Thought For The Day – Thursday 9th January 2025
Service Above Self
We are only here because of others. Others create, and sustain, us.
Today we remember Mr. Brian Edwards, who passed away on 9th January 2021, aged 84.
Current students and staff, and former students, paid their respects, by attending Brian’s funeral, virtually at the time of the global pandemic.
Brian was a member of Bishop’s Stortford Rotary Club. Brian contributed massively to our local community as a whole. In his distinguished professional career of electrical and electronic engineering, and even more importantly by his inspirational and wonderful family, Brian was equally greatly loved, respected and valued.
Brian modelled our school values of commitment, aspiration, respect, integrity and community.
In particular for us here, Brian was vital in establishing the Interact Charity Club at TBSHS in 1991. Brian’s legacy lives on through Interact students today. Brian Edwards 1937-2021
Without Brian Edwards, there would be no Interact.
Brian exemplified the warm, wise, giving and generous work of the Rotary Club. This continues, and has continued, each and every week at TBSHS, and beyond, thanks to generations of students, Rotarians Mr. Hartley and Mr. Stock, and all in Bishop’s Stortford Rotary Club.
It was Brian Edwards who quietly, and humbly, enabled and organized the honours board for Interact students to be established, which you see in our dining hall today. This honours board, like all the other honours boards, contains legends of the school community. Though Brian would be the first to talk of all the equal and inspirational legends whose legacy is equally remembered, and treasured, elsewhere in our school community, and beyond.
The motto of Interact is “Service Above Self”, a maxim and value the Rotarians brilliantly live out, and which Brian beautifully epitomized.
In guiding students, and staff, at TBSHS, Brian taught, and modelled, responsibility, encouragement and enthusiasm. In particular, Brian encouraged students to lead, to take responsibility, to step up to, and meet, challenges, and not to leave things to others.
In the days leading up to Christmas, Rotarians collected an outstanding £7760.27 for those in need in our local area at Christmas.
TBSHS, at its bag packing activity, raised a brilliant £997. Thank you once again to the following TBSHS students of whom Brian Edwards would, like the Rotary Club today, be very proud: Alexander (Year 7), Daisy (Year 12), Euan (Year 12), James (Year 12), Robert (Year 12), Emaelia (Year 12), Guy (Year 8), Nathan (Year 8), Scarlett (Year 12), Sophie (Year 12), Alex (Year 9), Eray (Year 8), Fraser F. (Year 10), Harry (Year 10), Isaac J. (Year 10), Ben (Year 7), Lucca (Year 9), Oscar (Year 9), Zac (Year 7), Fin (Year 11), Fiore (Year 10), Fraser H. (Year 7), Gregor (Year 9), Ollie (Year 9), Rafael (Year 7) and Theo (Year 7).
A great additional thanks to Callum (Year 11), Fin (Year 11), Isaac J. (Year 9), Isaac T. (Year 11), Josh (Year 11), Matthew (Year 11) and Ollie (Year 9) who lead Interact today.
As we begin a new and, future, calendar year, we never forget the legends of the past, and the present, including in our personal life also.
The best thing we can do is to pay their legacy forward, always looking out for, and looking after, others.
The days are long, but the years are short.
Legacy, and love, are eternal.
Inspired by Brian Edwards, and the Rotary Club, we are inspired to, humbly, make a positive difference.
What do we give back to others?
