Family And Friends Honor Beloved Principal, Teacher
By Julie Vaughan
Editor
I
n moments filled with
tears and laughter Canton
High School Principal Max Callahan relived memories with family, friends and co-workers at a reception honoring him and his 35 years in education.
Callahan made an official announcement to his faculty and staff March 24 that he had made the decision to head back to the classroom setting and teach again after 23 years of serving as a principal for Canton ISD.
He has served 15 years as junior high principal and eight as high school principal. The remainder of his career he spent as a history teacher.
The reception held Sunday at the Davis Auditorium came as a surprise to Callahan as he walked into the auditorium filled with familiar faces, standing to clap for him.
Canton ISD Assistant Superintendent Dr. Lori Blaylock began the reception with words of welcome to friends and family.
Blaylock said her first dealings with Callahan were when he was serving as junior high principal as she was a counselor and the school had lost a student to suicide.
"I really saw the insides of Max Callahan," Blaylock said. "He wore his Christianity like a soft and gentle cloak."
Blaylock went on to say that although she and Callahan are close in age she always said, "When I grow up I want to be just like Max Callahan."
She further said she wanted to love kids like Callahan, and listen to kids more than she talked, like he did.
The emcee for the reception was Abby Rike, who said she first met Callahan eight years ago when he interviewed her.
She said that although she was blessed with a wonderful father she described Callahan as her second father.
Rike said her relationship with Callahan was, "principal, father figure and friend."
"He believed in me and my program," Rike said. "He supported not only my program but others – not only in the classroom but out."
Then in a very emotional moment Rike said Callahan had been a "very dear friend" to her the night her husband Rick and two children were killed in a two-vehicle crash in October 2006.
"The night of the accident both of my parents and my brother were out of state. The police officer asked ‘who do you want to call?’ The name that I gave was Max Callahan," Rike recalled.
The reception then took a lighter side as it turned into a remake of Ralph Edwards’ show "This Is Your Life" as past family, friends, and other acquaintances hid behind the stage and spoke into a microphone telling stories about Callahan.
Then Callahan would guess who the mystery person was.
Those participating were Callahan’s sister Donna Gill, his daughters Lauren and Erin, former Sunday School student David Starnes, fellow high school graduate Jerry Tidwell, secretary and friend Leslie Corey, little league baseball team the Super Falcons, former fellow teachers Tony Ogletree and Charles Gann, former teacher Buz McCauley, and former high school principal Liston Barber.
Also, former junior high secretary Fairy Cox, former fellow teachers Jim Lamb, Joe Groves and Lewis Young, former students Magee Burns, Justin Huff, Mike Lamb and Don Dunn, former teacher Kim Neely, former food service director Sharon Haney, and former student and now junior high principal Amy Autry.
Canton Mayor Rusty Wilson read and then presented Callahan with a proclamation naming April 27 Max Callahan Day in Canton.
In the proclamation it states that Callahan had made a "…positive impact on our most precious resource, our youth…"
Callahan was a graduate of CHS in 1969 and went on to attend Tyler Junior College and graduate from East Texas State University.
He is a member of First Baptist Church, was a little league coach for 15 years, a Canton Youth Recreation Association (CYRA) Board member for many years.
Callahan was also named Man of the Year by the chamber of commerce in 1991.
The Canton High School Jazz Band played at the beginning of the reception. Members of the choir along with choir director Linda Foster performed during a slide show presentation at the close of the reception.
Assistant high school principal Nerissa Erickson described Callahan as, "A teacher ahead of your time."
Erickson said Callahan was her sixth grade history teacher and hired her five times at Canton ISD – first as a substitute teacher at the junior high, then as a junior high English teacher, a high school English teacher, high school counselor and then as assistant high school principal.
She described him as a man of integrity, wisdom, character, and "a true servant leader."
"Thank you for this very special day," Callahan said in closing remarks.
"What is important in life is relationships you have," Callahan said. "I was reared right and I had a mom and dad who taught me what was right."
Callahan then recognized his mother Christine, wife Marilyn, and daughters Lauren and Erin.
He said he was proud of his daughters, the community he lives in and the school.
"Each time I’ve changed a position, I’ve seen God in it," Callahan said; adding of his excitement in being a teacher again.
"I will miss the kids on this campus," he added. "…But I can’t wait to get back in the classroom."