • 25

As a former personal trainer atFitness World, DanielMezheritsky '02 had heardevery excuse in the book fornot going to the gym. The more

he listened to those same excuses, the morehe realized there had to be an alternative tothe traditional fitness club model.

Mezheritsky identified three key problemareas which he believed were preventingpeople from working out: a lack of privacy, alack of motivation, and a lack of time. Heknew that personal trainers could help inthis regard, but affordability was always anissue. The key was to offer a low-cost home-delivery fitness system which broughttrainers to your home or office according toyour own schedule.

In August 2005, with only two thousanddollars in start-up money, Mezheritskylaunched Fitness on The Go. "My objectivewas to get people fit and keep them fit byworking around their busy schedules," saysMezheritsky, whose company provides easyaccess to trainers who will come to yourhome or office daily, from 5:30 in themorning to 10:30 at night, for about $42.00a session.

There is a misconception that you can onlyget fit if you are surrounded by the latest infitness technology," says Mezheritsky whowas a Track and Field enthusiast during histime at St. George's and later becameCanadian Junior Champion in thedecathlon.

Without using fancy fitness machinesFitness on The Go can accomplish anequivalent aerobic and anaerobic workoutby using fundamental exercise techniquessuch as push-ups, lunges, squats, elasticbands, etc...

"In the early months of the company, I was aone-man show and was personallyconducting 70 in-home training sessions aweek. It took me less than two years toexpand the company to where I wanted it tobe. We now employ 31 staff members."

Furthermore, Mezheritsky attributes hispassion, commitment, and ability to stayfocused on his company goals to thetraining he received at Saints. "Whether itwas learning to be a gentleman, to valuingthe importance of physical activity, or tokeep going when times got tough, myeducation at Saints clearly positioned me tobecome a successful self-starter andentrepreneur." Fitness on The Go now hasapproximately 600 clients and yearly salesthat are growing exponentially.

The biggest challenge right now, saysMezheritsky, is keeping up with the demandand retaining the best staff. He offers seniortrainers their own Smart Car; managersreceive a Honda Element, and he has alsocreated strategic alliances with companieslike Nike which offer trainers and clientsdiscounted fitness wear.

When asked what advice he might give toup-and-coming entrepreneurs, Mezheritskyreflects back on his earlier mistakes. "Thereis a tendency either to spend money onsmall things that provide little added value,for example, in my case, crested hats or to gohog wild by hiring a professional marketer,or to spend hundreds of thousands ofdollars on advertising. When all is said anddone, it's about quality customer serviceand word-of-mouth advertising. This isadvice I learned personally from thefounders of 1-800-Got-Junk," with whomMezher-itsky personally interviewed duringthe early stages of company design.

Fitness on The Go now has two full-timemanagers who oversee all aspects ofcustomer service and sales. The company isexpanding and has already sold onefranchise at $50,000. By the end of next year,Mezheritsky expects to have ten fullyfunctioning franchises and projects grosssales of around three million dollars. Withhis current success, Mezheritsky is alwayslooking to expand and re-evaluate hisgoals. At the young age of 23, he is anentrepreneur who has already proven hehas what it takes to be a solid figure inBritish Columbia's business community.

GEORGIAN ENTREPRENEURSGEORGIAN ENTREPRENEURS

Georgian Entrepreneur: Daniel MezheritskyYear of Gradualtion: 2002Name of Company: Fitness-on-the-GoType of Company: Home-delivery fitnessFounded: 2005By: Gordon C. Allan

How did you start your property and realestate business?

My very first job after leaving St. George'swas in forestry, cruising timber in veryremote areas of northern BC. Then, I drovea D7 Cat doing road construction for thelogging company. When the bus came topick up the crew at night, they wouldsometimes forget that I was back in thebush constructing roads and they wouldleave without me. The weather wouldoften be as cold as -38 degrees and I wouldhave to make my way to the main highwayand then hitch-hike back into PrinceGeorge. After the third time thishappened, I went to the nearest pub and,after a few beers, I phoned my boss at thelogging company and told him that I quit.

I was therefore unemployed and decidedto go from being a cat driver to a realestate salesman. I sold clothes at the localmen's store while taking the real estatecourse by correspondence. In 1964, Ipassed the exam and became a real estatesalesman in Prince George. In 1967, Ibecame a sales manager and remained alicensed realtor from 1964 to 1981. In 1972,I obtained my diploma in Urban LandEconomics in Appraising from theUniversity of British Columbia and becamea Fellow of the Real Estate Institute ofCanada. I started my own real estatecompany in 1972 called Yellowhead Realtyand within four years, I owned the largestreal estate company in northern BC.

How did NIHO Land & Cattle Companycome to be?

I am an avid believer that nature andbusiness go hand in hand. I wanted toshare this experience with my sons. In1972, I formed the NIHO Land & CattleCompany and bought nine islands in theFraser River. The islands were strictlypurchased to teach my sons to canoe, toswim, and to survive off the land byhunting and fishing. I spent manyweekends on these islands with my sonshaving a great time canoeing on the roughwater and most importantly teachingthem outdoor survival skills. I cannot stressthe importance for fathers to spend timewith their children in the great outdoors:pitch a tent, light a fire, cook dinner, andjust relax around the campfire talking.There is no better way to bond.

What was it like during the early years asyou were building up your company?

In 1981, there was a collapse in the realestate market and I lost most of my money.After all the smoke cleared, I still had onestrong company left, namely NIHO Land &Cattle Company. I decided I would spendmore time with my sons and startedbuying recreational properties. We wouldclear the underbrush and put in roadscreating a vision and dream for peoplewanting to purchase recreationalproperties. In over a ten-year period, wewent from owning two properties toowning 400 and became one of the largest

private recreational property land ownersin BC. We diversified our business andstarted the harvesting of our own timberand developing some of our lands intosubdivisions.

In 1994, we made a change from thelogging business and decided to go intothe computer business. We developedLandcor.com, which is now used by mostmajor financial institutions in BC for fastvaluations on residential houses andcondos. Landcor has information on all1,646,987 properties in BC and updatesbetween 3,000 to 9,000 sales every week.We have one of the most accurateautomated valuation models in NorthAmerica and can valuate a residentialhouse or condo in four seconds bymatching the best and most recent salesof nearby comparable properties.

What challenges did you or have you facedand how have you overcome thosechallenges? What advice would you giveto those who are facing challenges instarting up their own companies?

Being an entrepreneur and building acompany, which is unproven in the mark-etplace, is a very difficult venture. It is avery lonely and risky path, but once youthink you have a great idea, you must stickto your convictions against all odds. If youhave an idea and you think it is good, gofor it. You might have to fight banks, yourfamily, and your friends, but you have tostick to your vision if you are determined

26 • The Dragon

GEORGIAN ENTREPRENEURSGEORGIAN ENTREPRENEURS

Georgian Entrepreneur: Rudy NielsenYear of Gradualtion: 1960Name of Company: NIHO Land & CattleType of Company: Property and Real Estate CompanyFounded: 1972Interview by: Bryan R. Ide '99

to make it happen. Good ideas come everyday, but what separates a good idea from acompany being built is the commitment ofthe entrepreneur.

In my case, I knew nothing aboutcomputers, but both of my sons werepartners in our company and they bothhad computer experience. I was only ableto appraise a house or a condo bycomputer so I stayed on my true courseand two and half years later, Landcor.comopened for business.

As an entrepreneur, who were yourmentors?

