RHTY&SC cricket teams honour 6 outstanding officers of the GFS

…on Tribute to Heroes’ programme

Six outstanding officers of the Guyana Fire Service have last week been honoured by the cricket teams of the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC). They are the latest public servants to be honoured by the club under its Tribute to Heroes’ programme.
Club Secretary Hilbert Foster, accompanied by other executives, visited the New Amsterdam Fire Station for the presentation ceremony, which was attended by senior officers of the Fire Service.
Foster said the main objective of the Tribute to Heroes’ programme is to recognize the hard work of Guyanese done in the different areas of public life to make our country a better place for all of us to live in.

The idea was born when Foster, hospitalized at the Port Mourant Public Hospital, had witnessed the dedication and hard work of doctors and nurses. They were the first set of public servants to be honoured under the Tribute to Heroes’ programme. Over the last 12 years, the programme has been expanded to include retired educators, teachers, outstanding students, fire officers, law enforcement officers, postal workers, municipality workers, garbage collectors, sportsmen, and religious leaders.
Foster congratulated the cricket teams: Poonai Pharmacy under-11 and under 13, Farfan and Mendes under 15, Bakewell under 17 and second division, Pepsi under- 19 and under-23, Metro females, NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour under-21 and first division, for the hard work they had done to honour the unsung heroes of Guyana.
The awardees honoured were Seetvon Leader, Peter Joseph, Mark Kendall, Joshua Outar, along with Leading Fireman Gordon, fireman Ricardo Caravio and firewoman Kunitz Persaud. The former Berbice Cricket Board president urged the awardees to uphold their high standard of service to the general public, and to be positive examples to fellow work mates. He committed the RHTY&SC to continuing the programme in the future.
Station officer in charge Shannon Crawford expressed gratitude to the RHTY&SC for honouring the awardees, and praised the club for its outstanding work among youths. The regional first- class umpire stated that the Tribute to Heroes award would serve as an inspiration to all. Each of the awardees received a medal of excellence, framed certificate of excellence, a trophy, 2 special gifts, and a special gift package from Mike’s Pharmacy.
Firewoman Persaud expressed gratitude to the cricket team for honouring her and colleagues. Persaud said it was a pleasant experience to be recognized for years of dedication in your job. She and colleagues committed to uphold their high standard in the future.
The Tribute to Heroes programme for fire officers was co-sponsored by Alton Duchin, Guyoil, Superbet and Mike’s Pharmacy.
The Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club was formed in 1990 by three-time Commonwealth Youth Service awardee the St Francis Community Developers, and has won a total of 122 cricket tournaments and produced a combined 121 players for Berbice or Guyana. 14 of its members have played for the West Indies or USA at the international level.
Among the players produced by the club are Neil Williams, Shaun Grant, Kevlon Anderson, Assad Fudadin, Royston Crandon, Esuan Crandon, Kevin Sinclair, Sylus Tindall, Clinton Pestano, Sharmaine Campbell, Dominique Ricky Akshay Homraj, Erva Giddings, Shabika Gajnabi, Jonathan Rampersaud, Matthew Pottaya and Jeremy Sandia, among others.