BEHIND THE SCENES HERO Dale Willetts INTERVIEWED BY CARTER & PAIGE, GRADE 4


Dale Charles Willetts is the Director of Finance and Operations at HKA. He was born in West Canada and grew up there, too. Dale’s wife’s name is Alyssa. Alyssa is from Guang Zhou. They have one son whose name is Benjamin. He was born in Hong Kong and is almost done with High School.


What are your hobbies? I really love to play golf and hike in the hills of Hong Kong with my wife. When it’s winter time I also love to ski. And in my free time I enjoy reading and listening to the radio.


What is your favorite food? Ah, I have so many favorite foods. I think maybe Japanese Sashimi. We are so lucky to live in Hong Kong. There are so many different cuisines to choose from.


If your friends were going to describe you, in one word, what would they say? They would say that I am serious with a good sense of humor.


Do you have a nickname? I don’t really have a nickname. But my broth- ers sometimes call me Chuck, which is short for Charles (my middle name.)


What movie star are you most like? When I first moved to Hong Kong, many of my friends here thought I looked like Arnold Schwarzenegger, from “The Terminator.”


Was it your dream to work in finance? What did you want to be? At first when I was in high school I wanted to be an engineer. But then when I went to university I changed my mind and I studied business instead. That is how I ended up in finance, accounting and being a business manager.


Do you like your job? Do I like my job? I LOVE my job!!! It is almost the best job in the world!!! I especially like the people I work with and getting to see all the happy kids around the school every day!


What is the hardest thing about your job? And some challenges? I think a challenge is having too many things to do and not enough time. I don’t think that is an unusual challenge.


How long have you been working at HKA? 5 years.


How long have you been in HK? I arrived on May 1st, 1991. I guess that is almost 23 years and counting.


When you were a kid did you want to work in a school? I never knew I wanted to work in a school before. In fact, before HKA I didn’t work in a school. I volunteered for a school, the one my son goes to, but this is the first time I have worked in a school.


What is a normal day like for you? I drive here from Hong Kong island. I usually get to school around 7:15. When I arrive at HKA, I check with my staff, we’ll discuss things that we are going to do for the day and set priorities. And then I try to set my schedule and look at my calendar and also set my own priorities and understand what I have to do for the day. And then usually I’ll attend meetings, sometimes with Miss Virginia or Mr. Dare, about managing the school and looking aſter the children and all the financial resources to do that. And then I’ll go home.


Where did you work before HKA? Well before I worked at HKA I had a chain of restaurants in Hong Kong called Fat Angelo’s.


Why did you choose to work here? I like the story of HKA and the fact that when I joined, the school was still at Stubbs Road. And then we moved to Kennedy Town while I was here. And now we’ve built this new build- ing in Sai Kung and moved here. All of that to me seemed very interesting to go through all the changes.


Will you ever retire? Oh yes, I would love to retire. I don’t have any idea yet. I think when I am happy and the school is prepared and is able without me, that will be a good time to retire.


THANK YOU MR. WILLETTS! 15


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