ÉCCHS Composite Sketch
December 2023 Volume 176 Issue 4
ÉCCHS Wall of Fame Inductee- Carol Breitkreutz
Carol Yamabe graduated from CCHS 1974, and shortly after earned her education degree from the U of A. In the next very busy five years, the newlywed welcomed two children and taught elementary at Spruce Grove and later at Chester Ronning School in Camrose.
She took a hiatus from teaching when her husband Dale pursued graduate studies in Winnipeg, Indiana, and California. She juggled family responsibilities, advancing her own academic
credentials, and extensive volunteer work.
Returning to Camrose in 1990, she resumed her teaching career at St Patrick School, where she introduced her students to puppetry, creative arts, and clowning. In a later move to Our Lady of Mount Pleasant, she brought her unique skill set to older students. Her exemplary work was
recognized by the Alberta Solicitor General and Alberta Education.
Retiring from teaching in 3014, Ms Breitkreutz spent the next five years at Alberta Health
Services. There, she was a leader in advancing social justice and LGBT issues. She was lead
organizer for the Healthy Active School program for the region, and co-founder of the Young
Medical Minds Education Initiative. Strongly supported by local medical professionals, this
program encourages youth to consider a health care career and served as a prototype for
similar work across the province. The 2018 recipient of the AHS President's Award for
Excellence retired a year later.
She remains an active interest in music, indigenous culture, and social justice.
Carol Yamabe Breitkreutz has two adult children. She has moved to Quebec to be near her granchildren.
ÉCCHS Wall of Fame Inductee- Marty Proctor
Shortly after his graduation from CCHS in 1978, local farm boy Marty Proctor began his career
in the oil and gas business at its lowest rung, as a roughneck in western and northern
Canada. After earning both a BSc and a MSc in petroleum engineering, he progressively advanced from manual labourer to engineer to management to corporate leader.
Early in his career, he held technical and management positions with Murphy Oil, Maxx
Petroleum, Central Resources, BP Resources, and Husky Oil. His early career included postings
in China, Kazakhstan, Norway, Russia, and the US.
Marty was a Senior Vice President of Norwegian-owned Statoil Canada from 2006 to early 2009
and was instrumental in that company's $2.2 billion takeover of North American Oil Sands.
From Statoil, he moved to Calgary-based Baytex Energy as Chief Operating Officer from 2009 to
2014. That company is engaged in the acquisition, development, and production of oil and
natural gas in western Canada and the Eagle Ford Basin in the Texas region. During his time at
Baytex, the executive team generated exceptional financial performance, and saw share prices
grow from $10 to $50.
In 2014, Marty was named President and Chief Operating Officer of Calgary's Seven
Generations Energy. The company's namesake comes from traditional indigenous teaching that
our actions today will affect the next seven generations. Appropriately, the company's culture
stresses community engagement, while being an industry leader in responsible development
and stakeholder service. Seven Generations responsibly develops natural gas from the Grande
Prairie region. The company currently produces the equivalent of 200,000 barrels of gas per
day and has grown to a market value of approximately $4.5 billion.
He is a strong believer in continual improvement in the company, its people, and himself. He is
currently enrolled in the Advanced Management Program at the University of Chicago and
participates in industry events as participant or speaker. Of note is his role as chair of the
Society of Petroleum Engineers Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition in 2019.
Under his leadership, 7G sponsors an annual charity golf tournament raising funds for Grande
Prairie Regional Hospital and Grande Prairie College. Additionally, Marty's personal community
involvement includes instituting an annual company charity week and monthly hands-on work
at the Calgary Drop-in Centre. His habit of humbly giving back continues to inspire his
colleagues to do the same. In 7G's most recent employee engagement survey, one respondent
wrote "Marty Proctor is the glue that holds everyone together. He is inspiring, respectful, and a
champion of everyone and their abilities."
Marty and Pam, his high school sweetheart, live in Calgary. They have three adult children and
two grandchildren.
ÉCCHS Wall of Fame Inductee - Robert Mah
Growing up in Camrose, Robert Mah was active in minor sports and a top student. In his 1978
senior year at CCHS, he was provincial badminton champion and class valedictorian.
He earned an honours degree with great distinction in organic chemistry from the U of A and both MSc and Ph.D. at New York's elite Columbia University and was a post-doctoral fellow at California's Stanford University.
From Stanford he was recruited by the leading Swiss pharmaceutical Speedel, where his leading
work in synthetic and medicinal chemistry led to his current position as deputy head of
chemistry at Novartis Pharmaceutical in Basel. Dr. Mah's exemplary skills and team player
approach over more than three decades have made him have led to progressive advancement
in the company. At Novartis he is responsible for data bases and all patent related issues.
Dr. Mah continues to make his home in Basel, where he has raised three children and remains
active in sports, with an ongoing involvement in badminton and skiing.
ÉCCHS Wall of Fame Inductee- Former Staff Sherlyn McKay
Sherlyn McKay grew up in the bilingual city of Moncton, New Brunswick. She later attended
Dalhousie University in where she earned her Bachelor of Education degree. Upon graduation,
like so many people from Atlantic Canada, she moved west to build a life and career in Alberta.
Her first stop was the mountain town of Grande Cache, where she taught at Grande Cache
Community High School beginning in the early 1970s. At the time, the towns then thriving
economy was primarily based on coal mining. As the coal industry began a steady decline, the
town followed, and she looked elsewhere for a more steady and predictable community.
She found such opportunity in Camrose, where she began a nearly three-decade career in
1977. At CCHS, Ms. McKay's primary teaching assignment was French. Students found her
French classes lively and informed by her personal experience of life in a fluently bilingual
environment.
