Music that Describes Gregg
Gregg Bastian was nominated by his assistant principal, Megan Pellicer.
Mr. Bastian has a recognizable face throughout his hometown of Port Orange, Florida. Previously, he served the community during a strenuous career with the Port Orange Fire Department and running his self-named "Grandpa Day Care." It wasn't an actual daycare, but what Mr. Bastian refers to as the invaluable time he had caring his young grandchildren. After some time, he answered a calling and completed the extensive training to become a school guardian for Volusia County Schools.
Spruce Creek Elementary School, the second largest elementary school in the district, hit the jackpot when Mr. Bastian was assigned to them. During his first meeting with all the faculty and staff, Mr. Bastian shared his personal life story and vision. He instantly gained trust and respect from every adult in the room.
"I recall him saying, 'I want to learn the students' names and let them know I am here to help protect everyone at the school and keep everyone safe,'" said Pellicer. "Clearly, his vision was to build positive relationships with all our stakeholders. It was during this insightful introduction that Gregg Bastian announced he would like for the kids and adults to call him Mr. B."
Within the first hours of the first day of school, Mr. B shook the hands of hundreds of students, greeted them with a warm smile, and assured parents of his role at the elementary level. Before the end of day, you could hear children excitedly calling, “Hey Mr. B!” from across the campus. The administration team received phone calls and emails expressing their gratitude for Mr. B.
Mr. B walked over 25,000 steps a day during the first week of school, zooming through halls, checking the perimeter of the campus, and staying visible when parents were dropping off and picking up students. Roughly a year later, Mr. B still is still going strong. He has participated in several school events. One of his famous roles was playing Luigi during the prestigious end of year award ceremony, The Bobscars. He was a hit among the students! He comes to school spirit nights at local restaurants and encourages the community to support his school. Mr. B set out what he intended to do. He has built a positive relationship with students, faculty, staff, local law enforcement, and parents.
"I recently asked students on our campus to give me one word to describe Mr. B," said Pellicer. "Some of their answers included words like brave, loving, hard-working, caring, keeper of safety, responsible, kind, awesome, and amazing. Even though he wears many hats and devotes time to students, Mr. B is a superior member of our safety and security team. He has provided thoughtful feedback to improve the safety of all students and takes his job as School Guardian very seriously. With recent tragedies that have led to the development of the School Guardian program, it is a heartwarming notion to now have a man who has single-handedly brought kindness and compassion to our school. He is an astounding asset to our community, our district, and most importantly, to our children. We love Mr. B!"
Dear me b
Last year you were an amazing support to
My grandson Emmanuel in particular and my granddaughter lily-marie ..
I/we will never forget you! God bless you !
Congratulations ????????
Mr. B is a blessing to all of the students at SCES. Every day he is there to keep our students safe. He also is a mentor to our students and someone they look forward to seeing. Any time you see Mr. B on campus, he always has a smile and a kind words. He is definitely a role model.
We love Mr. B! He has seriously made my daughters experience at Spruce Creek 100 times better! Even my toddler sees him in the morning and gets all excited! He has to be the most caring individual we have ever met. The love Mr. B shows every single child in the school is so incredible. We are blessed that he is a part of our school family!
Mr B. is the best and deserves this award! He is always out and about on campus making our students and faculty feel safe and important. Whenever we need him, whether it’s for advice, redirection, or comfort he is there in a heartbeat. There isn’t a day that I am walking with my students and they don’t get excited when they spot Mr B. (even if he is all the way across the courtyard!) Thank you Mr. B for making our school an even better place!
Wow! Just when I thought that my father couldn’t get any better he does! Honestly I’m not surprised to hear all of the good things everyone at his school and within his community has to say about him. It genuinely makes me happy to know every day when I wake up that there are so many other kids who look up to my dad just like I still do to this day. I know just how lucky they are.
My children just started at SCES this year and it was immediately clear that Mr. B truly cares about our school and our kids. He’s such a friendly face and it makes me feel at ease knowing that he is there to protect our kiddos. I feel like whenever I am on campus, I see him. He’s everywhere at once it seems! He is truly deserving of this honor!
Mr. B. is all heart. It is obvious to everyone how much he loves his job. He greets every child he sees with a smile and a warm welcome, he keeps a vigilant watch over our school to ensure the safety of staff and students, he mentors students, supports staff, holds a special place in his heart for children with special needs, delivers furniture to those in need, and attends staff events and school spirit nights. We could not ask for a better guardian, but more importantly, we could not ask for a better human being to be a part of our school family. This is not just his job. The truth is, it’s his calling. There is no one better. Thanks for all you do, Mr. B.! You are indeed a life changer!
