Shout Out to Adrian College President Jeff Docking and Six Degrees of Separation


 President Jeff Docking
I was bracing an 18-foot step ladder while son Scott swung his 30-pound hedge saw, cedar clippings cascading down on me.  For the last 10 years I've been Scott's clean up guy at the bottom of that ladder helping him out on friends and family hedge jobs.

He stopped the machine in mid-swing to tell me that he received an email from Jeff Docking, the president of his alma mater, informing Scott that he was stepping down from Adrian College in December, after 21 years steady at the helm. 

A tough balancing act to follow

Adrian College is a small liberal arts college in southern Michigan where Scott obtained his business degree and played NCAA hockey for four years. During the summers he cut hedges for Trillium Trees to augment the international student aid package he received from the college. That  assistance made it affordable for Scott to pursue his education in the United States. At the time the Canadian dollar was almost on par with the U.S. currency, so it was affordable for him to pursue a great education and continue playing hockey at a high level.

Adrian College made a significant impact on Scott's life. He earned a business degree as a net minder for the elite Adrian College Bulldogs and learned a lot of life lessons living in Michigan eight months of the year while travelling over the U.S. mid west playing against other college hockey teams. After 20 years, he is still in the top three of Adrian goalies for many of the team's all-time goal tending stats.

The driving force behind the establishment of that hockey team, which quickly became a mid-west NCAA powerhouse, was Jeff Docking. Jeff was appointed president of the struggling liberal arts college in 2005, at which time he inherited an institution suffering from declining enrollment and financial difficulties. In 2007 the Arrington Ice Arena was completed on the campus and the Adrian Bulldogs Hockey program began their inaugural NCAA hockey season. The men's and women's hockey programs became nationally competitive in less than five years and remain so today.

By the time Scott arrived on the scene in 2011, the president had turned around the declining fortunes of the struggling college in small-town Michigan, expanded its academic programs and constructed new athletic facilities. 

Under the president's tutelage over two decades, the college more than doubled its enrollment from 900 to 1,850 students across 85 academic programs. He also grew the college's endowment fund from $30 to $90 Million. His many other accomplishments are well documented on the Adrian College web site.  Best wishes Jeff, and we hope you sail off to new horizons, wherever they may be.

About the six degrees of separation --  Scott is the facilities manager of the Ottawa Senators Sensplex in Ottawa. Unbeknownst to Scott, Jeff Docking and the Senators current Vice President of Hockey Operations, Dave Poulin, are long-time friends who attended Boston University together.

I must conclude this Adrian post by acknowledging the work of two wonderful people who were the supporting cast for the success of the young men on the Adrian Men's Hockey Team. Players from across Canada and some from the States found themselves far from home and Betsy Merillat and Kristi Griffith were always there to backstop the boys needs.

As the financial administrator Kristi made sure the player's student aid packages were properly applied and that the boys were paid for the part-time on-campus jobs they were given to help defray living expenses at the college.  Betsy was the team admin who became their den mother, often inviting players into her home to enjoy a meal with her family or an afternoon gathering on the few off days that the team had during the hockey season. Kudos to them both for their kindness to perfect strangers who were quickly made to feel like family. They were such a great asset to the team and Adrian College.

A final comment on Canada - U.S. relations. My experience over a lifetime of travel for business and leisure in the States, is that Americans are gregarious, generous and fair. During our time in Adrian the local community embraced us with open arms and welcomed us into their homes. It was a special chapter in our lives that we often speak about with fond memories.

When the vulgarity of the current Trumpian era has faded, Canadians will still be there for America as reliable partners and lasting friends.

Scott still wears his battered and worn 
       Adrian College gear, with Bulldogs No. 41 stitched into the pads. At age 36 he's in high demand locally for tournament hockey, playing with ex-junior, college and retired NHLers















Rick and Gail pose beside 14-foot
     sunflower.  Record rain and lots of
sun resulted in the giant specimen.
We cut both their hedges last weekend

Post Script

Just had to include this sunflower photo which would probably have won a ribbon at the county fair, had it been entered.

And a shout-out to my dear wife of 45 years. We were married on September 19, 1981. You will have to go to my blog introduction to read about our story together.

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