A LIFETIME OF SERVICE
Greg Davies confesses that his parents enrolled him at Mentone Grammar in 1971 to “get him straightened out”. What Greg found was a lifetime commitment to responsibility, service and caring for the community through his deep connection with the scouts.
Born from his personal experience, Greg’s advice to students is to, “Embrace the whole journey… there will be something for every young person to get involved with and hang their hat on, and then follow it through.”
During school, Greg wasn’t confident with his academic pursuits, and he didn’t make the football team. Instead, he became an umpire, joined the chess club and was a dedicated member of the scouts. Greg actively sought endeavours to ‘hang his hat on’ and he certainly followed them through – with the chess club winning the state championship in his final year and a 50-year commitment as a leader and commissioner in the scouts.
WHEN DID YOU JOIN MENTONE GRAMMAR?
I started in 1971 in Year 9. It was an interesting form because they created a class full of all the new kids. So, we had a range from the kids who had won the sporting and educational scholarships to the ratbags like me who got sent along to get straightened out!
WHAT WAS A HIGHLIGHT OF YOUR TIME?
As part of the School chess club, winning the state championships in 1974. I think other memorable times were from the scout group. We had our own little house, which was one of the buildings the School had bought, to operate out of and we had a bit of independence there.
HOW DID MENTONE GRAMMAR INFLUENCE YOU?
I think the most important lesson that I learned was that sense of responsibility to look out for people. When I was in the chess club in Year 12, much of the team were younger than me in Years 8 – 10. So, when you’re piling into a taxi to take them somewhere to play at night, suddenly I had responsibility which I hadn’t had in previous years. That certainly endeared me to a lifetime of service.
Greg (front left) with the state championship-winning Chess Team in 1974