Senior Sews For The Love Of Lehman
By Gabby Gidley
Senior Savannah Berthiaume has been on the swim team the past four years and has been coached by George Lehman the whole time. “He has been such an inspiration to me and has taught me so many things,” Berthiaume said.
Swim coach George Lehman (left) receives a t-shirt quilt from senior Savan¬nah Berthiaume on Dec. 8. Berthiaume made the quilt out of appreciation for everything that Lehman has done for her over the years. Submitted photo
Three years ago Lehman was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. The disease has affected his coaching style and slowed down his teaching. However, this disease did not stop him from being a positive influence in students’ lives.
Berthiaume decided that she was going to make a t-shirt quilt out of all the old swimming t-shirts that Lehman had. She wanted to keep it a secret from Lehman so she had his wife gather t-shirts and drop them off at her house without Lehman knowing.
“I recently started sewing ,” Berthiaume said, “so I thought I would make him a quilt for him to show all of his hard work.”
After the quilt was finished, it was presented to Lehman as a gift at the girls’ swim team banquet. According to Berthiaume, it was quite an emotional experience.
“I got teared up when he opened it,” Berthiaume said. “Seeing him smile and then say, ‘I was wondering where all my t-shirts went’ was more than worth my time.”
