Who are you?
My name is Quinn Buter. I’m a 10 year old boy from Richmond BC. I have a dog named Hanna and a sister named Josie. [Editor’s Note: Quinn is the favourite son of my cousin, Terri. We have an arrangement where he refers to me as “Great Cousin John” and I profile him on high-traffic websites like this one].
What do you do for fun?
I like play video games (Super Mario Galaxy with Josie), draw comics (I may or may not have plagiarized Garfield) – I’m currently creating a superhero comic strip called “Bonfire” and it is very awesome. I also like to hang out with my friends: Josh Booth, Matt Dudicourt and Thomas O’Brien.
What is your favourite community and why?
Merville. Because there are more trees than Richmond. More forest. It’s adventurous and more fun than anywhere else. I like to hang out with Uncle Geoff and Auntie Janet and catch koi fish from the pond. Next time, Uncle Geoff promised that we would start a social enterprise: we will catch more koi and sell the extras to raise money for a charity.
What is your superpower?
First, I am the best Foursquare player in the world. Second, I have the ability to “go whack” and engage audiences with this power.
How do you use this power to build community?
I think going whack helps because it makes people comfortable. We are who we are and no one should change that. So, when I go whack and get a little weird it makes people feel like they can do whatever they want, too. For me, community means acceptance and openness to new things.
My Three Favourite Things About Quinn Are…
1. Stage Presence. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Quinn – in the role of the stuttering Paya – perform in some pretty exceptional musical theatre. And semi-professional acting is just one way that he showcases his stage presence. In my family – especially my mom’s side – you need to speak up if you want to be included in the conversation/song/performance/improv-sketch that happens to be unfurling at the party/barbecue/dinner/holiday-celebration. We’re a chatty bunch. Quinn gets us to take notice. In fact, he so impressed us during Weddingmania 2010 auditions that Michelle and I gave him a very important speaking part during the reception. People are still saying, “who was that kid?!”
2. Mentorship. Quinn, whether he knows it or not, is part of a quintuple-mentorship-program. My grandfather, Finn, mentored my dad, Geoff. My dad mentors me. I mentor Quinn. And Quinn looks out for and mentors his cousin, Owen, who is now in kindergarten at Quinn’s elementary school. Soon, Little Owen will be able to catch koi fish with the Jedi-like dexterity of his older cousin. Because that’s what mentorship is all about, growing potential for the future.
3. Flat-out Funny. He makes me laugh, man. In fact, he makes many, many people laugh. The kid’s as sharp as they come and he has a truly genuine way about him. Quinn’s humour doesn’t come at anyone else’s expense and is very inclusive. A few years ago, at a family barbecue, he hopped over a fence to retrieve a baseball (which he had only moments ago cracked into the neighbour’s backyard) – while the ordeal itself (cousin Darren and I lifting him over the fence) was funny enough, Quinn’s face poking back over the fence with a look of desparation thrown across it saying, “Mom, hurry, there’s a big dog after me!” took the whole thing to another level. Well played, Great Cousin Quinn, well played.
As told by John Horn…