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I got an email from my mother with some pretty interesting news. A little background first. My uncle Paco (what we call him, his name is Benjamin) is a teacher in Houston at Lamar High School. He has taught Spanish for 20something years at 1 high school. Every year, he takes a group of students to Mexico, and a few other countries, as a field trip of sorts. I'm not exactly sure what it is they do there, but he has done it for as long as I can remember. For the last 25 or so years, he has been really involved in a lot of different charities, one in particular is the Ronald McDonald House, giving his time to help kids who need it. To give you an idea of the kind of person he is, I never knew about it because he just doesnt talk about it. It is not about the notoriety he might get from doing it, for him, it is about doing it. Probably 6 or so year ago, he was diagnosed with a very rare, very aggressive form of cancer. I cant remember the name of this particular cancer, but it is in his bladder, intestines, and stomach. He has undergone countless hours of chemo, radiation, surgery, etc, and the end result so far is that it is beating him physically. While undergoing all the treatments, and enduring all the surgeries, he continued with his teaching and mentoring of kids, and continued his yearly trips, health be damned. His time and love have impacted thousands of kids, and even now, as he is not expected to live much longer, he continues to give his time and energy to others. His bad health has finally gotten the best of him in the sense that he basically has to give up teaching. I believe last week he officially cleaned out his classroom and is retiring. After all he has done to the benefit of others, the Mayor of Houston has officially proclaimed 12/20 as Benjamin F Griffith Day. Here is the text of the proclamation, and photo of the certificate that was given to him for the proclamation. I cant honestly muster up the words to put into perspective just how proud of him that I am, nor how touching the gesture is, especially when you consider the size of Houston, and how many people are in Houston, and he, 1 man amongst a few million, was honored in such a way. He was also the recipient of the Jefferson Award (http://www.jeffersonawards.org" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)earlier this year. This is the video from his Jefferson Award: http://www.click2houston.com/video/23863062/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Kudos Uncle Paco.

Text of the certificate:

The City of Houston and AFS have Proclaimed it!


Whereas, Benjamin Griffith is an extraordinary man of caring and character, mentoring and encouraging over 100 AFS foreign exchange students at Mirabeau B. Lamar High School, Houston, Texas over 22 years, far beyond his call as International Baccalaureate professor and teacher; and

...Whereas, Benjamin Griffith worked and studied abroad in Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Mexico, Spain, and France beginning in 1976 and dedicated his life to international education and volunteer service; and

Whereas, Benjamin Griffith is degreed in Spanish from the University of Houston in 1987, in French from the Alliance Francaise de Paris in 1985, and is a member of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese; and

Whereas, Benjamin Griffith is one of the most recognized Houston Independent School District High School teachers having received the Red Award for Outstanding Teacher Lamar High School in 1996, along with the Outstanding Educator Award-University of Richmond in 1997, and is recipient of the Diploma de Español como Lengua Extranjera, Nivel Superior by the Universidad de Salamanca through the Embassy of Spain-Education Office in 1997; and

Whereas, Benjamin Griffith was named 2001 Teacher of the Year at Lamar High School, was given the Outstanding Community Leader Educator Award for Rotary International in 2003, was further named Huesped Distinguido de la Ciudad de Cuernavaca, Mexico-Ayuntamiento de Cuernavaca in 2004, and also qualified as finalist for the 2008 National School Conference Award on International Youth Exchange, received the Lee Keding Award for Teaching Excellence-Lamar High School in 2009 and was the June 2010 recipient of the Jefferson Award for achievements and contributions to public and community service in Houston, Texas; and

Whereas, Benjamin Griffith is a true friend to AFS American Field Service students, volunteers and staff and a witness to the importance of hard work, responsibility and the ultimate goals of global compassion, understanding, and equal regard for all persons of the world,

THEREFORE, I, Annise D. Parker, Mayor of the City of Houston, hereby proclaim December 20, 2010 as

BENJAMIN GRIFFITH DAY

Attached is a photo of the proclamation certificate.

Thanks for posting your story about your Uncle Paco. It is quite an honor. I am sure that you and the rest of your family is proud of his achievements. He is a credit to excellent teachers and good men everywhere.

Congratulations.