Over the course of my 25 years as the Secondary School Theatre Program Director at Manhasset High School, I've worked with many wonderful parent and community volunteers. They have given unselfishly of their time and talents to help build our nationally recognized theatre arts program. However, one man stands above the rest in that he has given his heart and soul to the students, the program and me. His children graduated from Manhasset High School. Although they never participated in theatre, their father, Karl Hueglin, has always been our number one supporter.

I remember, it was in my early years at Manhasset at an open house, that a blonde-haired man in a bush jacket came up to me in the hall, introduced himself and said he was a professional set designer. He volunteered his advice. Well, that was the beginning of a 20-year friendship. Karl has not only been a mentor for myself and a large number of other theatre staff members, teaching us immeasurable things about the theatre, more importantly, he has mentored thousands of technical theatre students. Some of these kids have used the technical theatre skills Karl taught them to pursue careers in the arts. On the other hand, the spirit Karl awakened in quite a number of others enabled them to use their talents to become electrical or mechanical engineers, architects, computer design artists, visual artists or interior decorators. One young woman recently used her theatre-related talents to redesign Stephen Spielberg's apartment in Manhattan.

Every student who comes into contact with Karl learns not only how to read blueprints, use hardware and tools to build complex scenery, but also how to work as a team member to accomplish a common goal. They learn that you can't give up on a project just because it doesn't go right the first time. One senior student, when he was an underclassman, use to rebuild set pieces two or three times until he got them right. Karl always encouraged him not to give up and kept him motivated with a joke or one of his theatre stories.

I know from my years in Manhasset that there are many fantastic volunteers who assist in our schools. The students in theatre arts at Manhasset High School and the play production staff members have been blessed that Karl Hueglin, a truly outstanding individual, is one of them.

John Shorter