June 22, 2018
Dad Club London and its Board of Directors are excited to announce the inaugural winner of the Bob Jez Award, a new memorial scholarship created in honour of a greatly loved and missed local dad, husband, teacher, coach, and Dad Club London member.
The award asked a question in brief essay form of DCL members and their relatives attending post secondary education or career training this fall – “tell us about the impact of a father figure on your life.”
Kalei Pitre, daughter of DCL member and chef extraordinaire Mike, brought a tear to the collective eyes of judges with her entry about her own father.
In her essay, Kalei described Mike as being “an incredible man, not just for what he has overcome, but also for his dedication to his family and to giving my sister and myself the best lives possible”. She lauded him for being “dedicated to doing what he thinks is best for our family, and raising his daughters the best he can”, and proudly shared that Mike “taught (her) countless lessons, from simple things to help later in life like how to look after a car, to more important lessons like what it means to overcome something difficult, and the impact we can have on other people.”
Kalei also shared that “I believe my dad is a big factor in my program choice for University. Hearing his countless stories about his childhood and watching him help so many of his friends through their difficult situations has definitely played a role in helping me see that I want to help people in life and become a social worker.”
Mike’s selfless dedication to bettering himself and the lives of those around him has passed off in spades to his daughter Kalei, and is proof positive to Mike living the DCL mission of “creating better dads, a stronger community, and a brighter future for our children.”
We are immensely proud of the terrific young lady he has raised, and we wish Kalei all the best in her studies in the terrific Social Work program at King’s College University this fall.
The 2019 Bob Jez Award winner already has some impressive shoes to fill!