Below is a copy of todays speech. Congratulations, EHS graduates and families...what a day! Take Care! By Jon C. Goodman Distinguished Board Members, Superintendent Overstreet, Principal Sullivan, faculty, staff, parents, family, and friends…good afternoon! And to the graduating Class of 2014, good afternoon and congratulations! I can’t express what an honor it is to be asked by you, the senior class, to speak today. When I learned that I was not being punked by some of you—and by some of you, I mean Trevor Cross, Roy Moen, and Braydon McKitrick--but that you actually wanted me to do this, I was incredulous and humbled like never before, for this, as Matthew Skillman said a moment ago, is among the greatest honors of my life. So thank you. Before I begin, I would like to acknowledge and remember a few specific individuals who are near and dear to us all, especially on this beautiful Memorial Day weekend. First and foremost, I would like to recognize and welcome home Class of 2012 Lance Corporal with the 3rd battalion 7th Marines, based in Twenty-Nine Palms, and recently returned from Sangin, Afghanistan, Stephen Weddle. I would also like to acknowledge Class of 2014 Airman First Class, Rylee Mckinney, who regrettably couldn’t be with us today because of her obligations to the Air National Guard on her base, the 185th Air Refueling Wing in Sioux City, Iowa. I spoke with this morning and can assure you that Rylee is with us in spirit. Next, I want to recognize and honor University of Montana bound, Matthew Skillman, who received an Army ROTC Scholarship in April, and Jack Reed, who recently enlisted in the United States Navy. Congratulations, too, Jack, for being the first among your siblings to graduate on time. Bravo! If I may, I would like to tell you a story. It’s a story about my son, Wesley Goodman, one of today’s 33 graduates, and how this speech—and far more important things than that in the past year—might never have happened were it not for the CARE shown to him by a few individuals, who didn’t necessarily have to. Many of you will recognize the first part from Facebook, but I want to tell you more. The story is one of many like it as told to me privately over the last three months by each of these seniors and their parents in that it illustrates a common theme. See if you can pick it out. (Here’s a hint. It’s contained in the title of this speech: “Take Care!”) Last August with football season underway, Wes and I were driving up the Norris Hill when he said, Dad, I need to talk to you about something. Im not sure I want to play football this year. Considering that he hadnt played football the previous two years due to injuries, this didnt come as a surprise, but in view of him having gone to football camp last summer, plus having just completed two-a-days, the timing of his comment seemed a little odd. Thats fine, I said. Its your life. But do you mind me asking why? Im thinking about moving to Bozeman with Jackson [Wes’s older brother, Class of 2012] either to finish there or take the remainder of my classes online. Im ready to get on with my life, he said. Now that—the idea of “getting on with his life” and not graduating from Ennis High School with his classmates--I did NOT see coming. After all, Wes was in the top three of his class; he had friends whom he loved like bothers; and he was the starting point guard for the Ennis Mustang basketball team. Moreover, it was his senior year...THE year to go to school if there ever was one because, as Mike Hubner will tell you, you more or less don’t have to go to school your senior year anyway or, for that matter, your junior year, unless you really want to. That said, I knew better than telling Wes what to do. It would only make him dig in. Besides, I had come to trust that given all the facts and enough time to decide on his own, Wes would make the best decision anyway. So, as soon as we had cell reception I made two phone calls. The first was to Bozeman High School whose number I had to google. The second was to Ennis High, whose number was in my phone, but was one I practically knew by heart, 4258. The first call put me into a phone maze which led me to a second recording, then a third. The second call, on the other hand, was answered by a human being, the lovely and buoyant, Nikki Davis, the proud mother of the class Valedictorian, Kortney Dietz. Hey Nikki, I said. Jon Goodman here. How are you? You ready for whats about to hit you tomorrow? I sure am, she said. I cant wait! It gets a little too quiet for me here in the summer. Whats up? Im looking for Sully or Mr. Lingle...are either around? I asked. No, she said. But theyll be back soon. Can I put you into one of their voicemails? Either is fine by me, but Mr. Lingle’s is probably best. Thank you! I may have made a third phone call to Mr. Lingle’s cell phone, but youd have to ask him. I dont need to tell you who called back first. But what you dont know is that when Wesley and, my wife, Ceci, and I met in Mr. Lingle’s office the next day, Sully was there, too. They were both there the next day as well. At our follow up meeting. In the end, because both men listened, asked questions, got to the bottom of things, offered workable solutions, and, above all, CARED, Wes made the best decision. Heres something else you dont know, something I didnt know either until after it happened. In between those two meetings, Wes visited on his own with his coaches Frederickson and Koenig and spoke with them as well about his inclinations. Remarkably enough, with the first game less than a week away and one of the most promising football seasons in Mustang history upon them, they indulged him too. In fact, they gave him the day off from practice, told him to go home and think it over, that they would support him no matter what, and that they loved and respected him. The week following the first game, which we won, well after Wes had made his decision, my phone rang. It was one of the counselors at Bozeman High assigned to students whose last names began with the letters, D