I remember when we were notified that there was going to be an armed guardian at the school. It was such a strange feeling of relief and sadness that this is the world now. But Mr. B has been an amazing blessing to the school! My kids absolutely LOVE him!! He is so kind, a smile and wave every morning! My daughter's face lights up when she sees him and she goes out of her way to make sure she gets a chance to say hi and give him a high five!! I feel a whole lot safer knowing he is there to keep our kids safe! He is 110% deserving of this award!
You deserve this award. Keep being you. You make difference.
We are so blessed to have Mr. B at SCES! He is amazing and is always visible and present. He knows all the kids by names and makes them all feel safe and special! He’s the best!
Mr. B is so deserving of this award! He is always making every single student and staff member feel secure and happy to come to SCES! We love having him in our family!
We love Mr.B! Every time you see him he is wearing a smile and greeting all the children by name. It seems like a little thing but it means the world to them! I
Congrats Mr B ! Thank you for always being awesome and always putting a smile on my daughters face !!!!
I have known Greg going on about 8-9 years now. He is so deserving of this reward! He has dedicated his life to the service of others as a firefighter. I know him as a grandpa and he is wonderful, he has so much love for his grandchildren. We were talking about his job as a school guardian, which he doesn't concider a job at all. To Greg going each day to school to protect our children is an honor. I remember a statement he made while he, his beautiful wife and I were talking. He said if I can let just one child know in a day that there is one person out there rooting for them to sussceed, I have done my job. See Greg doesn't just see his job as.a protector. He sees his job as an influencer, to help children grow, feel stronger, to have more self confidence.. This man is truly a blessing for our schools.
Oops I hit the “post comment” too soon; so here we go again. Geeze where do start? Mr. B or Grandpa, as my nieces call him is such a fantastic, caring, and wonderful human. When I heard that he was nominated I could not think of someone who deserves it more. I’ve known Mr. B or Greg as we call him well before he was a safety officer at the school. He started at Spruce Creek Elemantary when my son started kindergarten and knowing that he is there calms my nerves when all you hear about is simply unthinkable. Gabe comes home and tells me about his day and how Mr.B had the police officers there and as a mother, I couldn’t be happier that they are there in schools protecting the one child that means the most to me. Good luck Greg! You know we Love you!
Mr B you deserve this award. You are the best Guardian! You are always so kind and doing things for others. I know Ron and I feel much more at ease knowing you are there watching over our granddaughter. We are so glad Spruce Creek has you as their Guardian.. Thank you for all you do Mr B!!
You are a life changer for me. Now you are a life changer to so many lucky children. You get my vote!!!!
I vote a thousand times, YES! Mr. B is an awesome human being and truly deserves this recognition and award. The words from the students on campus describing Mr.B say it all. Congratulations!!!
I truly think Gregg should get this award.Gregg is truly a “Good Guy”..he gets my vote!!!
Gregg Bastian is an amazing neighbor, friend and an upstanding member of the community. He is a retired lieutenant of the fire department of Port Orange and a best friend of ours as well as he has served this community throughout as POFD. He is a school guardian at spruce creek elementary which oversaw my two children for two years and I hope he continues with this. I would nominate Gregg Bastian to be one of the best men to serve our schools our community and our town he would be the best person to ever win and he deserves it
Mr. B is very deserving of this award. He is a presence at the school always smiling, helping out, and most importantly keeping everyone safe!
Mr. B is the best! He takes his job very seriously, and he truly loves making a difference in our children’s lives. He takes time to speak to every kid he encounters, and he always makes them feel important and special! He definitely deserves to be honored with this amazing recognition!
Mr.B is well loved at Spruce Creek Elementary. My daughter loves saying hi to him when she sees him at school.
Congratulations, Mr. B!! No one deserves this more than you. You’re a friend to everyone at Spruce Creek Elementary, and truly a valuable asset to the school. The kids all love you and look to you as a true role model. Thank you for all that you do!our school wouldn’t be the same without you!!
Why stop now Gregg has always done what he could do for others without thinking about himself.
On our campus Mr.B goes above and beyond to impact all students, faculty, and families on our campus. We are blessed to have him at Spruce Creek Elementary.
My students LOVE Mr. B! He is so visible all over campus and has learned the names of all of our students! I’ve even seen him taking time to play basketball with the kids. He is so deserving of this award. What a great role model for our children.
Congratulations Gregg!! One of the kindest and well deserved person I know.... Good luck !!
You could not have not have nominated a more deserving person! I’ve known Mr. B for years and he carries all of these positive traits on and off of the school property. It is so important that students connect with the person that is there to protect them. He has done just that and more. Giving back is what he is doing and what he is known for. Go Mr. B! You are the best!
Wow! I honestly couldn’t think of someone more deserving of this honor. Mr. B. Is everything described above and more. One of his most admirable attributes that I observed daily would be that of a role model. He shows his students what it means to be a dedicated, caring, supportive and hard working person everyday, but particularly to the male students that may not have an active positive male role model, he is their dad, grandpa, friend, mentor, teacher and so much more. Mr. B. Is a rock star at Spruce Creek Elementary and defiantly would be a deserving recipient of this honor.
