LHS principal Bennett remembered for leadership, compassion

LACONIA — Rob Bennett is being remembered as a born leader who during his years as an educator, coach and mentor, who touched the lives of students, teachers and parents, and enriched the schools and communities where he worked.

“He was a leader and a believer,” said Marty Brown, the retired athletic director at Kearsarge Regional High School where Bennett served as principal before becoming Laconia High School principal not quite a year and a half ago.

Bennett died Tuesday following what Laconia Superintendent Steve Tucker said was a “valiant battle against cancer.” He had received his diagnosis in mid-February.

Those who worked with Bennett agreed that he combined determination and discipline, and warmth and caring in equal measure.

“He was a boss. He had expectations. He knew how to have hard conversations,” recalled Laconia High School Athletic Director Craig Kozens, who first got to know Bennett as the baseball coach at Kearsarge Regional High.

Bennett came to LHS during the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic and guided the school through the realities of hybrid schedules, remote instruction and social distancing.

“He drove us through COVID,” Kozens said. “It was a tough time. He was what we needed.”

Laconia School Board Chair Heather Lounsbury also remarked about the value of Bennett’s contributions to LHS.

“In his short tenure at LHS he became a valued member of the administrative team and his death will be a big loss for all that knew him,” she said in a statement. “It certainly will be felt here in the Laconia School District.”

Bennett’s achievements were due to what Brown called his incredible work ethic.

“He could answer every bell,” he said of Bennett’s ability to take whatever tasks or challenges were thrown at him.

But beyond being diligent, Bennett was also incredibly loyal, Brown said.

“Once you were on his team you were there for life,” he said.

In addition to his loyalty to the schools he served, he was also devoted to his family.

“He was a great son, a great father, and a great husband,” Brown said.

Kozens remarked that a day didn’t go by when he did not hear Bennett talk about his wife, Koreen, or daughter, Olivia.

“He thought the world of them,” he said.

Kozens, Brown, and Kearsarge High School guidance counselor Peter Angus all believe that what made Bennett so effective and respected was that he came up through the ranks of public education.

When he started as a paraeducator he did not have a college degree. While being a teaching assistant he obtained his bachelor’s. He moved on to take charge of the in-school suspension program at Kearsarge Middle School. He moved over to Kearsarge Regional High where he taught social studies. He continued his studies to get a master’s degree which enabled him to work as an assistant principal and then principal. Most recently he was working toward earning a certification that would have qualified him to work as a school superintendent.

“He proved you can come up through the ranks to become an administrator,” Kozens said.

“He brought himself up by his bootstraps,” Angus said.

Angus believed that the time Bennett spent in subordinate positions was a big reason that besides being disciplined and determined, he was also exceptionally compassionate.

“He would work with (struggling students) so they could get their high school diploma,” Angus remembers.

And he was able to motivate other students he felt were not living up to their potential.

“He brought the best out of young people,” Brown said.

One place where Bennett shone in bringing out the best in students was on the playing fields.

At Kearsarge he coached baseball, field hockey and basketball.

“You don’t have a choice about the academics,” Brown said. “But when you work with kids on co-curriculars you know they’re there because they want to be. Those experiences help students find their niche. Having a teacher believe in you is very critical.”

And when he was not on the field or basketball court coaching, Bennett would be watching other games, no matter the sport.

“We were excited about his opportunity in Laconia,” Brown said. “I wish they could have gotten the full Rob Bennett and benefited from that.”

But in Kozens' mind LHS did get the full Rob Bennett treatment for the time he was there.

“He never let his illness get in the way,” he said. While the illness and medical treatments took a toll on him physically, he gave the school everything he had.

Brown said it was clear to him that students and staff at Laconia High knew that Bennett was someone truly special.

He said he was moved that the entire Laconia High football team came to the ceremony earlier this fall when Bennett was inducted into the Kearsarge Hall of Fame.

“Kozens wanted his team to experience that they had a principal who was highly regarded someplace else,” he said.

“He was of the belief that he could beat it,” Brown said of the cancer. “But like in sports there are some games you just can’t win.”