Village News

My first week as Executive Director is complete and another has begun. I am excited to be a part of it all; interviews with the Carillon, getting to know the staff and they me, working on a budget to present to the finance committee and then to the board. I met Jack Thiessen, an emeritus professor of German who is doing a book launch of a Low German dictionary with us. I’ve met with service technicians showing me what is still wrong with our HVAC system. In between those meetings were more visitors, phone calls, email, questions from staff and finally helping out at our Winter Carnival on Saturday.

What a beautiful sunny day for our Winter Carnival! I saw fathers making getaway caves in the snow banks for their kids, mothers snuggling their toddlers on the horse wagon, children playing keep-away hockey on the rink and everyone roasting marshmallows by our bonfire. Our main street provided an opportunity for good old outdoor play. This kind of interaction with care-givers and nature is exactly what our kids need in our new digital world.

As I think back to my first week at MHV, I’m reminded of the three essential drives in life that child psychologist, Dr. Gordon Neufeld teaches; love, work and play. If you can find all three in one place, you have found gold. And that I have at MHV.