We've set a new Neighbourhood Heroes record.

Recently Gary Ford nominated Les Annesley as today's Neighbourhood Hero and eleven other people added their name to that nomination. They include: Ray Kulai, Tom Krall, Neil Dillabaugh, Stella Robinson, Jan Bracewell, Pat Ford, Lenore Socal, Les Dickinson, Heather Chase, Ann Marie Hewer, Sue Gueulette.

When I met Les this week, the first thing that struck me was that he has to be one of the happiest, most contented and satisfied men I have ever met and his secret to finding this happiness isn't really much of a secret.

The first step on that journey has to do with luck. It's called choosing the right parents. The second is finding and following your passion and the third is about associating yourself with the right people.

First let's deal with the lucky part.

"My parents were particularly positive people," he says. "They didn't have much but there was no moaning and groaning. Instead they always found something to celebrate; something one of the kids had done or the family had done or the wonderful people that had come into our lives."

Les' mom always told him that you reap the best rewards when you go through the world with a smile on your face and taking an interest in others. Les must have been top in the class when it came to learning that lesson because the smile is certainly there and he has spent his life taking an interest in others.

The second step, following your passion, isn't always easy. After a successful career as a teacher, Les became a principal, an exceptional principal from all reports, but then, after seven or eight years, he realized that his true passion involved working in a classroom with kids.

After a family meeting -- a regular event in their family -- they decided on a series of cost cutting measures including selling one of their two cars so they could afford to live on the lower teacher's salary.

"I'm so glad I did it," Les reflected. "I got to do some new innovative approaches to teaching that I wouldn't have been able to do otherwise."

And he continued to discover new, innovative approaches until the day he retired fifteen years later -- Continuing to learn and grow day after day should be labeled as another of his "secrets".

The third "secret" I referred to above involves hanging out with the right people.

Les is very involved with his church and with many of the people in School District #68 and it's both of these communities that helped him survive the loss of his wife, Jan, in 1990 ... an absolutely unexpected shock and surprise.

The love and support those people gave him during that period of his life were nothing short of amazing he says. You could also say, what goes around comes around.

Of course his family provided the kind of foundation we all need to survive such a loss. At first, he recalls, his kids retreated into a reflective silence but soon the family decided to come to the dinner table each evening with at least one topic for discussion even if they had to go to the encyclopedia to find one.

Eventually those general topics turned to discussions about Jan's passing and the family healing began.

There are many more stories to tell about Les Annesley but I'm going to leave that to you. If you are a student or the parent of a student whose life was touched by this man, please email me at bill@nhero.org. I'd like to collect those stories for another column.