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Cultural Musings on Chatham-Kent

With Jim and Lisa Gilbert

Dramatic events of this past month should be celebrated

Tuesday, May 27, 2003

All too often we fail to recognize important events because they operate so smoothly and quickly that we fail to see not only the overall value and potential of such events from a broader perspective but all the hard work that went into the organization of such events.
In the same fashion, we often times fail to recognize individuals within our community for outstanding service because they too make it look so effortless and achieve so much so quickly and regularly that we fail to recognize the massive amount of work and creative efforts that go into achieving so much.
Two such examples occurred within Chatham-Kent this week and we would be remiss if we did not recognize and celebrate them for what they are – outstanding achievements!
The event was the Ontario Sears Drama Festival Provincial Showcase that was held during the week of May 5th, 2003 at the Chatham Cultural Centre. This event, which had never before been held in Chatham, brought together the finest high school dramatic talent in all of Ontario in a series of fifteen one act plays held on five nights.
For those people who think of high school dramatic offerings as something akin to watching paint dry or having a tooth extracted, let us enlighten you. The plays that we saw during that week were some of the most creative, innovative and professional pieces of theatre that we have seen in our entire theatre experiences and, trust me, Lisa and I have seen lots of theatre.
High praise also goes to the organizers of this event who put countless hours into all the minute details that were needed to be put into place in order to make this a successful venture. People like Sharon Jubenville, Karen St. Peter-Catton, Steve and Liz Repuski, and Gene Lusk did a fantastic job and their efforts certainly went a long ways to impress people from all over Ontario with the fact that Chatham-Kent has a lot to offer.
It also served to remind us all that we are ALL ambassadors of Chatham-Kent and need to sing its praises at all times and in all places. No matter how hard that is sometimes
The enthusiasm, passion and sheer energy that these talented students brought to this Ontario Showcase was indeed inspiring and impressive. These talented young people from all over Ontario certainly restored our faith in the direction of dramatic arts in the province and their teachers. One teacher who was at this Ontario Festival ( the only representative this year from Chatham-Kent) leads into the next part of this article.
I first met Kim (Aarssen) Lewis as a student at Wallaceburg District Secondary School . She was in her Gr. 13 year and I was just beginning my teaching career. The next time I met Kim was some fifteen years later. I was Head of English/Drama at John McGregor Secondary School and Kim had returned to the Chatham-Kent area looking for a job as an English and Drama teacher.
For the better part of a decade I had the distinct pleasure and honour of working with her as we built a drama program together at JMSS and took a number of exciting and innovative one act plays to the Regionals of the Sears Drama Festival as well as doing numerous other assemblies, talent shows, dinner theatres etc.
After I left John McGregor to become Vice-Principal at CCI, Kim Lewis stayed on at John McGregor S.S. and took the drama program to new levels of performance and brought her students to levels of expertise that made her drama program one of the best in the province. Kim Lewis never tired of doing the impossible. Not only did she encourage her drama students to attempt new and creative areas of performance but whatever she and her students attempted was always first-rate and literally took one's breath away!
This past month, Kim Lewis was awarded the very prestigious Prime Minister's Award as one of Canada's Outstanding Teachers. No one in the field of teaching ,that I have come across, deserves this award more than Kim. She is what every teacher wants to be and strives to be but few reach. She is a tireless worker who inspires through a wonderful mixture of hard work, creative interpretation, innovative presentation and relentless passion.
Kim's passion is probably what I admire most about her as it is so infectious. Students become inspired by her to achieve levels of self-awareness, self-realization and confidence that they never dreamed that they could attain. She demands a lot of her students because she, herself, gives so much to whatever she attempts.
If it comes across that I am Kim's biggest fan and her most dedicated admirer then you have a very clear picture of how I regard her. Her enormous energy and relentless pursuit of excellence dominates all that she attempts and she attempts so very much!
To have her as a teacher is a privilege. To have known her as a student and then as a colleague, as I had the distinct pleasure of doing, was an honour and a highlight of my teaching career.
Congratulations, Kim! Now all of Canada knows what I have always known!



Jim and Lisa Gilbert are local, national and international award winning educators and historians.