Speirs 2017 to Denham & Denham

Former Selwyn House Board Chairman Michael Denham and his wife, Selwyn House Parent Association President Lorna Denham, received the 2017 Speirs Medal during the school’s Founder’s Day celebrations on November 23.

The Speirs Medal, named for former Headmaster the late Dr. Robert Speirs, is the highest honour the school can bestow upon any member of its community. It is presented each year as part of the school’s observance of Founder’s Day, as an occasion to honour the school’s founder, Lieutenant Algernon Lucas.

As parents of Selwyn House students Jamie 2014, Matthew 2016 and Christopher 2020, Michael and Lorna have been at the forefront of volunteer involvement in their sons’ school for years. Michael is a Former Chair of the Selwyn House Association Board of Directors, a Board Member since 2011, and was a Member of the Veritas Board of Trustees from 2009 to 2017 and a member of the Lucas Board from 2013 to 2017.

Lorna is a Former Co-chair and Current Chair of the Parent Association and a 2014 recipient of the Nancy Pitfield Memorial Award for Volunteerism.

“It is such an honour to be recognized in this way for doing something that, quite frankly, has been a complete joy over these last 15 years,” said Lorna in her acceptance speech, praising the school for having created a “warm and nurturing environment” for her young family.

In his acceptance speech, Michael described Selwyn House as “a great place to make a contribution.”

“So many of the attributes that define one’s success over time—resilience, hard work, determination, emotional intelligence, achievement—are all things that lie at the core of the mission and purpose of this school,” he said.

Other awards were also presented during the Founder’s Day program. Retiring Selwyn House Assistant Chef Steve Durant and Retired Maintenance Worker Jim Cousins were honoured for 25 years of service to the school, and were also named Honorary Old Boys. Parent Association Executive Member Joyce McCauley received the Nancy Pitfield Memorial Award for Volunteerism from Nancy’s son, Board Member Tom Pitfield ’93.

Michael Denham, left, and Lorna Denham receive the Speirs Medal from Old Boys’ Association President Charles Vennat 2005.

Previous Speirs Medalists, from left: Bryan Fitzpatrick ’74, Craig Shannon ’71, William Daly ’53, Lorna Denham, Michael Denham, Ellen Pinchuk, Will Mitchell, John Hallward ’78 and Tim Carsley ’52

Ms. McCauley has revitalized the school’s second-hand uniform sales as a significant fundraiser for the school while maintaining an almost daily shift of work on countless other Parent Association projects.