Gord E. Millage

Photo Collage of my Dad and I on our adventures (by Sarah Millage)

My hero is my Dad, Gord Millage. He should be considered as an everyday hero. I asked him who his hero was and he said "John Lennon because he believed in peace, brotherhood and mankind. He left beautiful music for the whole world to enjoy." Every day my dad inspires me by how he helps people and treats everyone with respect.

My Dad has taught me to never give up whether it's math homework, driving a boat or learning how to dive. He says I can do anything that I decide to to try. Sometimes when I am in doubt about whether I can do something, he always encourages me. He's shown that it's important to get involved in something I believe in. For instance when my old school was closing, my Dad joined a committee with teachers and school trustees and together they managed to keep the school open for one more year.

I see how my Dad treats everyone with respect wherever we go. He has also shown me how to respect the environment as whenever we go camping or anywhere outdoors we always leave the area clean and the way we found it. I have learned the history of Canada by our trips, especially when we followed the voyageur trail.

I can always count on my Dad to help me whether it's school work or learning new sports. We do many things together usually bringing a friend along. Since I was very young my father and I will go flying in a sea plane to distant places. My father has always helped me appreciate Canada's outdoors. We also spend time on our sailboat where my dad has taught me how to sail. He taught me how to safely snowmobile and encouraged me to earn my snowmobile license. My dad has always thought it was a good idea for me to learn how to drive different things and learn different skills. Some skills I have learned include camping, canoing, and mountain climbing while exploring historical places like the French River and the La Cloche Mountains in Killarney Park. I really enjoyed visiting these places by water but also by seaplane while viewing the entire Georgian Bay Coastline and Killarney Park from the air. My Dad is always sure to show me the historic voyageur routes in these areas. My Dad's appreciation of Canada's North comes from the years when he worked in the North for a company called 'North Canadian Airlines'. He traveled to many places and lived amongst the Aboriginal people in Canada's North (the Arctic) while he worked as a pilot for the mining, natural resources and other government departmemts.

My Dad now works in the heating and water business as a plumber and water well technician. People depend greatly on him to supply drinkable water and heat in rural areas of Peterborough. I've seen my Dad go out of his way to help people. People phone our house on a regular basis to get help in these situations and my Dad is always happy to help out.

In the past my Dad was a committee member trying to save my school from closure. The South end of Peterborough deserved a new school. They convinced the school board with the end result that the board agreed to make money available to build Roger Neilson Public School. Without the hard work of my Dad and the committee, Roger Neilson public school would not exist. Students would have been bused around the city instead of having a local school built. For all these reasons my Dad is a true hero to me.