Gordon Bryant was my first boss in the realestate business in 1964. He taught memore in three years about the funda-mentals of business than anyone else.

Stan Hamilton, Senior Associate Dean ofUBC Commerce, taught me the value ofeducation and knowledge.

Mr. Harker, my Headmaster at St. George's,taught me discipline. He gave me a secondchance after I had been kicked out of theSchool.

How did your time at St. George's help youlater on in life? What lessons have youtaken away from your Saints' experience?

When I arrived at St. George's, I had alreadybeen kicked out of a number of publicschools. Coming from a small rural area likePrince George, the only thing I knew washow to fight with my fists. I was not really agood student until the last two years whenI was made a prefect and then thoroughly

enjoyed my time at St. George's. I brokethree records in track-and-field in June1960 and won the Victor Spencer Trophyand Sportsman of the year.

St. George's taught me: schedules,discipline, and teamwork. I had to make myown bed, always be on time, and dressproperly. St. George's taught me how tostudy and also the importance of readingin order to keep up to date on the presentand future. By participating in thenumerous sports at St. George's, I learnedteamwork. An entrepreneur always needsto have a good team behind him.

What advice would you give to anotherGeorgian or student who has an idea in hishead but doesn't know how to start up acompany?

My first advice would be to prepare abusiness plan of your idea. Then, you havea number of choices to raise capital to getyour idea into starting a company. If aperson is not fortunate enough to have hisown capital or family capital, he may haveto raise venture capital money or privatemoney. You will have to go to manyfinancial institutions and you will find itvery difficult, for they receive hundreds ofthese applications a day. Rejection is themost difficult thing to deal with whenknocking on doors for capital. After beingturned down 20 times, you may start tothink that there is something wrong withyou. Before you approach any of thesefinancial people be sure you are protectedwith a confidentially agreement. I wouldalso suggest approaching another

Georgian who has done work in the samebusiness and ask him for some time tobenefit from his experience.

What advice would you give to thoseGeorgians who have started up a companyand are facing challenges?

Look for a mentor or other people in thesame business and advise them you are aGeorgian. The most important advice forstarting a company or running a companyis your motivation and attitude in life. Youneed to set both short-term and long-termgoals, which only you should know whichare not to be shared. You must also dosome meditation.

In my case meditation comes from twosources: sitting around a campfire with aglass of wine staring into the fire andhiking through the forest using my survivalskills to live off the land.

Would you like to share any otherexperiences or information you thinkmight be of interest to our readers?

I would suggest that St. George's create amentor committee of Georgians to act asadvisers or mentors to young Georgianentrepreneurs just starting out. Theseyoung entrepreneurs would havesomewhere to go to express their ideasand problems and the committee couldoffer advice on which is the best route toproceed. St. George's has produced someof the best minds in Vancouver and itwould be helpful to have guest speakers toshare their knowledge and insight of thebusiness world to the Grade 12 class.

Fall 2007 • 27

How did you end up in the business ofcreating wind turbine farms?

I used to work for an environmentalengineering firm and my sister introducedme to a gentleman from England, whoasked if I'd be interested in getting into thewind turbine business; the rest, as they say,is history. My interest in alternativeenergies and environmentally friendlyenergy options were definitely thefoundation for my current business,WindCon Energy Services Ltd.

We now have an office in Lethbridge,Alberta with a completed project, and anoffice in Kincardine, Ontario with a projectunderway. We will be opening an office inMontreal later this year to address windfarm opportunities in Quebec.Internationally, we currently have projectsin England, Southern and Northern Ireland,the Isle of Skye, Inverness, and Whitelee,south of Glasgow. We will be opening anoffice in Spain this coming January, 2008.Later that year an office will be establishedin Australia and New Zealand. I'm alsolooking forward to working on projects inDawson Creek, British Columbia in 2008and 2009!

What challenges have you faced and howhave you overcome those challenges?What advice would you give to those whoare facing challenges in starting up theirown companies?

Starting up a business is always a financialchallenge; investments can be risky andcash flow is a perpetual concern in virtuallyany industry. Finding and retaining goodstaff is also another major hurdle faced byentrepreneurs. Continual networking isrequired to attract the right type ofemployee for your company. For myparticular business to avoid wasting timeand money, it's also really important totarget areas of proper growth and to findthe right markets to enter. My main advicewould be to have twice as much money asyou think you need, hire people who canreplace you, and don't be afraid to takerisks. As well, hire slowly, fire quickly, andpromote good reliable workers. Praiseopenly and often and continually thankstaff when a good job has been done. Forexample, a hot cup of coffee, a doughnut,and a thank you can go along way when itis -30° in southern Alberta. You also need toappoint key individuals to manage teamsand over-deliver on your promises. If andwhen necessary, be prepared to workseven days a week and 18 hours a day.Furthermore, make sure you get thesupport from your families, especially ifyou are only going to be home for twodays a month.

We constantly hear about high energycosts associated with the price of oil goingup. In addition, we are told that we can nolonger rely solely on oil for our energyneeds. Where do you see the renewableenergy sector down the road?

Well, we can talk about how in Canada onlya mere .05 per cent of energy is derivedfrom alternative energy sources incomparison to 25 per cent in Holland,Denmark, and Germany. These countriesare the world leaders in wind turbinetechnologies. Canada as a whole tends tobe leaning more towards nuclear energyand 85 per cent of energy in Alberta is stillderived from burning coal. Clearly there isno shortage of opportunities fordeveloping alternative energy sourcessuch as tidal, solar, and wind energy. Therenewable energy sector will not be goinganywhere any time soon. We are currentlybuilding 2mW Enercon turbines in Ontario,which are provided by a Germanmanufacturer. These turbines stand 75metres high, the blades are 35 metres long,and one hour of these blades turningproduces enough electricity for theaverage house in Canada for one month.This compares to China which is bringingon two coal burning hyrdo plants everysecond week, which is equivalent to2,000,000 cars on the road for the sameperiod of time.

28 • The Dragon

GEORGIAN ENTREPRENEURSGEORGIAN ENTREPRENEURS

Georgian Entrepreneur: Guy McKenzie-SmithYear of Gradualtion: 1975Name of Company: Windcon EnergyType of Company: Wind Turbine FarmsFounded: 2005Interview by: Bryan R. Ide '99

Fall 2007 • 29

It would be interesting to know about St. George's intentions for sustainability. Ofparticular interest would be their programof organic products they are using on theirplaying fields, in their public facilities, andin their swimming pool.

What are the advantages of generatingelectricity through wind power over othermethods of generating renewable energysuch as hydro, solar power, or hydrogenfuel cells?

The greatest advantages of wind powerare lower costs and speed of development.For example, it takes 12 to 15 years to builda hydro dam. You have to flood huge areassuch as Lake Williston in BC which, in turn,destroys thousands of acres of woodlands.Solar power is limited seasonally and toareas that receive the most sunlight. It'spopular in Spain and the Caribbean, wheresolar panels are used on rooftops to heathot water, but it would not necessarilywork so well in our climate. Hydrogen fuelcells have huge capital costs and requirean enormous shift in the energyinfrastructure. Wind energy on the otherhand is essentially free, renewable, alwayspresent, and boasts lower constructionand capital costs. On top of all that, windturbine sites can usually be built within ayear and have less of a negative impact onthe environment than other energysources. Sites are usually placed inrangelands or rural farmlands and don't

disturb the natural environment. Farmersalso benefit from the added value of theirland.

How did your time at St. George's help youlater on in life? What lessons have youtaken away from your Saints' experience?

