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Who was George Hull?
George Hull, working forty years in Etobicoke as a teacher and as a principal, had the rare ability to bring out the best in those around him. Dr. Clive Chamberlain, founding Executive Director of the Centre, and Michael Syron, founding Chair of the Board of Directors, were both former pupils of George Hull.
When seeking a name for this new children’s mental health centre in 1985, Mr. Syron indicated that they wanted a person who was distinguished but not a headliner. George Hull was a man who worked quietly and effectively all his life with young people in schools and on Saturday mornings on basketball courts.
Clive Chamberlain found himself asked to leave class more than once to visit George Hull at the school office. Hull’s imaginative method of awarding detentions was simply to ask the student to decide how many detentions the misdemeanour warranted. “I probably gave myself far more detentions than he ever would.”
Hull is remembered as a man who could correct undesirable behaviour and leave the youngster’s self-worth intact. On another occasion, he called Chamberlain to the office and said a television host wanted to interview a student about school life and asked if he would go. “You usually get the brains of the school or the person with high athletic achievements to do these things. But what he was looking for was someone who needed it. I wouldn’t say that this was a turning point, but it made me feel like a significant part of the school after that.”
Believing in people’s strengths won George Hull a fierce loyalty from staff and students.
Believing in people’s strengths permeates The George Hull Centre to this day.
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