WSIB Presents: "We Miss David"
Rob Ellis, worksafely.com:
“Recently I’ve been talking to young kids, to young workers in high schools, exactly like you, and trying to encourage kids to ask more questions. I know it’s tough to find a job. I know it’s a full time job just getting a job.
But there are more questions than how much is I going to make and how many hours do I get to work this week.
There are a few more important questions, such as has there been any turnover in this job that I’m now going to start and why does the turnover occur?
Why am I getting such a great opportunity? Will there be any equipment that I have to work on that I’m not familiar with? Will I be replacing somebody who’s been in the job for a long period of time, knows the job well and has to go on summer holidays? Will I be replacing that person? Will I get the training? Will I get the supervision to go along with that job?
Those are pretty simple questions and you know it’s sometimes difficult to ask them, but you guys are the smartest generation. I’m a business owner myself and I respect this generation coming up.
I know that you’re bright, computer-based, quick. It’s okay to ask those questions. It’s okay to ask the employer those simple questions. I tell you that right now because Dave would not have asked those questions.
I told Dave that he had a job and he would go down and do that job. Dave was the kind of good kid as all you probably know. Dave was the kind of kid who would never ask. He just did the job.”
On February 11th of this year David was killed on a large industrial mixer in a local bakery. It was only his second day on the job. My wife and I and David’s two sisters, Marisa, and Jessica, and his little brother Caleb, who many of you might know, desperately miss David every minute of the day. We can not believe even to this point how it could ever have happened.”
Marisa Ellis, David’s sister:
“I’m Marisa Ellis, I’m Dave’s sister. We just got along really well and it’s hard because he was like my best friend. He took care of me and he watched out for me and we did everything together so it’s hard to lose him, and let alone he’s my brother, he’s in the same house as me. So I miss him terribly. He was just a perfect brother.”
Rob Ellis:
“If you like music, David loved music. He was a lead guitar player, played drums, he even played some piano. He used to come home from school and he’s wail away on the drums for an hour and the guitar for half an hour. And he played it loud and he played it often. He and his friend Steve had a small group. The called themselves Numb. They were on their way to touring southwestern Ontario”
Marisa Ellis:
“Well my sister, she’s the oldest so for her to lose her younger brother, they were also very close and they would jam together with the guitars and drums and whatnot. Our house is very musical so she definitely misses him and I think it’s hardest for my youngest brother because he was his role model he was his big brother. He does exactly the same things that he did. He was the perfect example for our younger brother Caleb and I think Caleb’s taking it the best. He just trusts that Dave’s in heaven.”
Rob Ellis:
“If you like sports, and I know that there are a lot of people in this crowd that love sports, Dave loved sports. As a young guy, he loved playing baseball. He played centre field and he played left field for his rep hardball team, batted left handed threw right handed, had great hands, quick feet. Just loved being with the rest of the guys out playing.”
Peter Bock, David’s friend:
“We had a lot of good times together. He was a really positive guy and he was the kind of guy you could never really get mad at because he was so positive and he was just really encouraging. I learned a lot from him. Just the way he lived. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever been through just because, I mean because I’d never lost anyone in my life and for it to be a really good friend, someone who’s only 18 years old, yeah it was really tough.”
Rob Ellis:
“If you’re an academic, Dave had a mid-80s average all the way through. He was headed to university in September.”
Audrey Cordery, David’s teacher:
“He worked to the best of his ability and he was an excellent student. David was in my Grade 12 media class and I had the opportunity to enjoy his presence and to work with him a lot in his projects. He was in the classroom and out of the classroom the same person, a leader in every respect in the classroom.”
Joshua Cordery, David’s friend:
“In Grade 12 more I got to know Dave for who he really was and the kind of guy who always had the courage to stand up for his faith and for what he believed in. I take life more seriously. I think that up until this point I sort of learned a lot of things I’ve done, a lot of attitudes I’ve had, just sort of there’ll always be another day, but you can’t always make that guarantee. Nobody can have that guarantee. So to live my life in a more direct and more focused way, focused in the right direction.”
Rob Ellis:
“One thing he loved to do was to help those less fortunate than he was. I can remember seeing Dave, I guess it was Christmas Day. He was down at a mission services he was peeling 40, and 50 lb. bags of potatoes and carrots to hand out to those guys that just didn’t have a dinner for that day.
I remember times when he and his high school friends would hand out sleeping bags and blankets to those people that had to sleep on the streets. I can remember times when Dave handed soup and sandwiches out to those people who, come near the end of the month, when the welfare cheques come out, there’s a three or four day period when the cheques just needed to be there a little bit sooner and there’s just not enough food on the table.
Dave handed this bowl of soup and a sandwich to a young guy who was about 19 or 20 years old, and he gave him a huge bear hug, lifted Dave right up off the ground. Dave’s face turned red, his ears turned really red. He looked at me and I looked at him and we both started laughing. He was out of breath. I know he was out of breath. But that young boy who was 18 or 19 turned to Dave and he said, ‘Dave, you’re the very best friend that I’ve got in the world. Thanks.’”
Marisa Ellis:
“I think my parents have really been strong and have been steadfast on their beliefs and haven’t really been bitter about anything. They’ve just you know, dealt with it in a way that is very encouraging.”
Kei Suzuki, David’s friend:
“I went to school with him and we were in the same high school; I actually got to know his sister before I got to know him. We never thought it could happen to anyone around us or anyone close to us, but it has and that has really affected all of us.”
Marisa Ellis:
“Work accidents are all too common now, so I just really think that people need to really consider their lives and just to evaluate it and just to really think about what their life would be like if it ended too short.”
Kei Suzuki:
“First of all, when you go into a workplace that you know what’s around you, you know what you have to do and you know what you’re right is. That you can refuse, to say no if you feel that’s unsafe and that you have that right that no one can force you to do something that you don’t feel is safe.”
Rob Ellis:
“If David had had the training that is available right now, perhaps David would have asked those questions, those important questions to an employer, perhaps that accident would not have occurred.
David went unexpectedly, totally unexpectedly, and because of it has caused great pain for our family and those who knew him, and I would like for people to weigh their own relationships, their own relationships with their mums and dads, their own relationships with their brothers and sisters and the people that care for them and the people that love them. Let’s get those relationships right and get right back on track again because we’ve got a bright future in Ontario.
David has left us. He’s left his mark and I know people can be influenced and encouraged positively. We can make this a much better place to work in, to live in, to play in.”