St. George's is a great fraternity where Iformed many lifelong friendships. Myexperience at St. George's cemented afoundation of discipline and the team-building skills I learned through theathletic department have definitely comeinto practice later on in life. Takeadvantage of St. George's uniquefacilities and the short time spent there.Time passes by quickly but thefriendships you make will last!

What advice would you give to anotherGeorgian or student who has an idea in hishead but doesn't know how to start up acompany?

Research your business idea thoroughly todetermine whether or not it is actuallyfeasible. Talk to people who areentrepreneurs and have already startedtheir own companies. Network at Old Boys'functions and ask lots of questions. ReadBusiness in Vancouver and join smallbusiness groups to stay on top of industrytrends and news. Taking a program to runmy own business has also paid off for me.Most importantly, don't be afraid to startsmall.

What advice would you give to thoseGeorgians who have started up a companyand are facing challenges?

Having the support of your family isextremely important in times of stress.Revise your business plan, dwell on yourstrengths, and don't support yourweaknesses. Look at areas where you aremost profitable and focus on those keyareas. Slash your staff and cut costs; work25 hours a day…then talk to your banker,and believe in yourself.

Boarding in the 40sA Home away from Home by Tom Lymbery '46

From 1943 to 1946, I was part ofthe boarding community at St.George's School. I rememberthat many of us in boardingcame from isolated places,

where high school grades were notalways available. For example, there wasHans Myhre '47 from Montney, BritishColumbia, north of Fort St John; GrantDominy '46 from McLennan in northernAlberta; Ted Christmas '44 from KnightInlet British Columbia; Doug Richardson'47 from T'Lell in the Queen Charlottes;and, myself from Gray Creek in theKootenays.

We had all been able to reach Grade 8 inour local one-room schools; to go anyfurther required that we be sent to board

in either a small town or a boardingschool like St. George's. In my case, St.George's, with its closely supervisedresidential program was the best option.So, it was in the fall of 1943 that I lefthome on a Sternwheeler, crossed theKootenay Lake, and then transferred to a34-hour Greyhound trip to St. George'sSchool in Vancouver. Wartime restrictionslater cut Greyhound trips to 50 milesbecause of gas and rubber conservationand I had to take the Kettle Valley Railwayback home for my first Christmas holiday.

As this was wartime, Johnny Harker, whowas Headmaster at the time, had to workhard to maintain standards. Luckily, hewas able to hire retired teachers from theVancouver School Board. For example, we

had some excellent teachers, including C. F. Connor and H. Hudson. Connorremained famous for his "now boy, I don'thave to eat a whole turnip to get the tasteof it", and Hudson for "say nothing untilyou hear from me" (after which the class,in unison, would chant: "nothing 'till youhear from me").

The principal school building was a three-storey farmhouse. The top floor was onelarge dorm room, known as the TopDorm, which housed 24 Grades 6 and 7boarders for whom I was the prefect. Agym and chapel were added, abovewhich there were additional classrooms.School transportation included a classic1928 Cadillac that Johnny was able to buyfor $200 because gas rationing made it

30 • The Dragon

LOOKING BACK: A GEORGIANS’ FEATURE STORY

unwanted. Perhaps Axel Mortensen, themaintenance man, had the contactsthat helped keep gas available for theSchool.

A whole rugby team could cram intothat car, which featured extendablecigarette lighters in the back seat.Otherwise the extensive streetcarsystem brought teachers and day boysto School, none of whom had their owntransportation. Mr. Connor maintainedthat the streetcars would always be aVancouver fixture because of the heavyfogs as nothing else could find its wayon the streets. With so much coal beingburned in those days, a yellow fogcould be seen hovering over theDunbar area.

On Saturdays, I would cycle downtownto enjoy the 18-cent double feature atthe Lyric or Rex Theatres. If Fan Dancer,Gypsy Rose Lee (the word 'stripper'would be used as an adjective todescribe her in later years) came to theBeacon, we would ante up 25 cents forthe double feature combined with thestage show. On a holiday weekend wewould sometimes sneak out to aSunday midnight movie downtown(the School did not permit us to viewmovies on Sundays) and because therewere very few 3:00 am streetcars, itwould take us some time to get back tothe dorm.

Rugby was the only game which wasplayed on the top field, a block out intothe bush, on mud and gravel. In myattempt to ensure that I met the propercut-off weight for the 135lbs team, Iremember trying out with stones in mypockets. Once on the team, I wouldhave a practice game each day, whilegames would be played at BrocktonPoint and City High School fields. Therewere also the memorable trips toVictoria to play St. Michael's UniversitySchool, or Royal Roads. The wholeRugby season lasted from Septemberto Easter, until cricket started to re-appear. While there was a gym withbasketball hoops, we couldn't play

basketball because the over-hanginggym ceiling was only nine feet high. Ofcourse, there was always cross countryrunning, which basically involvedfollowing a three-mile deer trackthough the University bush.

Back at school, the kitchen preparedmeals on a large coal-burning cookstove, and coal was also used to heathot water, which was plentiful forshowers or baths. Some of us had neverseen or used a shower before, and I canremember Hans saying that he plannedto set one up when he returned hometo Montney.

Eventually, Harker purchased twoadditional private houses in the 3900block of West Dunbar. One wasoccupied by a nurse, who attended toour scuffed knees from playing on thegravel rugby field, weighed us, oradministered our physicals. The otherhouse was used to accommodate aman who had arrived from Englandwith his wife and two small children.This was Kent-Barber, who was giventhe job of supervising the boarders. Asour day normally started at 7:00 am,with all boarders running to the gymfor physical jerks before their morningshowers, Kent-Barber felt he needed toget everyone moving quickly, so hestarted taking a hand bell around toeach dorm to make sure everyone wasawake. This did not go over well. So, oneevening we purloined some metalbuckets and whatever tin cans wecould find.

After making sure that no one neededto pee, as the toilets were on the floorbelow, we assembled the material upthe stairs and tied a cord from them tothe doorknob. The next morning, thewhole dorm eagerly listened for theapproach of Kent-Barber. The effect wasall that we had planned a tremendouscan crashing effect, and the masterretreated without a word. He neverapproached the top dorm again! Oursimple project had achieved itsobjective. When I told the story to

Johnny Harker some years later, he hadnever heard of it before, so apparentlyKent-Barber had been disinclined toreport it.

Chapel was also an important part ofour lives during those days, particularlygiven the tragedies of war occurringoverseas. It seemed that all too often,we would have a minute's silence as amemorial to a Georgian killed in action.At 17 years of age, all of us expected tojoin up and be shipped overseas, but by1945, the demand for soldiers haddecreased significantly.

Nip Parker returned from service, minusa leg, and told us of the pains he wouldfeel where there was no longer a foot.Even so, he managed to referee rugby.The Beak (Harker) also recruited twosergeants who had returned fromservice to provide for stiffer night-timesupervision in boarding—with limitedsuccess. Then, as VE Day fast approa-ched in May 1945, Johnny Harkerorganized all boarders to stay with aday boy for a few days, in order that heand the staff could celebrate the end ofhostilities in Europe.

The practice of having Grade 11students write some of their Grade 12exams led to many of us writing themall in Grade 11. Thus, our parents couldafford our last year in Grade 13. Overthe years that followed my time atSaints, I remained with the businesswhich my father started in 1913.Eventually, I added an insurancebrokerage to our general store andresort. I then sold both and expandedthe store to three floors. Today, ourbusiness has an internationalreputation for handling the widestvariety of goods, anywhere. Some, likeDominy went on to university, butmany like Myhre, Richardson, and mereturned to our small communities. Ihave been grateful for the excellentgrounding in class and in life and theintroduction to the big city.

