Editors note - It was in 1970 that the Bermuda Police first became involved with Outward Bound when two yojng police officers, Tony Diggins and Lynn Hall joined forces in setting up an Outward Bund programme here in Bermuda woith the support of then Commissioner George Duckett, Minister kf Youth and Sport, The Hon Lancelot "Lenny" Swan.
As Lynn Hall later said abojt the Outward Blund proramme, ""The aims of Outward Bound are simple and yet fundamental, Outward Bound exists to provide young men and women with the opportunity to achieve personal growth, self awareness and self confidence; to become aware of the qualities and needs of others; to create a really effective, active and purposeful community, and to engender a love and respect for the wild places and natural beauty of the countryside."
Lynn Hall ran the Outward Boujd programme from its incpetion in 1970 until his retirement from the Police in1983 by which time Bermuda had a n excellent facility for running local OBN programmes on PPaget Island, and was also sending yojng people overseas to Outward Bound Camps in the UK. On his retirement Lynn was ighly praised by HRH Prince Philip, the Duck of Edinburgh and by this time Lynnhad earned the sobriquet of "Mr. Outward Bound" in Bermuda.
The OB continued to operate after Lynn retirement but in 1982, anothert young police officer filled the vlikd left by Lynn, and took our OB programme from strength t strength. That young officer was P.C. Mark Norman and the folloowing article provides a unmique insight intl the work of Mark Norman is elevating
ojr Police OB programme to a new level sduring the ext 20 years during which Mark displayed remarkable talent and skills in running the Ouward Bound programme, and in doing so he has inherited the title first given to Lynn Hall, as Mr. Outward Bound, Bermuda"
Mark Norman joined the Bermuda Police on 23rd February 1981 after serving in the Suffolk Constabulary from 1976-1981 as a Cadet and then as Constable.
Mark was initially posted to Central Division (Hamilton) and then to Western Division (Somerset) for the first couple of years in Bermuda, and was seconded to ‘F‘ Department as an Outward Bound instructor during the summer programme in 1982. This was his first taste of Outward Bound!
Mark was transferred to Operations (Traffic) after that first summer, and he became a Driving School Instructor, but Mark returned to Outward Bound the following year and proved to be such a talented, natural and popular Outward Bound instructor that he was transferred to “F” Department where he worked on the OB programme during the summer, and on the Road Safety Bus during the rest of the year.
I remember writing an Assessment for Mark when I was OIC “F” Department about his ability as a first-class Outward Bound instructor. Mark also did an excellent job on the Police Road Safety Bus visiting schools Islandwide teaching road safety to every class in the schools, and he had volunteered to be an instructor for the Police Super Cyclist Scheme teaching youngsters how to ride their bikes safely.
There are some people who might question whether police officers should be devoting their time and energies to activities such as Outward Bound and teaching Road Safety, but one of the biggest criticisms of the Police at that time was the lack of positive contact with children and young people. That was exactly the purpose of programmes such as Outward Bound, the Road Safety Programme and the annual Pedal Cycle Gymkhana - bridging the gap between the Police and Bermuda's young people - and Mark was the ideal man for the job.
Mark became the co-ordinator of Outward Bound Bermuda in 1989 and later became Executive Director when the OBB became a registered charity.
During Mark's time as the Officer in Charge of Outward Bound the programme was expanded to include not only the annual overseas courses in the U.K. and the U.S.A., but also weekly courses on Paget Island during the summer, and additional one-day and weekend courses aimed to appeal to young people from less advantaged families.
Throughout the school year, OBB was attended by almost every Middle school student in Bermuda. On the weekends PC Norman would use OBB to host other youth programmes which benefit from a challenging experience. He would ensure that each school or group received the best facilitation the school could provide including designing programmes for physically and mentally limited participants. A highlight was establishing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for wheelchair users to abseil.
During the summer months, OBB conducted 5 day residential courses for 12 – 15 year olds (the only adventure programme in Bermuda to do so). Mark would reside at the school during the working week living detached from his family. As the daily activities would run from 6am until 10.00pm he far exceeded any police officer’s duty hours. He received no additional pay (overtime or otherwise) and no additional vacation.
