FOUR MORE INDUCTED TO CCHS WALL OF FAME
By Dan Jensen

Receiving Camrose Composite High School Wall of Fame induction plaques were: (left to right) Audrey Lett for the late Glen Lett; Sherry Knutsvig, Deb Lentz and Ron Grue.

Ron Grue, Deb Lentz, Sherry Knutsvig and the late Glen Lett (through his son, Ron) had some good words to say to students upon their induction to the Camrose Composite High School wall of fame November 14.

Grue, who has devoted himself to full-time volunteer service since selling Camrose Custom Cabinets – the business he founded, encouraged students to strive to make the best of "the cards" they have been dealt in life.

"You could spend your life complaining about what you don't have and what you can't do, or you can believe in yourself, and you will succeed more than you might think. Set goals for your life and make sure those goals are realistic. If something happens along the way for better or for worse, adjust those goals and keep setting new ones. Set goals for each day, each week, each year, and your life. You will find that you will surprise yourself."

Grue also encouraged students to volunteer in the community and do what they can to make this a better place to live, raise a family, as well as to help those who live in other places.

"My grandfather always said that whatever you give in life you get back ten fold," he said. "I have been so blessed with the people I have met and all the many experiences that I have shared. More than words can ever express."

Lentz, a Wetaskiwin resident who was the 1992 winner of the Abe Miller Memorial Award for Alberta's Nurse of the Year, and who has been battling cancer her entire adult life, left students with messages that she has received over the years from her coaches, professors, teachers, parents, family members and friends.

"Life is short, break the rules – that is what they are there for. Laugh uncontrollably each and every day. Life is unfair, get used to it. If you think your teacher or your professor was tough, just wait until you get a boss. Life, simply by itself, is the very best thing ever – don't ever take it for granted. Care deeply and speak kindly to everyone. This is not a dress rehearsal, make it count."

Lentz urged those students leaving CCHS to take on the role of leaders, whom she described as having common sense and being confident, sincere, honest, considerate, sensitive, and persistent.

"One of the most important qualities of a leader is the commitment to giving back, knowing there will always be someone or some way that you can help," she explained. "A leader, after all, is not a great person who does great things, but rather a really ordinary person doing ordinary things in extraordinary ways."

Knutsvig, a member of the CCHS Class of 1978 who went on to have an outstanding career in senior women's fastball, winning gold and silver medals at the provincial and national levels, noted sports are more than a game.

"There are many life lessons to learn (from sports). There are the physical benefits that include fitness, work ethic, endurance, being able to push yourself to the limit, but there are also the healthy habits that you learn, such as discipline, patience, self motivation, commitment and perseverance," she said. "Sports helps you accept others' values and beliefs, work with those people you don't necessarily like, and compete without hatred."

Lett urged students to act on their good intentions, as his father did when he was alive.

"It doesn't matter what you intend to do, it is what you really do," he said. "My father always did what he felt that he should."

Lett was principal of CCHS from 1969 to 1986, a period in which much of what the school's current culture was introduced. While he had a special regard for the arts and fostered the school's award-winning music program, he also was a tireless booster of academics, vocational programs and athletics, all of which were supported by the community.

"My father was a believer in Camrose Composite High School," said Lett. "He felt that CCHS graduates could do anything."

The Camrose Composite High School Wall of Fame was started five years ago to recognize former students and teachers who have established themselves as leaders in their chosen vocations and who have also made significant contributions to society, to celebrate the school's proud history, and to inspire current students to challenge themselves in their future careers and service to others. Wall of Fame committee members include: Edith Dayton, retired CCHS English teacher; Berdie Fowler, editor, The Camrose Booster; Leon Lohner, retired CCHS vice principal; Hugh Irving, retired CCHS English teacher; former CCHS principal Max Lindstrand; teacher David Andreassen; students Vlatka Vukojevic and Kayla Gaffney; and high school vice principals Lorne Berg and Brett Huculak.