Fall 2007 • 31

LOOKING BACK: A GEORGIANS’ FEATURE STORY

32 • The Dragon

OUR STORIED PAST

Pranks, capers, stunts, ortomfoolery; it doesn't matterwhat you call them—Saints'history is rife with all sorts ofgood-natured shenanigans.

Whether it was John Blackmore's prizedbeagle arriving at the School closingceremonies, dyed pink and wearing apair of undergarments, a vintageVolkswagen being welded around theSenior School flagpole, or, theconversion of the new Great Hall into anautomobile showroom, stories of Saints'shenanigans add such colour andhumour to the history of the School. It

only stands to reason, if you have a largegroup of bright young men with a bittoo much time on their hands, thensome devious plan will be hatched,resulting in a fine example of well-crafted student "skullduggery".

Chris Harker '57 recalls that in 1949,while in Grade 5, "the dastardly KilroyGang" was formed with the object ofwriting "Kilroy Was Here" anywhere andeverywhere about the School in chalk.The gang was perhaps overly successfuland finally ran into serious problemswhen the Axel Mortensen, the School

Custodian, had his truck so adorned. Thegang, which by now had grownsignificantly in numbers, was caught bythe Head of the Junior School, CaptainRobinson, who promptly brought outthe cane and gave everyone involved"two of the best"; one for defacingSchool property and one for misuse ofSchool property (chalk). The gangquickly dissolved. However this didn'tmean an end to clever pranks andcapers.

As a grad student in 1956, Harkerremembers that they were able to

Saints'

SHENANIGANSSHENANIGANSSaints'

by Brian Lecky '65

Fall 2007 • 33

OUR STORIED PAST

purchase scarves seven foot long in theSchool's colours on which the namecould be sewn for an extra 50 cents:

"As the Convent of the Sacred Heart(now the Junior School) was close by,housing a number of attractive girls intheir boarding facility, there wasunderstandably a great deal of thoughtgiven to how one might gain access, atnight, without being caught. Althoughthis was never accomplished, a numberof scouting expeditions did occur thatinvolved the use of ladders, trees, anddrainpipes. One morning, after yetanother thwarted scouting mission,passers-by could not help but noticethat there was something differentabout the statue that was located in asmall niche high above the frontentrance to the Convent; the VirginMary was now bedecked with the red,white, and black scarf of St. George'sSchool. It took several days to get itdown. The name had been removed."

John Nicolls '78 remembers how fellowgrad, Gord Fitzpatrick '78, painted acrosswalk between the School and the"smoke pit" complete with a studentcrossing sign "borrowed from anotherlocation".

The same '78s showed up at a CroftonHouse assembly in full Crofton HouseSchool uniform, beautifully adornedwith copious amounts of make-up andlipstick. They proceeded to read themorning announcements under thewatchful eye of a thankfully tolerantMiss Addison. Meanwhile the Croftongirls were engaged in comparableactivities at the Saints' assembly.

A similar caper was organized in 1980,when John's brother Rod '80 took onthe role of Crofton House Head Girl. Hewas given the honour because "he wasthe only one small enough to fit into therather petite red jacket".

In the mid Forties, Tom Lymbery '46recounts how he and some of hisfellow boarders tried to satisfy theirparched palates: "I came up with the idea of makingpumpkin brandy. This was achieved byfilling a hollowed-out pumpkin withbrown sugar and water. There was acupboard in the middle of the topdorm, with a brick chimney at theback. This was the ideal warm place toallow fermentation to take place. Itwas started by floating a cake of yeaston a piece of toast in the sugary mix.

This began to work, creating a strong'fermenting' smell, which the kids inthe dorm blamed on thehousemaster's room. The product wasfar from brandy, but produced a sort of'pumpkinny' wine".

Great stories, and such a variety: St. George, in full armour, rode into theSenior School closing ceremonies atophis trusty steed, Goofy (the Disneycharacter) arrived on the School fieldsby helicopter, a staff room thatmysteriously disappeared behindfreshly plastered entrances. It seems theprowess that St. George's students haveexhibited in academics, sports, and thearts over the past 75 years is alsoevident in their ability to formulateclever and elaborate pranks. Perhapsone of the finest examples is bestrelated, in its entirety, here for the firsttime, by one of the perpetrators, DavidDocksteader '82.

"The planned conversion of AlanBrown's rather static and sterileheadmaster's office to an idyllic pastoralforestscape, including an in-groundduck pond complete with a mallard ofthe yellow rubber variety was hatchedsomewhat spur of the moment in theSpring of 1982. The actual adventuretook place all within approximately fourhours of late evening and early morningon the eve of "Annual Grub Day" (thetradition of wearing anything one choseincluding pyjamas or an ensemblesimilar to what Geof Stancombe '62would wear at the Spring Fair for oneFriday in the final term).

It was that exciting night when fourpromising horticulturalists and grad-uating students (I will confess to havingbeen one of them but refuse to rat outthe others unless tortured and then I'llsing like a canary) borrowed severaltrees, shrubs, plants, and many yards oftopsoil from the endowment landsproperty across the street and east ofthe former "smoke pit". We gained easyaccess, thanks to the phenomenalexpertise of one of my co-conspirators,who had acquired the dubious skill ofusing a soap mould for cutting keys. Thistechnique he had learned fromstudying unauthorized publicationsconfiscated by his father in hisprofessional duty as the commandingofficer of the RCMP. By the way, thissame artful dodger had also learned theart of alchemy required for themanufacturing of high-grade stink

bombs—strong enough that, on acompletely different occasion, we didhave to evacuate the entire Schoolduring class following full fire drillprocedures.

In any event, with copied master keys inhand, we carefully removed every stickof furniture and item visible in AlanBrown's office and stored them safely inanother section of the School beforesetting out to lay a heavy coat of polyover his carpet so that no damage wascaused. At least four different varietiesof coniferous trees were carefullyuprooted and then re-planted in thefully prepared and freshly landscapedHeadmaster's office, thanks to theHerculean strength of another of thefellas, who in spite of his 'neon toe-headedness'(whoops another hint)managed to keep out of sight.

In any event, that was only one of anumber of other clever pranksperformed by a whole class ofingenious lads from '82. The 12 hours orso of bright-eyed and fleet-of-footadolescents harmlessly creatingmischief ended with almost the entireGrade 12 class for that year camping outon Alan Brown's front lawn. I supposewhat made the whole deal rathersterling was that the next morning atthe School assembly, Alan Brown, ingood spirit and style, complimented thework of "a group of interior decorators"and promised that he would not inquireas to who or how, but he required thateverything be returned precisely to itsplace, and in its original condition bythe end of lunch that day. It was donejust as he asked and he never saidanything to any of us."

Shenanigans at their finest; yet theseare but a small sampling of the capers,pranks, and stunts, successfully stagedby the student body of St. George's overits colourful 76-year history. There islittle doubt that an entire publicationcould be compiled based solely onsuch endeavours. It would be highlyentertaining, but it would also requirea great deal of time and research and,of course, the willingness of thevarious perpetrators to reveal thedetails of their ingenious exploits. Iknow you're out there! Be assured, thatunder the statute of limitations, it isnow safe to confess to such misdeeds,as no disciplinary or retaliatory actionswill be taken.

