The annual District 69 Elementary School Track meet will take place on June 11 at Ballenas Secondary School (at noon) with a special presentation to honour longtime teacher and coach John Philip.
There was a change of course regarding the plan to change the name of the BSS field and track to “Philip Field.”
In a talk between District 69 School Superintendent Rollie Koop and John Philip, the idea of such an honour was both appreciated and touching but was also thought over quite a bit by Philip himself.
“In the end, John had two major questions,” Koop said. “The first was, is this the right thing to do? John was very honoured and humbled that they would even consider this for him.”
“Secondly, was it fair? John had thought of several others that had taught and received little to no recognition for all that they’ve done for students as well. In the end, it was agreed that something smaller, with a little more meaning, would be the right thing to do in this instance.”
Instead of having the field and track named in his honour, there will now be a plaque just off the track at Ballenas Secondary School to give thanks to Philip, who was part of the process behind the district wide elementary school track meet.
“It’s a fitting time to have it,” Koop said of the presentation. “Both John and his wife Bev are huge components to the track meet every year at Ballenas, so what better time to honour him.”
“It’s going to be placed on the finish line, which was symbolic to John and the fact that he’s reaching the finish line in his career.”