SHAWNIGAN SPIRIT GALA 2008

The 3rd SLS Spirit Gala was held Saturday, February 16th at the Fairmont Waterfront in Vancouver. The Gala was a terrific time for current parents, alumni and friends to connect at a classy social occasion. More than 250 guests had signed up for the great evening of dinner, live and silent auctions and dancing. Although the over-riding purpose was fun and friend-raising, a great deal of time and effort went into gathering some excellent items and experiences for auction. The revenue is still being tallied but all indications are that bidders were most generous, and in certain cases exuberant, as with one board member who mistakenly bid against himself for some very fine scotch.
One ‘priceless’ experience on the auction block, the chance to be ‘Headmaster for a Day’, generated spirited and aggressive bidding. The auctioneer for this particular item was none other than the Headmaster himself. Mr. Robertson started the bidding at the most modest and self-deprecating price of $20. That, however, quickly escalated into a final bid 250 times the humble open! Debby Tonn won Mr. Robertson’s role for daughter Madison. It is enthusiastically hoped that Madison will exercise her newfound powers to grant students (and please, do not forget staff!) a half-day holiday.
Money raised at the Gala is earmarked for three causes: the Spirit Gala Bursary to help a student of great spirit and character to come to, or remain at Shawnigan regardless of financial resources. The new Sportsplex is also a recipient of funds raised at the Gala, and money will be directed to the Graham Anderson Scholarship Endowment in honour of Mr. Anderson’s dedication to Shawnigan and teaching. Graham’s half-century of service was celebrated at the Gala with tributes by the Headmaster, John McIntyre ‘60, a video and well-deserved standing ovation.
A successful evening such as the Gala could not have happened without terrific volunteers and patient co-ordination under the direction of Matthuw Ronald-Jones. The Gala Committee put in hundreds of hours of time, energy and expertise. They were assisted by a band of dedicated, mostly parent volunteers who slaved away on the set-up and seeing that all went smoothly. A big thanks and hats off to our Gala Committee, volunteers, auctioneer Cam Drew and not least—to all our generous donors for their auction items—and spirited bidding!

Alumni Profile: Mike Little ‘90

Mike Little’s music career continues on the fast track. This past September, Mike was named Keyboard Player of the Year at the Canadian Country Music Awards. The previous year Mike had a gold record and Juno Award for his work with the Road Hammers. This month Mike is touring the Persian Gulf with George Canyon, a multi-award winning Canadian country musician. They will be playing for troops in Dubai and at a couple of secret bases. Mike is always ‘giving back’ and each year he donates to Shawnigan to make possible the Mike Little Music Award for a talented student to pursue his or her music. – Steve Housser ‘67 Director of Advancement

San Diego USA Sevens Event

Thirty Shawnigan Old Boys, friends and family members spent the weekend of Feb. 8/10 attending the IRB Sevens World Series rugby tournament held annually in San Diego.
On Thursday and Friday there was a men’s club Sevens tournament, including a UVic squad coached by Rick Farrally ‘63, as well as a women’s International Sevens competition ultimately won by the USA ‘A’ team which defeated the Canada ‘A’ team in the final.
In the men’s International competition on Saturday and Sunday, a powerful New Zealand team defeated South Africa 27-12 in the final. Our Canadian men had a somewhat disappointing weekend on the field, losing some closely contested matches in the last minute of play.
On Friday night more than two hundred Canadian rugby fans as well as the Canadian men’s and women’s sevens squads attended a supporters’ party at Henry’s Pub. This social was very well organized by the Rugby Canada Foundation and a significant amount of money was raised during the evening in support of Canadian Rugby.
Not to be outdone by last year’s group, some of the more adventurous among us traveled on Saturday evening to and from Tijuana by private limousine to enjoy a memorable evening meal.
On Sunday evening, some of us gathered at a downtown hotel to salute the Canadian men’s team and to bid adieu to each other until next year’s event.
Thanks once again to Matthuw Ronald-Jones for organizing the San Diego weekend for the Shawnigan group. It was great to have Headmaster Robertson among us for the weekend.
Fellow SLOBS, if you like watching exciting sevens rugby, you should seriously consider joining us next February in sunny San Diego! To whet your appetite check the usasevens.com website for a description of this year’s event. – John Creighton ‘62

Alumni Profile: Nathalie (Kenyon) Sadler ’01

– Nathalie was married on December 22, 2007 in South Africa to Colin Sadler. She met Colin in London where she had been working for the Gala Coral Group. The couple plans to work for a few more months -Colin is in computers, and then they will travel for a bit before ending up inVancouver or Victoria early next year where Nathalie plans further studies. She is writing LSATs in April.