An enthusiastic traveler, Ms. McKay carefully planned her school breaks to visit distant, often
exotic, destinations where the local language was not English and everyday life customs were
markedly different than those of her native Canada.
She would return from those trips refreshed, and eager to weave her experiences into her
French and Social Studies classes. What better way to support a lesson on great battles of
World War Two than to show her slides and relate her experiences gathered in visits to famous
battlefields, or to entertain students with amusing tales of her encounters in francophone
Belgium. A former student commented that Ms. McKay was the first French teacher she had
ever had that actively encouraged students to speak French with each other. Further, many
students got the travel bug from what they learned in her classes.
Encouraged by student interest, Ms. McKay became a frequent participant in, and strong
supporter of, the school's International Travel program. There, she had the opportunity to
share her knowledge of European destinations with young travelers, many of whom came to
share her wanderlust.
Another of her notable contributions to school culture was her decades-long participation in
the awards program. Not one to seek public attention, she was one such tireless worker in
preparation for the annual awards ceremony. With others on the committee, Ms. McKay
contacted awards sponsors to encourage their ongoing support and made certain the various
recipients acknowledged their contributions.
She retired in 2006.
Please recognize Sherlyn McKay, 2023 inductee as distinguished faculty inductee to the CCHS Wall of Fame.
ÉCCHS Wall of Fame Inductee - Former Staff James Saby
James Saby's exemplary 32-year career teaching Biology at CCHS began in the fall of 1987. He
was respected by students, colleagues, and the larger community.
From early childhood, he was fascinated by the natural world and outdoor pursuits. That
passion directed his career choice, his work with students, and his life beyond the classroom.
His lessons were at once engaging and relevant and his manner supportive. Because he demanded much of his students and himself, students clamored to get into his classes and performed well.
In mid-career, Mr. Saby embarked on a time of real adventure and professional growth when he participated in an exchange with an Australian colleague. He taught in his exchange partner's
school and his family lived in his partner's home. Returning home, he eagerly applied a renewed
perspective to his work in Camrose.
Mr. Saby devoted countless hours to coaching basketball with unmatched dedication and deep
knowledge. His efforts led to a provincial championship in 2012. A personal highlight was seeing
his late son Nathan play a leading role in the team's success.
Following his 2019 retirement, James and Tamara continue to live in Camrose. They have one
adult daughter, Sarah.
Music Department Notes
- The Winter Concert is Monday, December 4 starting at 7:00pm in the ECCHS Commons. Seating is limited, but a live stream link will be made available the day of the performance on the ECCHS website and via the Google Classroom. All Band and Choir students are involved in the concert, and should arrive in uniform by 6:40 for warmup. The concert will be brief, so we ask that all performing students remain in attendance for the duration of the performance so that every ensemble has an audience.
- Senior Band Tour balances are due January 12. Students will receive invoices and final itineraries before the Winter break. Nearly all Senior Band students are participating in our trip to the Alberta International Band Festival in February at the University of Calgary.
- We had a fantastic turnout of Senior Band students for the Remembrance Day ceremony at the CRE, with much positive feedback from the community. Thanks also to the Camrose and District Community Band members who also performed with our high school students.
- Our Choir proudly performed at the Wall of Fame ceremony on Friday, November 24. The Choir students have worked tremendously hard this semester, and it's paying off!
- The next Music fundraiser will be announced in the coming weeks. Details will be posted in the Google Classroom for each ensemble.
ÉCCHS Athletics - November
Volleyball
Volleyball has officially wrapped up here at ÉCCHS. Both our senior boys and girls teams competed at their zone championships on November 18th. Our boys travelled to Lacombe for their tournament. As the 5th seed, out of 6 teams, they had a tough road ahead of them. They had a great day, eventually ending up in the final against the number one 3A boys team in the province and host, Central Alberta Christian High School. Unfortunately they did come up a bit short and did not quality for provincials.
Our senior girls volleyball team, as the number one team in the zone, hosted their championships. The girls played well all day, they showed great determination in their semi final as they were down late in the third set. With some great serving they were able to defeat Ponoka and move onto the final against Sylvan Lake. The team led from the get go in the final, played with confidence and won the zone championship in two straight sets. With that win the girls qualified for the provincial championship November 23-25 in Strathmore. They entered the provincial tournament ranked as the 9th seed and played well all weekend, eventually finishing as one of the top ten teams in the province. All in all a very successful season for our senior volleyball teams.
Basketball
Basketball season is off and running! The Sr. Boston Pizza Classic Tournament tips off Friday, December 1st, and in the following week, all levels of the program will be decided and in action. The JV teams will see their first games on Dec. 8th & 9th, and our Gr. 9’s will hit the hardwood in League play shortly thereafter.
This season, every team has lofty goals, hoping to mimic some of the success of years past. If you would like to see games in person, please pay attention to our social media posts and our Athletics Calendar on the school website. The GR. 9’s play regularly on Monday evenings, the Sr.’s on Tuesdays, and the JV’s on Wednesday
For the BP Classic (and all other tournaments), check out the ECCHS website for a schedule and Livestream links - come on down and support the Trojans!
Parent Council Updates
Several parent members attended the Council of School Councils November 28 in Daysland. It is always nice to hear what other school councils are doing!
We are planning several information sessions throughout the year for parents and will share details as they become available.
- Have something you'd like to discuss? Email Carey: ecchsparentcouncil@gmail.com
- Next School (Parent) Council Meeting: Wednesday, December 6 at 7:00 pm in the Library
- Follow us on Facebook: Look for ECCHS School Parent Council
About Us
Email: cchsweb@brsd.ab.ca
Website: https://cchs.brsd.ab.ca/
Location: 6205 48 Avenue, Camrose, AB, Canada
Phone: 780-672-4416
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/battleriver31/
Twitter: @CamroseCCHS