Heavenly Father,

I thank you for guiding Uncle Max who over the years has tirelessly worked. I thank you for your countless gifts of love which have been poured over his head. I thank you for granting him his wisdom and his compassionate heart. I thank you for his integrity, his courage, his honesty, his righteousness and leadership. I pray that Uncle Max will continue to serve you with the same inspiration and motivation he had when you called him to do your work. Holy Spirit, dwell upon him. Allow him till his last breath to sing your praise amongst the fiercest of storms. I hope today he realises how much you love him, how much his family loves him, how much his school loves him. Guide his every step so that he will continually hold your hand to walk with you in this life. Lastly, I pray for my friends who don’t know you. I pray that you will save them too, and for this cause I hope that Uncle Max will continually shine the glory of Jesus Christ and bring your children under your wing.

In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.

Seventy. Three score and ten. Twenty more than fifty. Thirty short of a hundred. In cricketing terms, none for seventy is a good opening partnership. In Rugby League, it’s a one-sided blow out. But in life, it’s a significant milestone and one that should not be taken lightly. Celebration and thanks are in order and that is why we are here today. Some people once they hit seventy slow down. They’ve acquired their superannuation, subscribed to Gardening Australia and spend their time watching the world go round.

Uncle Max, however, is different. Many see Uncle Max pacing the path between Sharron’s and Ivanhoe in deep thought contemplating decisions that will affect our lives as students although they are not visible to us. Uncle Max isn’t just a decision maker. He’s a leader, a servant and a mentor. He’s someone, who as a student, you can talk to, a person who will always listen. He’s a man who has given a large proportion of his life to the service and love of others.

I myself have experienced this guidance and wisdom first hand. As I was entering Year 12 struggling through the mountains of assessment and homework, I had to make a crucial decision about the dreaded 4 Unit Maths, whether to pursue it or not. With work piling up, I needed to make this decision. So I ventured into Uncle Max’s office. I knocked, was called in wearing my most suitable attire, school swimmers, T-shirt and a towel and took my seat ready to discuss this important matter. After a couple of minutes, we had discussed the pros and cons and it reached a solution. Drop down to 3 Unit leaving Stuart with no 4 Unit class. In 2 minutes Uncle Max had listened to my thoughts, assessed the situation and shared his wisdom. Surprised by the speed with which the decision was made, we began talking about our common interest—cricket—how I was going, what team I was in, with him showing a genuine interest in my extra curricula activities with conversation flowing for a good 10 minutes. This sums up Uncle Max—decisive, personable and wise, undergirded by a desire for his students to live a Christ-shaped life.

Uncle Max, 70 not out.

Uncle Max has been the Headmaster of our school for some 24 years and over that period his contribution to the school has been both valuable and far reaching. In my opinion what distinguishes Uncle Max from the average, ordinary school Headmaster is the personal and active interest he takes in every student’s education and life. Year after year the graduating Year 12 students speak of the dedication and care that staff members of this school show for the academic and spiritual development of each individual student. You could say that Uncle Max personifies this principle, and what’s more, he’s always cared about the little things too. Although Uncle Max is surely one of the busiest people we know, he always has time to spare for a chat.

Many of my class mates can testify to this. I’ve only been at this school since Year 7 but some of my class mates who’ve been here right through primary school share stories of Uncle Max pulling their teeth out for them. Uncle Max really does help in every aspect. In fact, some memories from a few Year 12 students go back 14 years and involve embarrassing incidents such as skipping into Uncle Max’s office to do a dance for him, which speaks a lot for his patience, if nothing else. I was also told that in primary school, misbehaving students would be threatened with going to Uncle Max’s office. In some cases this happened so often that a special friendship developed. George says that he was at Uncle Max’s so often that he and Uncle Max became like best friends. I’m sure most grades here have someone who could relate to that feeling.

One of my class mates, and I won’t name them because I’m sure you’d all die of shock if I did, but this young man pointed out to me how Uncle Max’s leadership demonstrates that with great power comes great responsibility. This same young man was once one of the rebellious young children that I mentioned and he said to me only yesterday, that Uncle Max’s guidance inspired him to make the right choices.

Another of my class mates who was once one of those misbehaving students, says that it is only recently that he has started to fully appreciate the time Uncle Max took out of his own day to help set him on the path to a better school future. He goes on to say, and I quote, that Uncle Max is not only a person he admires as a great mentor, but he’s a great man of God.

These testimonies show the contribution Uncle Max makes to not only the school overall, but the lives of individual students.

I remember the first time I was sent to Uncle Max’s office and turned up expecting to be yelled at and disciplined. Instead Uncle Max reasoned with me and made me realise I was in the wrong. What made a deep impression upon me was the fact I wasn’t getting told off but being spoken to calmly and reasonably and he helped me solve the problem instead of just telling me off and making me feel bad about it.

Another class mate of mine sums it up when she said his door is always open for you. Basically Uncle Max is not only the Headmaster, but a mentor and a friend. I’m sure I speak for all the Year 12 students when I say that he is someone to be looked up to.