Mr. B is the man! Spruce Creek Elementary is extremely lucky to have him.
Gregg, always puts 100% into everything he does and he so loves to kids he's there to help!
I’ve known and looked up to Mr. B for 17 years now and everything in this article is true. One of the most caring/genuine individuals I’ve ever met and willing to do anything for anyone. There is no one I know more deserving of this award. Spruce Creek Elementary is extremely fortunate to have him around everyday, bringing smiles to everyone he encounters. Proud of you Mr. B!
Gregg has been my neighbor for 13yrs! Thank You for your thoughtfulness! Love you and your wife!!
Mr B. Is the man!! He’s a gentle giant and the most loving man I know.
The students and faculty of Spruce Creek Elementary are extremely lucky to have Mr. B as a school guardian. He definitely deserves this award because he is a very kind and loving person. We need more Mr. B’s in the world.
Mr B is the guardian every school needs!!
Gregg has been a caring person both professionally and toward family and friends all his life.
Mr. B. Is doing a wonderful job as a School Guardian. Every school should have a Guardian like Mr. B.
Mr. B is a gift to our school, and is a huge part of our Bobcat family. His support of the students is greatly appreciated. He joins in and participates with students in the class, helps with the student that is upset and will not follow the class, and is running to help if there is a medical emergency. Our Walk to School event has been the best in the last two years since Gregg has been involved. Not only walking with the kids, he has our county officials taking part and organizes the fire department to have a truck parked at school for the arrival of students, faculty, and our city Mayor.
Mr. B is a role model to the students, he is caring and kindhearted. He takes time to stop and talk to the students at SCES offering kind advice and encouraging words! He has mentored countless students.....He shares his past job roles as a vision for young students looking for a career path. He is helpful to the staff and offers a lending hand anytime he is needed! I remember tearing up at the first Faculty meeting when he spoke about his vision and although having a guardian presence on an elementary school campus is not where we all want to be in "todays world" we COULDN'T have asked for a BETTER guardian in MR B!!!! Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Mr. B! YOU ROCK!!!
Mr. B is wonderful and a blessing to our school. Thank you Mr. B for all that you do for our students, teachers, staff, and parents. We are so happy you are a BOBCAT!
Great job Gregg continuing to make a difference!!!!
It is comforting to see him every morning doing his campus check in his unmistakable truck. :) think that we all feel safer on our campus knowing that Mr. B. has us in his hands.
Thanks Mr. B.
I think Gregg is very deserving of this award!! He has my vote!
Mr. B is such an asset to both the school and the community. He is ALWAYS there to lend a hand, be supportive to both the staff and the kids.
Thanks Mr. B for all you do for our staff, students, and our community! You truly are the best!
My students adore Mr. B. They look forward to that smile, that nod, that acknowledgement each and every time they pass him around our campus. He is highly visible, very present, and builds a sense of safety for all. We are blessed to have him as our guardian.
Our school is better because of Mr. B. Faculty and staff love Mr. B and we appreciate the support he gives us, most of all the students love Mr. B. He goes above and beyond for our students and staff. He is not just a Volusia County school guardian, he is our friend. We love you Mr. B!
Gregg
Nicole and I and Gabe are so happy to have you part of our family. We love you and Kim beyond words and love the support you give to us and our kids at school! You are #1 in our eyes!
Mr. 'B' is outstanding!! From day one hes has established rapport with staff, students and our community. Mr. 'B' is a caring individual who not only makes us feel safe but truly is devoted, loving and positive. You ROCK!!!!!
Mr.B does a fantastic job as a guardian and genuinely cares for all the children at his school. He’s basically a rockstar in their eyes. The children and staff love him. Well done brother. Super proud of you!
The daily encounters my students have with Mr. B are definitely a "Bright Spot" in their day! right up there with recess :) Thank you Mr. B!!!
You are the best!!! We love you!
If photos were used to define words in the dictionary, Mr. B's would be next to the words TEAM PLAYER, FRIENDLY. COMPASSIONATE, DEDICATED..... and BEST LUIGI LOOK-ALIKE EVER!!!!!
Mr. B is "Awesome!!!" He has been such a critical addition to our campus and we are all so honored to he is here. Our students love him; he's as famous and well liked as our Bobby The Bobcat mascot! Keep up the good work Mr. B! You're The BEST!!!!!
Mr. B is such an awesome human being and I look forward to seeing him every week when I am on the campus. It is obvious how much he enjoys what he does and how seriously he takes it. I often see him talking with students and parents with a smile on his face. He is so warm and engaging! Way to go Mr. B!!!