Since the late 1970s, OBB annually sent up to 20 students (15 – 17 years old) to UK Outward Bound Centres. Since the early 1990s Mark would be the primary chaperone for these students while they conducted their 21 day course. The expedition is physically demanding for most students, and is routinely an emotional challenge for those students who have never left their family or travelled overseas. Mark would act as their mentor, advisor, friend, confidant, and parent as they conducted their journey of self-discovery
Mark’s contribution to the success of OBB has been vast, and has been inextricably linked to all facets of the organisation. One of two PCs assigned to the Unit for many years, he became the sole full-time member of the Unit from 2008 – 2016. During this time he oversaw Outward Bound‘s finances and was responsible for operating the entire budget, conducting the accounts receivable and payable, payment of bills, and submission of the files to the accounting firm for auditing.
He was also responsible for overseeing the inspection of all the equipment used by the school and ensuring it was serviceable. He would also be required to prepare the facility and equipment for annual and biannual inspections by the Outward Bound International Safety Review Team.
The attendance for all courses (school year, summer, and overseas) were solely managed by Mark. He would advertise for vacancies, receive applications, process medical forms, and conduct all the correspondence with the student’s parents or the organisation. For overseas courses, PC Norman would book the courses at the UK Centre, book flights, arrange the UK coach (or for smaller groups he would drive), and arrange accommodation during layovers. He would also take sole responsibility for the students’ welfare and - despite the allure of major cities such as London or Birmingham - he never had a negative incident.
The Outward Bound facility covers several acres on Paget Island and has many assets such as several buildings, 4 small power boats, 25 canoes and kayaks, climbing equipment, high and low ropes courses, and abseil cliffs. During his tenure as the head of Outward Bound Bermuda, Mark was roundly regarded and widely revered as indefatigable and his ability to ensure all resources remained serviceable - well into his fifties - is highly laudable. Further, he demonstrated the highest levels of humility and never shied away from the most laborious of tasks such as the routine cutting of grass, scraping and painting boat hulls, relicensing watercraft, painting the buildings, and repairing mechanical or electrical equipment. These additional duties required him to work far outside of normal hours and during his days off, and he would cheerfully do so for the good of OBB.
During the summer months, Outward Bound would hire seasonal staff who were often ex-students on break from tertiary education. Before the commencement of the residential phase, Mark would conduct the staff hiring and training so the instructors were competent in the technical and soft skills needed to undertake their duties. In addition to his other financial responsibilities he would handle their pay. The high retention of seasonal staff was a reflection of his admirable leadership and competency.
Outside of a Mark’s salary as a police officer, OBB operated almost exclusively on charitable donations. Mark would engage with corporate and private sponsors ensuring that financial targets were met and students would not be liable for course fees (or at minimum cost). Additionally, he would ensure that students would write to their sponsors after their course to share their experience and express their gratitude.
Mark was also involved with organizing one-day courses for staff of major businesses designed to encourage staff cooperation while also helping to raise funds for the Outward Bound Programme.
Mark dedicated his professional career and personal life to ensuring the success of OBB. His singular determination and ubiquitous commitment resulted in the success of the school for decades. He literally put the experiences of Bermuda’s youth before his own gain, sacrificing potential advancement, extra pay, personal time, and annually enduring long periods away from his family. He conducted these tasks without recognition or award.
One of the first articles we published on our ExPo website was the lifestory of Sergeant Lynn Hall who helped to create the first Outward Bound programme in Bermuda along with Tony Diggins. Lynn was in charge of the Outward Bound programme for many years and he became known as “Mr. Outward Bound”.
Mark Norman carried on this tradition in every sense of the word. During his tenure in Outward Bound it grew in leaps and bounds due to his dedication and hard work - no doubt at the expense of progressing through the ranks in other departments.
Mark positively influenced the lives of many hundreds of young Bermudians to whom he will always be known as “Mr. Outward Bound” a title he richly deserves to have inherited from the legendary Lynn Hall. You can view Lynn Hall's “Then and Now” article at http://expobermuda.com/index.php/tan/33-lhall
We were delighted to see that P.C. Mark Norman was recognized with an MBE in the 2018 New Years’ Honours List for his many years of dedication to the Police Outward Bound programme. (See Royal Gazette at http://www.royalgazette.com/news/article/20181228/six-bermudians-honoured-by-queen
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Mark could be credited with being directly responsible for positively influencing more of Bermuda’s youth than anyone else in that period. His impact has never been fully calculated until recently, and it has been estimated that during this time he engaged with approximately 20,000 Middle and High School Students. During his tenure, Bermuda was consistently recognised by Outward Bound International as the school to have the highest per capita national influence. Until 2007 there were 2 full time staff, and after 2007 PC Norman was the sole full-time member of staff.