History of George Waters

Thanks to Mr. Orr for sharing this...

History of George Waters Middle School

            The George Waters Junior High was officially opened on November 24,1993, and at the time served 120 grade 7&8 students.  

            September of 1996 brought a change to the school by officially renaming the school as George Waters Middle School.  In September of 1997 the school was expanded to include grade 6 students.  The school is named after George Waters, a long time resident and member of the St. James School Board.

            Mr. Waters was born on July 1, 1919 and served Canada overseas in the RCAF in World War II.  This was followed by 15 years in the service as a Recruiting Officer.   He then went on to Personnel Director for the Department of Veterans Affairs and then Director of Personnel at the Deer Lodge Hospital before retiring in 1985.

            Mr. Waters was first elected as a School Trustee in 1965 and also served as Chairman of the Board for four 1-year terms and six 1-year terms as Chairman of the Finance-Facilities Committee.  Altogether Mr. Waters served for 18 years as a school trustee retiring in 1983.

            One of the many interests Mr. Waters had was expanding programs for persons with disabilities.  He and his wife Constance devoted many hours to developing organizations such as St. James Industries, Westwood Vocational Centre and the Laureate Academy for student who are intellectually impaired.  He and his wife also spearheaded the work experience program in the School Division.

            Mr. Waters has also served as a member of the St. James Scholarship Foundation and instituted two very important scholarships-The Robert Kellow Scholarship and the Deer Lodge Centre Scholarship.  He was also very involved in the development of the Western Aviation Museum and is a long time member of the Winnipeg branch of the United Nations Association.

            In his distinguished career George Waters has received many awards including recognition from the Mayor’s Office, City of Winnipeg, and the Federal Government.   Mr. Waters has also received the Canada 125 Governor General’s Medal.

            Mr. Waters always put the interests of the students in the division first and foremost.  He and his wife often spoke with pride about the education their six children received while attending schools in the east end of St. James.