34 • The Dragon

The St. George’s Old Boys’ Association in partnership with St. George’s School

recently launched the Georgian Honours to recognize the significant

achievements and contributions that our Georgians make every day.

On the following pages, you can read about this year’s recipients.

GEORGIANSGEORGIANSHonouringHonouring

You recently retired as President and ChiefExecutive Officer of Canaccord. As youreflect on your time at the helm, what doyou consider to be your greatestachievements?

For some years, I have been Chairman andCEO of Canaccord Capital Corporation. Irecently passed on the title of CEO to PaulReynolds, who is 44 years old and hasbeen with me for 23 years. It has been saidthat one of the most importantresponsibilities of a CEO is to ensure forproper succession, which is something heshould start thinking about his first day onthe job.

As far as my greatest achievement, I wouldsay it is building the largest independentinvestment dealer in Canada from a small

Vancouver firm purchased in 1968 for$23,000. Today it is a public company withrevenues approaching $1 billion.

What was your biggest challenge?

My biggest challenge, which tookpatience and time, was to build the rightteam, one which could both share acommon vision and work in a culture thatbrought out their very best. No executivecan build a company unless his partnersand employees buy into its vision.

Seeing as how this issue of The Dragonfocuses on entrepreneurship, what advicewould you give to those who are startingtheir own business?

The most important requirement for anentrepreneur is to have a passion for the

enterprise and a network that cansupport it. It has been said that one manwith passion is equal to 40 peoplemerely interested.

As an active Georgian, what do you see asthe long-term mandate the Georgians andthe St. George's Old Boys' Association,both collectively and individually?

I am not an expert at running the OldBoys' Association, but it seems to me thatthe alumni of a school with the reputationof that of St. George's are important alliesand assets. I think the School needs toemploy every means to communicatewith and involve every Georgian. The"every" means somebody whounderstands these issues better than I do.

Fall 2007 • 35

COVER STORY: HONOURING GEORGIANS

One of the leading figures in Canada'sinvestment community, Peter is the founderand Chairman of Canaccord Capital Inc. Overthe years, Peter has served on the boards ofnumerous private sector and Crowncorporations. He is a past Chairman of UBC,the Vancouver Stock Exchange, BC PlaceCorporation, and BC Enterprise Corporation.He currently sits on the Board of Trustees forthe Fraser Institute and the FinanceCommittee for VANOC, and is a member ofthe World Presidents' Organization. Peter hasbeen a strong supporter of St. George's formany years, serving as a Governor of theSchool and Trustee of the Foundation.

PETER M. BROWN '58PETER M. BROWN '58Lifetime Achievement Georgian Award

Ray Robinson entered government service in1958 as Canada's youngest ever diplomat androse to become one of the country's topenvironmental officials. Ray has had manysignificant leadership roles, includingnegotiating the first federal provincial airquality standards, spear-heading the decisionto remove lead from gasoline, and draftingthe Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.Ray was also Federal Administrator of theJames Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement.In 1993, he was appointed an adjunctprofessor at SFU.

As a former public servant and as achampion of the environment, what doyou consider to be your greatestachievement?

I played a significant or leading role inresolving three of Canada's mostimportant environmental problemssevere Great Lakes pollution, lead ingasoline and acid rain and helped makemajor changes in the way in which theGovernment of Canada meets itsenvironmental responsibilities.

[a] While still a diplomat and as Co-ordinator of the Canadian teamnegotiating the 1972 Great Lakes QualityAgreement, I helped design the reviewmechanism that gave the agreement itsteeth. It established an independentCanada–US body to report publicly onachieving the Agreement's initial targetsand, as scientific knowledge grew, torecommend tightening and expandingthe Agreement. The result has been atleast three new ever more comprehensiveAgreements and much healthier lakes.

[b] As head of Canada's EnvironmentalProtection Service, I initiated in 1978 asuccessful five-year battle to get lead outof gasoline. UBC researchers had shownme how severe were the effects of lowlevels of lead in the blood on children'smotor development and that hundreds ofthousands of children living on busystreets or near freeways were at risk.

[c] I persuaded the US CarterAdministration to join us in developing aplan to control trans-boundary acid rainaffecting tens of thousands of lakes andmillions of hectares of forest. We reachedvirtual agreement but the new President,Reagan, repudiated all of it. In response, Iinitiated a long but ultimately successfulcampaign in the US to persuade

Americans that combating acid rain was intheir interest. After Reagan's re-election, aCanada–US agreement on acid rain,reflecting our work with the CarterAdministration, was finally signed.

[d] As head of Canada's environmentalassessment agency, I led the developmentover several years of what is now theCanadian Environmental Assessment Actwhich mandates a rigorous and publicassessment of the environmental effectsof all projects requiring federal approval.The result has been to open governmentaldecision-making to fuller public scrutinyand to build environmental planning andsensitivity into programs across govern-ment. It is court-enforceable and thereforeresistant to undue political intervention.

There are those who say that environ-mentalists are being alarmist and thathuman-made climate change is a myth.How do you respond?

The same scepticism surrounded GreatLakes clean-up, lead in gas, and acid rain. Inthe 1700s, at the dawn of the industrialage, CO2 concentration in the air was 280ppm. Today it's 380 ppm. Physics tells usthat more heat will as a result be retainedwithin the atmosphere and recenttemperature trends, especially at thepoles, appear to bear this out. It is alreadytoo late to prevent significant change butwe can prevent catastrophic change (e.g.melting polar ice-caps) which is predictedto occur between 450 ppm and 550 ppmof CO2 concentration. The correlationbetween the growth in emissions and inconcentrations of CO2 over the decades istoo close for the phenomenon to be otherthan primarily man-made.

How would you rate the progress thatgovernments have made in tackling theissue of climate change?

Avoiding catastrophic change will requireemission reductions two to three timeshigher than currently contemplated,costing about 1.5 per cent of gross globalproduct. That is far less than the cost of themost benign catastrophic scenarios. Yet Ifear it will take many more destructivestorms, floods, droughts, fires, famines,infestations and other extreme events tomove the World's peoples and govern-ments into effective action. I am en-couraged that many business leadersseem to be ahead of the politicians inrecognizing the need to act. However, it isthe government which must set theexample and produce an effective plan.Our leaders should take heart fromCanada's earlier successes in not onlyovercoming Great Lakes pollution andacid rain but also persuading our giantneighbour to do the same.

In what way did your time at St. George'simpact your later life? What advice wouldyou give to your fellow Georgians?

The one word answer is language—theability to communicate orally and inwriting with logic, precision and clarity.The study of grammar, composition,Latin etc. encourages the mind to thinkand express itself in an orderly manner.In my work I presented to the politicallevel the findings of science andexplained to the scientists what thepoliticians needed to know. I had littlescientific training but I could cut throughjargon and determine what was fact andwhat was assumption. We are blessed byspeaking the World's most widely usedlanguage. I say to my fellow Georgiansmaster that language, respect its beauty,structure and power and it will mattermuch less what else you learn.

RAYMOND M. ROBINSON '54RAYMOND M. ROBINSON '54Distinguished Georgian Award

36 • The Dragon

COVER STORY: HONOURING GEORGIANS

The Canadian Charter of Rights andFreedoms celebrated its 25th anniversaryearlier this year. In your opinion, how hasthe Charter changed the country?

