The New Heatly?

Today's blog is short on words, but potentially long on meaning.

I attended a Heatly soccer game last week. During the course of the game, while I stood within hearing distance of a group of high school learners, I overheard a discussion among a couple of them. They gave no indication that they were aware that I was standing not too far behind the gathering. It seems that one of the group, a resident of Green Island, had enrolled in a private school over the summer and his friends were asking about his experience at the new school. Included in his response was a final qualifier, as if justifying the decision to transfer - "It's better than Heatly," to which a former classmate quickly and proudly replied, "Not the new Heatly!"

If there is to be a new Heatly, it will take more than one person believing. If there is to be a new Heatly, it will take more than words. If there is to be a new Heatly, it's not because the old Heatly was unacceptable, but rather because the challenge of our time demands adaptations in order to meet with success in an ever changing world. A successful transformation will require a persistent, concerted, and coherent commitment - but that declaration, so soon after the opening day of school,  is certainly the signal of a beginning.

It was a reaffirming clarion. I will remember the young man's words in context - "Not the new Heatly" - as a form of motivation whenever our challenge to increase performance measures approaches a point of being overwhelming.