West St George honours five residents

Five residents of the constituency of West St George have been honoured for their outstanding contribution to community development over the years.{{more}}

The ceremony, which took place on May 19 at the Belair Playing Field, was held in honour of Urias “Tommy” King, Hope Martin, Webster Douglas, John Bobb and Victor Byron.

Urias ‘Tommy’ King was honoured for his outstanding contribution to education, coaching, sports, culture and community development. Hope Martin was honoured for his impact in sports, air transportation, culture (music) and community development. Webster Douglas specialized in agriculture for decades, for which his dedication and contribution were recognized. John Bobb’s recognition citation reflected a major input in the field of tracking throughout the community and St Vincent and the Grenadines in the private, public and commercial sectors; and Victor Byron was recognized for his years of dedicated service in the fields of education, sports, culture and community development.

Four of the five recipients were on hand to receive their plaques of appreciation, while Beverly Bobb- Liverpool received the award for her ailing father John Bobb.

The initiative for the awards emanated from a committee led by resident Julian Exeter, and also included Ernest Browne and Divious Williams. Tremendous support also come from the community, a release said.

Speaking at the Honour/ Recognition programme, lead organizer Julian Exeter explained that it was important that communities honour and recognize outstanding community builders, particularly when they are alive and con receive the appreciation of the community. He thanked everyone who contributed to this initial effort and signaled the committees’ intention to make the event an annual one.

Parliamentary Representative for West St George Cecil McKie commended the organizers for their initiative to honour/recognitize community builders and thanked the honourees/recognition recipients for their contribution to community and nation building. The representative reflected on his role as facilitator of the development process and pointed to projects present and future in sports, culture, agriculture, tourism, housing, education and community development, among others, which would allow many other honourees and community builders to evolve.

Also endorsing the recognition initiative were community builders Garfield McDonald, Benedict Charles, Curtis King, Ashford Wood, Commissioner Keith Miller, Mike Findlay, Desmond “Bam” James, the Resistant Heat Beat Drummers, operators of the sound system and the hundreds of supporters gathered.