The Charter's impact on Canada has beenenormous. Foremost is the enhancedprotection civil liberties have receivedunder the Constitution since 1982. As oneconsequence, the Canadian criminaljustice system has been transformed. Asanother, the centre of gravity for thedebate on many issues of importance toCanadians has moved away from thelegislatures and toward the courts. Forexample until 1982, arguments overequality, freedom of speech, freedom ofreligion, and language rights might havebeen regarded as matters of politics.Today, those issues have beenconstitutionalized; bringing enhancedpublic profile not only to the issuesthemselves, but also to the appointedjudiciary that adjudicates them. Whetheryou view these developments as positiveor negative for our country, there is nodenying the Charter's transformativeeffect on Canadian society.

Some have said that the judiciary has nowadopted a role as a protector ofconstitutional rights and freedoms, and indoing so, is engaging in judicial activism.How would you respond?

It's true that the Canadian judiciary hasenthusiastically taken up the challenge of

interpreting and applying the Charter. It'sequally true that that job has entailed theprotection of fundamental rights andfreedoms, given that the Charter (as withother modern bills of rights) pursues a civillibertarian agenda. Have judges adoptedthat role or has it been thrust upon them?Under section 52 of the Constitution Act,1982, the Charter forms part of the"supreme law of Canada". In light of thesupremacy given to the rights andfreedoms guaranteed by the Charter, anylaw inconsistent with those rights andfreedoms must be struck down. Thejudiciary thus plays an inevitable role inthe functioning of the Charter. In my view,the judiciary has acquired that role byparliamentary choice rather than byusurpation: legislators and not judgesauthored the Constitution Act, 1982.

What are the biggest challenges facingthe legal community today?

Access to justice is a formidable challengefor the modern legal profession. Litigationis prohibitively expensive for manyCanadians and in many cases, civildisputes with a value of less than$100,000 are scarcely cost effective tolitigate. This, in fact, renders the civiljustice system inaccessible to a wideband of society for the resolution ofdisputes. The solution to this problem iscomplex but it needs to be tackled.

Another ongoing challenge for lawyers isdiversity within the profession's ranks. Theprofession has made strides, yet womenand minorities still remain under-represented in leadership positions.

A third challenge for the legal communityflows from its growth. The hallmarks ofprofessionalism include collegiality andmentoring. These values are strained asthe profession expands and the businessclimate becomes ever more competitive.The legal profession must ensure that itsfinest traditions survive these pressures.

As a successful lawyer, you are expected tothink laterally and on your feet. To whatextent would you say that St. George'sprepared you for the demands of yourcurrent profession?

Many Saints’ graduates have achievedtremendous success in their chosencareers. Success can be variously defined,but on any view it draws on qualities thatSaints has emphasized since its inception:dedication, perseverance, hard work,integrity, and the importance ofcitizenship in its broadest sense. None ofthe educational institutions I've attendedhas more profoundly defined mytrajectory in adulthood than Saints. Anysuccess realized since then has built onthe lessons learned at this great school.

Recognized as a foremost appellate counselin Western Canada, Angus is a partner atBorden Ladner Gervais, LLP. He has also beenAdjunct Professor of Law at UBC and in 2005he received the first Adam Albright Award forOutstanding Teaching by an AdjunctProfessor. He holds the distinction of beingone of the few Georgians to have been bothHead Boy of the Junior School and SchoolCaptain of the Senior School.

ANGUS M. GUNN '86ANGUS M. GUNN '86Young Georgian Award

COVER STORY: HONOURING GEORGIANS

Fall 2007 • 37

38 • The Dragon

1969In August of this year, Charles Parkerbegan a two-year assignment asCounsellor (Development) at theCanadian High Commission inColombo, Sri Lanka. He will be the seniorrepresentative of the CanadianInternational Development Agencythere, where CIDA is quite engaged atthe moment with tsunami recon-struction work, in addition to its on-going programs in the country. This willbe his fourth diplomatic assignmentearlier postings were in Kathmandu,Islamabad, and Rome.

In February of this year, Brent J. Sauderbecame Assistant Deputy Minister,Research, Technology and InnovationDivision at the Ministry of AdvancedEducation for the Province of BritishColumbia. In this new role Brent willfoster and promote superior researchand innovation initiatives supportingeconomic and social developmentwithin the Province. Prior to taking onthis position Brent had been Director,Office of Research Services at theUniversity of British Columbia.

1993Andrew Ponsford has been promotedto BC Sales Manager at Charton Hobbsfrom his former position of BC RetailSales Manager. Charton Hobbs is thelargest importer of wine and thirdlargest importer of spirits in Canada. Inthis new role, he manages thecompany's provincial sales team andCharton Hobbs' retail and restaurantand nightclub business in BC.

1997Neil Chantler was called to the Bar ofBritish Columbia on September 5, 2007,after completing his law degree atDalhousie University and his articles atthe law firm McQuarrie Hunter. He willbe continuing on as an associate withMcQuarrie Hunter and practising in thearea of civil litigation.

1998Rehman Campbell recently moved toOttawa after accepting a position withthe Department of National DefencePolicy Group.

Bryce M. Cheng is currently living andworking in Hong Kong as the ServiceManager and Head English Teacher forthe Quarry Bay Branch of Wall StreetInstitute. He is hoping to be in Canadafor the class 10-year reunion.

2001Riaz J. Kara has been appointedManager, Knowledge Transfer at theMetropolis Project housed withinCitizenship and Immigration Canada.His duties will include mobilizing andtransferring research findings from theproject's research team to the variouspolicy makers within the federalfunding consortium. He will bebridging the gap between researchersand policy makers and developersthrough innovative communicationsstrategies, including: the web andvarious conferences.

2002Scott Walter, graduated Phi BetaKappa, with Distinction, from StanfordUniversity in June of this year, receivingthe Joseph H. Greenberg Award forAcademic Excellence and co-terminalBA and MSc degrees in AnthropologicalSciences. As one of the top 20 studentsin his graduating class, Scott washonoured to present former biologyteacher and Saints' faculty member(1974–2001) Paul Baumann with the J.E.Wallace Sterling Award and a vacationprize from Stanford recognizing Mr.Baumann's influential role in Scott'searly scholastic career. Scott proceeds tothe University of Pennsylvania, wherehe will pursue doctoral studies inmedicine.

Anthony Wright is a member of theCanadian Field Hockey team that justwon the gold medal at the Pan-AmGames. That means Canada nowqualifies for the Olympics in the sport.

2004Adam Goldenberg writes: In the Spring2007 issue of The Dragon, I was very gladto be informed about the School'smyriad achievements in rowing ("TheRe-Birth of Rowing at Saints," p. 12), icehockey ("Saints on Ice," p. 15), ultimatefrisbee ("Ultimate Champions," p. 30),field hockey ("Fielding World-ClassPlayers," p. 31), and sailing ("OlympicFever," p. 39).

I read with great interest the articles onthe School's traditions of rugby ("TheGeorgian Rugby Football Club," p. 16),military service ("The Saints at WarProject," p. 7; "A Georgian at Sea," p. 24;"A Georgian in Kandahar," p. 26), andsports cars ("The Car," p. 20).

To my mind, however, something wasvery conspicuously missing from theissue: namely, any mention whatsoeverof current students' non-athleticpursuits. Is there really nothing worthcelebrating, nothing worth theattention of the School's alumni,parents, and friends that doesn't involvebreaking a sweat? (The metaphoricalnotwithstanding, of course.)

