“We
few, we happy few, we band of brothers; for he today that sheds his blood with
me shall be my brother.”
William
Shakespeare, Henry V
By
Tommie Saylor
Kennedy
High School Principal
On
September 8, a member of the greatest generation slipped through our grasp and into
eternity.
Though
I did not have the honor of getting to know Clark W. Bennett, I have had the
pleaser of getting to know his son, Randy. If the old adage is true, that “the
apple does not fall far from the tree”, then Clark Bennett must have been an
amazing mad,
In
conversations with Randy, I learned that Clark Bennett joined the U.S. Navy at
a very young age (17) to serve his country during the World War II. Randy
went on to tell me that his father was the strongest man he had ever know, and
seeing the light in his eye and the crooked smile on his face, affirmed the
sincerity of his statement.
Clark
Bennett must have indeed been an amazing man to raise such an astonishing
person. Following his father’s lead in a legacy of service, Randy joined
and served 20-plus years in the Army, earning the highly elusive rank of First
Sergeant (1SG). After leaving the Army, Randy continued to serve his
country by becoming a teacher, endeavoring to pass his father’s strength and
wisdom to his students.
Though
I have never had the pleasure of seeing Clark Bennett in action, I have witnessed
Randy spin his web of knowledge among his students. Though he would never
say it out loud, he loves his students, as evidenced by the passion in which he
teaches and the gleam upon his face when standing before those who hunger to
learn.
I
have said it over and over again: At Kennedy, we are a family. When one
of us hurts, we all feel the pain. Though we cannot imagine how Randy
must feel, our collective hearts ache for his loss. Our collective shoulders
stand at the ready.
Be
strong, my brother.
Helping
students to find their greatness. Making Kennedy the school of choice. Excellence
by design.
No comments:
Post a Comment