thru H, returning my call. Thank you so much for calling back, I said. But Wes is going to stay put and finish up where he belongs. And the rest is history. The Ennis Mustangs not only won the Football State Championship against Wibaux in the highest scoring Final in Montana Class C history, but they finished the season undefeated and from the first play till the last never trailed by a single point. They were also undefeated in 11/12C District basketball play and for the first time in 13 years, won the District Championship. But the story doesn’t end there. In Wess case, thanks to the positive influence of Mrs. Jenkins, his college speech teacher, Wes also tried his hand at theatre, playing the role of the unforgettable Nurse Hilda Hatchet in the school play. ALL of that happened for Wesley because half a dozen concerned individuals independently dropped what they were doing, put their own interests aside, listened, and cared for my son. Thank you. And thank you, Sully. We’re sure going to miss you. See, to them Wes was anything but a number. He was a son. And not just a son of Ennis High School. He was a son of Ennis, the town. Just like their sons and DAUGHTERS are to me and you. In case anyone is confused, the moral of the story isn’t that Bozeman High School is no good and Ennis is great (Far from it, Bozeman High School is one of the best in the country. It just happens to be the biggest in the state and, therefore, is a little busy during the first week of school.). No, the moral and the point of my whole speech is this… To borrow from novelist Leo Buscaglia: “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” When you boil it down, THE SIMPLE PRACTICE OF CARING is what makes Ennis great. Not the championships or the academic accomplishments, but that the people here CARE on a very personal level. Here’s the good news: the Class of 2014 not only gets that and appreciates it, but that same noble virtue of CARING, thanks to so many of you here today, is practically in their DNA. This group is many different things, from aspiring doctors and nurses to engineers and mechanics to you name it. In fact, no two are the same. Even the Martello twins. They may look alike but don’t be confused. That’s where the comparison ends. [Turning to them…] In your owns words, you are diverse, jumbled, random, loud, different, unlike anyone else, functionally/dysfunctional… But a different word comes to mind when I think of you. The one thing that you all have in common is that you CARE. You care deeply about one another, your families, your school, your community, and your country. Better still, you all care deeply about what lies ahead for you. The reason you are unique is because you CARE. Because you care, you are courageous. Because you care, you are passionate. Because you care you’ve brought this community together and reminded us of how much good there is to care about. And because you care, you’ve had more fun than thought humanly possible and have friendships that will last a lifetime. I mean, how cool is it that when Sarah Spaulding went public about really, really wanting to be crowned Prom Queen that you not only made that happen, but decided to have half the football team escort her to her rightful place? I was personally so inspired by you that I felt compelled to write about each of you both on Facebook and in this booklet in my hand. Class of 2014, I would like to encourage you to keep CARING, for “the capacity to care gives life its deepest significance.” You want a significant life? Keep Caring. I would also like to leave you with five suggestions. 1. Be sure to take care of yourself first. Eat right, exercise, get lots of rest. Don’t care so much about what the world tells you is beautiful. Lasting beauty comes from within. Heres something you wont hear in many graduation speeches...For the sake of your future selves, I also suggest staying out of debt and funding your Roth IRAs. You’ll never earn less over the next few years, so the taxes will be dirt cheap, and for less than a car payment over the next 13 years, you can make yourselves millionaires in retirement if you start saving NOW. You want to be much in the clutch? Then give to yourselves as much as you give of yourselves. Still confused? That’s okay. You can read about it in this week’s Madisonian. 2. Care about your life’s work. Figure out what you LOVE and you’re GOOD AT and do it as well or better than anybody. Specialize. “In a world of people who couldn’t care less, be someone who couldn’t care more.” Care enough to be the best that you can be at whatever you do. What you do is important, but what’s more important is that you do what you do better than anyone else doing it. Can I say it? Be a bad-ass. (My dad was. As an orthopedic surgeon, he sewed on a man’s arm once. The thought of it is still one of the coolest things I ever heard of.) 3. Care about the people with whom you partner. Cherish that person or those people and there’s a good chance they’ll cherish you back. People matter. Treat them that way. 4. When you fail, and you will, care enough to get up and try again. Persevere. Just erase the emotion from your face with the wave of your hand and say to yourself, “next play.” 5. Finally, care enough about the people and things that are important to you to wait. Be patient. It’s shocking how many people give up too soon. Good things come to people who care and to people who wait. Take care of the minutes and the hours will take care of themselves. But enough advice already! You get the point. You’ve already achieved the more difficult thing…you CARE in the first place! I certainly care about you, Class of 2014, and so does this school and this community. I’m sure I speak for all of us when I say we can’t wait to see where life takes you and whose lives you touch and turn around for the better because of the same care you’ve already shown for one another. Congratulations and take care!
Posted on: Mon, 26 May 2014 02:12:54 +0000
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