It wasn't long ago that I graduated fromSt. George's, never having had athleticsas a major extracurricular commitment.Like most boys, I competed on a fewSchool teams below the varsity level,but I was always much more at home ina theatrical production or debatetournament than at a meet, match, orregatta. I have a hard time believing thatthere aren't still a good number ofstudents like me roaming the halls ofthe school; reading The Dragon,however, you wouldn't know it.

St. George's consistently boasts aboutits commitment to producing the "well-rounded boy." It's a commitment to adelicate balancing act, by naturedoomed to fail in as many individualcases as in which it succeeds.Emphasizing athletics is not, however,emphasizing well-roundedness. Quitethe contrary, to assume away students'and the School's commitment to acad-emics, the arts, and the whole gamut ofextracurricular activities, whilespotlighting the triumphs of the

SAINTS’ NOTES

Pictured from left toright are grads from2007: Chris Barrett,Conor Trainor and AlexPerrin. The boys werepart of the BC U18Rugby team thatcaptured the NationalChampionship inNewfoundland. ZahidJethani (Grade 11) andRoss Yellowlees (Grade11) were part of the BCU16 team that alsowon the NationalChampionship. Zahidwas the captain andselected as flag bearerfor the entire BCcontingent.

School's young sportsmen, sends adisappointing and ultimately detrimen-tal message not only to those of us whohave left St. George's, but also to thestudents who have yet to graduate. Ifthe highest recognition at St. George's isreserved for its athletes, we all haveample cause for concern.

I look forward to reading about more ofthe School's athletic successes—andmore of its colourful history—in futureissues of The Dragon. I sincerely hope,however, that the triumphs of theSchool's scholars, artists, musicians,debaters, and others take their rightfulplace, as well.

BIRTHSPrentice W. Durbin '89 and his wife,Toni, a son, William Callum, bornSeptember 1, 2007. Prentice is theSecretary of the Georgians' Association.

Robert B. McMahon '88 and his wifeAlison, a daughter, Cameron Alexandria,born May 22, 2007. A grandchild forWard A. McMahon '62.

Jill Penner (Junior School Faculty) andher husband David, a daughter, ClaireAnnabella Penner came three and a halfweeks early on August 18 at 1:25 amweighing 6lbs 15ozs and measuring 21inches long.

Peter Shrimpton '79 and his wifeSusan, a daughter, Kiara, born May 26,2007.

Michael Skene '85 and his wife Andie, ason, William Talisker Pearson Skene,born March 15, 2007. Michael is a Dir-ector of the Georgians’ Association.

Peterson Yap '97, and his wife, Anne, ason, Percival Andrei Yap, born Sept-ember 5, 2007.

MARRIAGESDavid "Buck" McPhedran '93 to NikoleKing on June 9, 2007 in Manhattan. Histwo best men were Russell Ritchie '93and Allan Merrill '93.

Philip van Aerssen '94 to Nadia HajMohammad on July 21, 2007 inAmsterdam.

Conrad Dew '00 to Theresa Danielsonon July 28, 2007 in Vancouver BC. BestMan, Chris Marriage '01, Groomsman,Jack Hall '01, Emcee Gavin Dew '02.

Brian Grant '94 to Katherine AlexandraMcClellan on August 4, 2007 inVancouver BC.

SAINTS’ NOTES

Claire Annabella Penner

Conrad Drew '00 and Theresa Danielson

Brian Grant '94 and Katherine Alexandra McClellan

Fall 2007 • 39

STAFFDavid Darling leaves St. George'safter 21 years of service to assumethe position of Senior SchoolPrincipal at St. John's School.

SAINTS’ NOTES

PASSINGSClark A. Macdonald '59 on May18, 2007 at Vancouver, BC

John MacDougall '44 on August12, 2007 at Vancouver, BC.

Gordon McKenzie-Smith onJuly 12, 2007 at Vancouver, BC.Gordon was a Governor of theSchool during the 1970s and heplayed an important role in the"Big Move." He is father of Guy '75, Michael '85, andJames '87.

David Long '75 on August 30,2007 at Vancouver, BC.

The St. George's community was saddenedto learn of the passing of John MacDougall,who was heavily involved with both theSchool and the St. George's Old Boys'Association. John was a three-term Presidentof the Georgians from 1968 to 1974 andcontinued to serve on the Board of theGeorgians after 1977. On November 28, 1979,he was elected as a Governor of the School.John was a founding member of the St.George's School Foundation and also servedas Chairman of the Foundation. He was oneof the founders of the annual Hamper Driveand was very involved with the School'sscouting program. John is the father of Jock'76, Bruce '77, and Timothy '85.

JOHN MACDOUGALL '44

40 • The Dragon

The classes of 1957, 1977, and 1997held reunions off-campus earlier thisyear. The year of '57 held their reunionin Delta, '77 was at the VancouverLawn and Tennis Club, and '97 was onLocarno Beach.

REUNIONS

Fall 2007 • 41

Do you know of a: • Georgian who has made a difference? • Georgian who is a leader of his industry?• Georgian who is a rising star?

If so, please let us know by nominating him. We will be accepting nominations until February 29, 2008.

• Young Georgian AwardThis award recognizes a Georgian who has reached a significant level of success but has not yet reached the age of40. He must have demonstrated vision and leadership and made a contribution to the community.

• Distinguished Georgian Award This award recognizes outstanding achievement in a particular field or industry and dedication and service to thecommunity.

• Lifetime Achievement Georgian Award This award recognizes and honours a Georgian’s lifetime of outstanding achievement in a particular field or industryand his significant involvement with the St. George’s community by furthering the mission of the School and theGeorgians.

For more information or to download an electronic copy of the nomination form, please visit www.georgianhonours.ca.To have a nomination form mailed to you, please call Bryan Ide ’99, Manager of Georgian Relations, at (604) 221-3885 oremail at bide@stgeorges.bc.ca.

HONOURSHONOURSGeorgianGeorgian

CALLING FOR NOMINATIONS

42 • The Dragon

1934Van-Hoose "Van" Smith

1935Leslie "Les" Bevington William "Bill" D. Gordon John Jameson C. Gerry Royston

1936Edward H. Barker Don E. BerryC. Lloyd R. Garrett Edward G. Parker

1937Keith S.C. Allen Temple P. Cornwall Robert M. Dafoe R. Billington Jackson J.G. Beverley Penney

1938J. Berton Clark Michael A. Considine William A. DafoeNeil M. Fleishman Cedric S. Haslett

1939James "Jimmie" B. Buchanan G. Emerson "Emmie" Gudewill Bryan W. Manley John A. Sparks

1940Stephen H. Jackson Alexander "Bud" C. Munro John K. Sloan

1941Daniel Considine James "Michael" M.D. Fell Richard "Dick" F. Gosse David R. Greaves Peter Whalley H. Richard "Dick" Whittall

1942E. Jackson Browning J. Conrad Mackenzie Robert Thomson Peter A.R. Watson

1943Michael F. Angus Guy G. Kirkpatrick David Williamson

1944Harry D. Boyle William "Bill" G. Haskett Donald L. McLauchlin Michael W. Stacey Stuart H. Wallace

1945Brian P. Baker David W. Clark Richard "Dick" S. Coleman Don A. MacDougall Roderick K. Peck John F. Spencer

1946George J. Armstrong Jack Auerbach David A.G. Beech Edwin J. Curtis

1947Stuart J.A. Arnett Edward "Ron" J.R. Boulter Brian Davies Kenneth M. Field William F. HarrisonAlfred JacobyLaurence Ortengren Clarke "Ted" Edsell Peck Hugh B. Sutherland Robert E. SwitzerKenneth Peter Vaughan William "Bill" A. Walley

