Stockdale continued, “Beyond this influence in the classroom, of course, he has done so much more. He has chaperoned our senior boys on more Grand Canyon trips than probably any other faculty member in our history. He’s coached the WSC varsity soccer team, taken countless surf trips, and led a remarkable number of weekend trips out to Joshua Tree for hiking and star-gazing. For all of his outstanding dedication and good work, he has been recognized with both the Jean E. Miller Award and the Perry Teaching Award.” Maffris eceived his B.A. and M.A. from California State University, Fullerton. Outside of his work at Webb, as a professional artist Maffris as received numerous commissions for artwork throughout Southern California and has also taught art at Cal State Fullerton, Rio Hondo College, and elsewhere. He and his wife Nancy are the proud Webb parents of Chris ’96 and Kevin ’00—and to further cement Blair’s connection to Webb, Kevin is married to VWS alumna Vicenta Arrizon Maffris ’00. Diane Um ’17 spoke of her teacher’s dedication to his students and to his craft. “He has always been there to be an understanding and open person to talk to, and he has also been someone who listens to your frustrations and helps you to laugh it off ” explained Um. “It wasn’t really until this year, that I had grown even more attached to Mr. Maffris hrough Art Café. Planning, setting up and running Art Café with art club has led me to understand Mr. Maffris mo e. Watching him paint the display walls, move them, and then make sure everything runs smoothly has shown me that not only is he someone who respects and appreciates hard work, but he embodies the characteristics himself. Because of him, not only has the art program at Webb become so important to me, but he has also been able to show the community how important it is to have a little imagination and creativity in the world.” Mowjood ’90 and Nancy Maffris lso shared their recollections of Blair’s time and devotion to Webb. Stockdale presented Maffris w th a framed photograph of the Vivian Webb Chapel and a walking stick carved and sculpted from an olive branch that was taken from a tree on campus. “May this walking stick see you through many excursions and adventures,” said Stockdale. The event was followed by a barbecue on the quad.
To view more pictures of the celebration, go to http://bit.ly/MaffrisSittigGallery
The Webb Schools • Webb.org
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