The newest recipient of the Jim Kook Citizen of the Year award in Outlook is someone who, like all winners of said award, is humble to the point where he isn鈥檛 quite sure what exactly he did to earn such an honor.
Outlook High School teacher Brent Larwood, a husband to Sylvie and a father to 7-year old Stacen and 5-year old Ellis, is still a little taken aback by the news.聽 He feels he鈥檚 just one person in a large group of people who are helping to make Outlook a better place to live and call home.
鈥淚鈥檓 not sure, to be absolutely honest,鈥� said Brent, sitting down with The Outlook.聽 鈥淚 was very surprised.聽 I wasn鈥檛 sure why, and I still don鈥檛 quite know why!聽 I love what I鈥檓 doing, and I鈥檓 not signed up to do anything that I don鈥檛 enjoy.聽 I鈥檓 really thankful to have a spouse who lets me do a lot of that stuff, and I wouldn鈥檛 be able to do it without her.聽 It鈥檚 just a weird thing.聽 You just do things for the joy or the passion to help other people.聽 It鈥檚 also the community.聽 To live in a community where there are just so many programs and so much passionate people; I feel like I just kind of latch on to them and the wave that they have.聽 We鈥檙e really fortunate.鈥�
Larwood, who attended elementary school in Carrot River and graduated in Radisson, is something of a mould-breaker with his award win.聽 At 35 years old, he鈥檚 now the youngest recipient of the honor.聽 Typically, the award has shone a spotlight on older people who many point to as being the dedicated and long-time 鈥榤overs and shakers鈥� in the community, but someone being recognized at a younger age perhaps says something about the shift that鈥檚 happening in Outlook where the newer generations are stepping up and doing what they can to make the town thrive and stand out.
鈥淭here are lots of people out there doing what I do too, and those are the kind of people I like to surround myself with,鈥� said Brent.聽 鈥淭hey鈥檙e just so positive, and it鈥檚 such a relief to have all these programs in town.聽 People being active and knowing what they love to do is just the best.鈥�
When Brent isn鈥檛 in the classroom teaching science to future generations, he鈥檚 pitching in and committing himself to different groups and organizations.聽 He鈥檚 been with the Outlook Fire Department for a few years now, as well as the Outlook & District Wildlife Federation.聽 When those aren鈥檛 taking up his time, he enjoys coaching baseball and hockey with Outlook Minor Sports, and he鈥檚 also been lending his expertise in helping the new swimming pool facility lock in lifeguards.
鈥淚f I feel I can help someone save a lot of time, I鈥檒l do it,鈥� he said.聽 鈥淔or instance, with the lifeguard thing.聽 I used to be one, so I know these are the courses that I needed, but I can see where it鈥檚 changed in the last ten years.聽 So for someone starting from scratch, I thought, 鈥榊ou know, if I can help out with that, that鈥檚 awesome.鈥欌��
For Brent, it鈥檚 being with people that helps motivate him to do more and involve himself.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just the people; I love people鈥檚 drive,鈥� he said.聽 鈥淓ven with you and your passion for media and photography, and just to find some group of people who has that same passion, you just embrace it and try to learn from it.聽 Have fun, be happy.鈥�
In his twelfth year as an educator, Larwood says he enjoys the challenge that comes with teaching young minds, and he hopes that when they鈥檝e left his classroom, they鈥檝e become more well-rounded people who look at the world with a balanced viewpoint.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard, because with being a classroom teacher, you鈥檙e in front of 20+ kids that all have 40+ parents, and they come from such different backgrounds,鈥� he said.聽 鈥淪ome come in with a really broad point of view and think outside the box, and some come in with a narrow view, and so what I do is get the kids to see both sides of the coin.聽 That can be hard at times, but again, being here for as long as I have, you develop those relationships and just build on them.聽 They know what to expect when they walk into your classroom; they don鈥檛 have to figure it out, and they can just trust you.聽 You just hope that when they do leave, they鈥檙e a little bit of a different person and more of an open-minded thinker.聽 That鈥檚 what I get out of it, not just marking tests and that sort of thing.鈥�
In Brent鈥檚 eyes, it鈥檚 the people of Outlook that make the community as strong as it is, despite the presence of different ideologies and opinions.聽 He enjoys seeing people put aside such petty differences in order to help the town improve and succeed in different ventures.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the people,鈥� he said.聽 鈥淪ometimes, people say Outlook鈥檚 a tough place, but it鈥檚 that size; we鈥檙e that perfect size where we鈥檙e not too big to have everything, and we鈥檙e not so small that not everybody knows everything.聽 One thing that gets me, and we鈥檒l look at one of Outlook鈥檚 fundraisers as an example; people will say, 鈥業f this would鈥檝e happened in *this* community, we would鈥檝e made three times the amount of money鈥�.聽 You鈥檙e right, but yet that community only has one or two of those a year, and we have like twenty of them!聽 If we look at it as a big picture, we鈥檙e doing great.聽 When you come together and make $50,000+, that to me is a huge reflection of the character we have in Outlook.鈥�
Larwood says Outlook is comprised of a great mix of people who are all doing their part in making the town a better place, and he sees the shift that鈥檚 happening where younger people are picking up where older generations have started the foundation.
鈥淲e鈥檙e big enough that we do have lots going on,鈥� he said.聽 鈥淲e鈥檝e got great businesses that are generous, we鈥檝e got volunteers and groups of people that love what they do and want more people to enjoy it.聽 To me, there鈥檚 a shift in Outlook going on right now where a lot of the people that have done things for years are retiring, and now there鈥檚 this next generation of different thinkers with different ideas, and any previous tension between groups is almost extinct.聽 We鈥檝e got to work together in order for all this to work.鈥�
The Outlook likes to ask every Citizen of the Year recipient this question to end an interview 鈥� what would you say to someone who was looking to move to Outlook?聽 In Brent鈥檚 view, people just have to immerse themselves to see and appreciate what the town can offer them.
鈥淵ou鈥檝e gotta get here,鈥� he said.聽 鈥淚t鈥檚 affordable to live, and the pace of life is awesome.聽 There鈥檚 that wonderful traffic where you don鈥檛 even have to worry about in Outlook.聽 You can bike to school, your kids can bike around town, and it鈥檚 a safe community.聽 Everybody鈥檚 kind of got an eye and ear out for everybody, whether they agree with their philosophies or not.聽 You can drive two minutes out of Outlook and feel like you鈥檙e in the middle of absolute nowhere, and yet you can drive an hour and you鈥檙e in the biggest city in Saskatchewan.聽 It鈥檚 just got that kind of perfect location and a solid group of people that are looking to support you in any way that they possibly can.鈥�
Brent Larwood will be honored as the 2018 Jim Kook Citizen of the Year at the Community Appreciation Awards banquet on Thursday, May 30 at the Outlook Civic Centre.
