From The Desk Of…Duncan Edwards, Former Executive Director, Waterside School

One morning in early July, a number of good folks gathered at The Village to unveil Patrick Ganino’s massive undertaking, fittingly entitled, “Dream Big”. The morning provided perfect moment for the deed but, truthfully, it did so much more than just that. The morning honored the founding mission of the Waterside School, a place to which I have proudly given nearly two decades of my life; it affirmed the most American of ideals – the belief that every child should have the chance to become anything; it gave proof of what can happen when one of promise collides with an opportunity befitting her gifts; and, most important, it celebrated and cemented the working partnership now in place between the School and The Village – a partnership certain to shape and improve lives young and deserving and, in its example, to inspire others of like spirit to do the same.

The morning also provided welcome pause and some opportunity to reflect. It reminded me of the School’s 20-year decidedly uphill journey to become all that it has now become; it reminded of the great goodness and kindness that have allowed the School to find most genuine and generous success; it reminded of the fundamental need / want in all of us to have real purpose and to leave some mark; it reminded that the truest measure of our own success will always be found in the number of lives we touch with our own; and it gave preview of all that Courtney and Brent and all of the Village will do, gather, accomplish, share and inspire as they write their own story and chase their own success.

Proudly, thanks more to others than myself, my 18 years spent serving the School and those within were filled with a healthy number of “wins” – few, if any, will prove more important or defining than the partnership now in place with the Village. “Dream Big” – Waterside has; The Village does; and, in result, the School and its children are blessed; life is good; and the future is most certainly bright.

The mural made national news! Watch GMA’s Pop News segment below

The Village x Waterside School Mural_GMA Pop News from The Village on Vimeo.