1948W. David Fenton Gerald C. HaleD.S. Paddy McCarthy William "David" Middleton James "Jim" Minty George W. O'Brien Richard "Dick" F.St.J. Sendall Donald "Mouse" R. Smith David G. Sweny

1949J. William "Bill" AdamRobert "Bob" Buscombe James "Jim" C. Butler D. Roy Davies David G. Grant John P. Harrison Peter R. Hunt Michael J. King Ronald R. Ortengen W. Peter Scott

1950James "Jim" A. Burrows James C. Cree James "Jim" Eccott Robert JacobyArthur "Art" B. Lander Robert M. O'Brien Karl A. Riedemann

1951Denis C. Clarke Joseph E. Hargitt Curtis J. Hutcheson C. Ross Lander Graeme McDougall William "Bill" G. McLuckie Graham C. Munn C. Mac Norris Timothy W. Thorman William Weir

1952Graeme Cooper Edward "Ted" M. Edwards Michael M. HarrisonJohn W. Jewitt Jack R. Neely John T. Pottie

1953Gray BoardmanEdwin B. Cahill Michael W. McAllister

1954John ButterfieldJohn C. Gage Robert C. Knudsen J. Anthony Lockhart Robert L. Mansbridge Paul V. Stanton

1955Peter B. CrysdaleAnthony H. Griffin Sterling "Bill" O. Holman Ronald V. Kirby Robert W. Parker Joseph R. Wilkinson Philip "Dean" Winram

1956Brian M.F. Dolman E. Michael S. Frost Peter OmmandsenRonald R. Roxburgh

1957David N.P. Baxter W. Benjamin GilmoreHenry O. Hewitt Richard S. Hunt

1958Edward S. ArnoldKenneth E. Brandly Ronald W. Brown Dennis W. Butler Ian G. Forbes Brian L. McDermott J. Douglas McNeil John Siderfin John A. Stewart-Williams

1959Malcolm P. Burke John C. CampbellE. Edward Cochrane L.P. Jake Eckhart John W. Edwards Christopher R.D. Fox J. David Kennedy Grant Q. Knudsen W. David Madeley Edward L. Quinn Gary R.C. Rainbow Brian A. Rogers Robert G. Siderfin

HELP FIND AN OLD BOY!Not all of the almost 5,000 Georgians worldwide are reading this issue of The Dragon.

That’s because we have lost touch with them over the years.

If you know the whereabouts of anyone on this list, please let us know how we can get in touch with them. Anything at all with help; address, telephone, email, work information...

Please email Bryan Ide '99 at bide@stgeorges.bc.ca or call (604) 221-3885.

THANK YOU!

For a complete list of lostGeorgians, please visitour webpage atwww.lostgeorgians.ca

Fall 2007 • 43

A FINAL WORD ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP...

How Saints prepared me to be an entrepreneur

The year was 1987. I was in Grade 7 and I remember being sentto Mr. John Blackmore's office with another class mate. Wewere in trouble and I was sure we were going to be punished,so I was preparing for the consequences. I remember Mr.Blackmore's calm and humble, yet authoritative, stature as he

was standing beside his desk thumbing through a stack of papers as hecalled us in. I will admit I was intimidated by what was going to happen.I was new to the School and had no idea what to expect.

We remained standing and Mr. Blackmore asked us how we weredoing. As our eyes started to migrate towards the floor, we answeredswiftly to his simple command. "Heads up gentlemen", he said. "Yes sir"we replied. He gently proceeded to tell us his childhood story in SouthAfrica and spoke about his relationship with other students during hisown school days. His story was light, deep, and with a hint of humour,and also profoundly touching.

We listened fascinated for about 20 minutes, as he continued with hisstory. We were waiting for the punch line to describe what punishmenthe had received. However, that punishment never materialized, nor didhe ever bring up the subject or reprimand us for what we had done. Allthe time we were in the office, he had been judging how sincere wewere about how we felt. Looking at us straight in the eye, he said:"Maybe it's about time you boys apologize to one another?" I wasfloored. I had entered his office timid and insecure, but walked outchanged and enlightened. It was a pivotal point of my life. What JohnBlackmore had exhibited was a lesson in responsibility and respect forour fellow man by telling us a powerful story.

During the course of my life, I have remembered this penetratinglesson. Unknowingly, it evolved as the centre of my business practice asan entrepreneur. I had learned that respect for our fellow man was alsotrusting your employees, valuing relationships, and instilling a culturein the workplace, where respect is paramount. If an employee neededto be reprimanded for the first time, I would be sure not to chip at thatperson's character. As the leader I would also be hurting myself, byrunning a company of people who did not love their work, whosepotential was suppressed, and who worked in an atmosphere of fearand non-creativity.

I believe selecting the right employees was the same as admittingquality students to St. George's School. John Blackmore had trusted usand at the tender age of 13, I aspired to be a better person as a result. Idid not realize it then, but the most important aspect of my experiencein that office was the reflection of trust that ran deep emanating fromthe leadership of the School and I have remained inspired by thislegacy from St. George's ever since.

So, over the past few years, I have dipped my hand in several businessventures. Eventually I became a consultant to companies which I hadhelped to acquire or to start. This is now called CB Williams BusinessAdvisors Group and is my most purposeful venture to date. As one ofthe youngest accredited affiliates in the world's largest independentconsulting network, CB Williams Business Advisors Group has taken ona life of its own to help small- to medium-sized businesses, CEOs, andbusiness executives from multinational firms to achieve their goals.

Being an entrepreneur is considered risky, but it is offset by a passion torealize success. There is the myth that the unknown brings instability.However, the journey of life is anything but stable and each personholds the key to their own destiny. Seize each day and embrace adream! Yet, understanding the delicate balance of engagement andletting go, is the true test of one's character and leadership capabilities.Therefore, the only one who can answer that question is none otherthan himself.

Respect, trust, and integrity; these are the principal seeds JohnBlackmore planted and nourished during my years at Saints.

“

The Gift of the Sower

by William B. Choi '93

Respect, trust, andintegrity; these arethe principal seedsJohn Blackmoreplanted andnourished during my years at Saints.

“

St. George’s School3851 West 29th Avenue, Vancouver BC V6S 1T6 Canada

RETURN ALL UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO:

40580507

St. George's School is pleased to offer a limited number of Full BoardingScholarships which include Tuition, Boarding, and many Extras.

These scholarships are open to new national and international boardingapplicants to St. George’s School who meet the following requirements:

• a student in Grade 6 to12

• a strong academic record

• previous success in Athletics and the Arts

• demonstrated interests outside the classroom

• leadership potential

These scholarships are renewable.

St. George's School awards in excess of $900,000 in scholarships andfinancial assistance every year. For information on the Full BoardingScholarship, other scholarships, or financial assistance, please visit ourwebsite at:

www.stgeorges.bc.ca

• Honours with Distinction Standing (2003-2007)• 100% on National Latin Exam (2003)• 2nd in Canada, 1st in Region – Le Grand Concours

National French Examination (2007)• 3rd Place – German Consulate Writing Contest (06)• 2nd Place – German Consulate Travel Contest (07)• End of Year Language Prize (2003-2005)• German 12 Provincial Exam- 100%• Academic Excellence Medal –

Top ten academic standing (2007)• Math Contests: Assorted Certificates of Distinction

(for top 25% + finishes), including AMC 10, AMC 12.

First Full Boarding Scholarship Recipient

Norman Walczak (2003)