Gordon, Kessler Latest to Join Exclusive Company as Arbos Award Recipients

Bert Gordon and Al Kessler live in opposite ends of the province. Otherwise, the two most recent recipients of the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation’s prestigious Arbos Award would be synonymous within their profession and their communities for the level of yeoman service they have contributed over the years.

Gordon’s 37-year teaching career moved him from teaching 14 students in grades one to ten in the rural school of Ferguslea near the town of Francis, to being administrative coordinator for Carlton High School in Prince Albert, one of the largest schools in the province.

In addition to his teaching, Gordon served in a number of capacities within the STF, including provincial President in 1985, a position which he later also held for seven years with the Superannuated Teachers of Saskatchewan following his retirement in 1987.

His retirement has also allowed him to contribute to his community as a member of the Teachers Credit Union board, the Prince Albert Rural School Division board, the Ratepayers Association, and various committees of the Messiah Lutheran Church.

Born and raised in Assiniboia, Kessler began teaching at the junior high and composite high schools in Assiniboia, but left to become the physical education director in Leaf Rapids and then in Thompson, Manitoba. When he returned to Assiniboia in 1979, it was as an administrator at Assiniboia Elementary School, where he remained until his retirement as principal in 2005.

Kessler initiated the longest continual outdoor education program in Saskatchewan and was also instrumental in implementing an inclusion model of special education in his school.

Kessler’s extracurricular résumé is legendary. He has organized, coached and/or officiated in volleyball, badminton, track and field, basketball, softball, football, gymnastics, baseball, fastball, slow-pitch and hockey. He started the gymnastics club in Assiniboia and the football program at Assiniboia Composite High School, both of which continue to provide youth with educational and competitive opportunities. He was a member of the Assiniboia Recreation Board for 14 years, and has received his 30-year coaching award from the Saskatchewan High School Athletic Association.