RHTY&SC, MS, and Namilco forge a highly successful cricket relationship

In September 2019, the National Milling Company of Guyana (NAMILCO) Ltd came on board as the official sponsor of the first division team of the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club, MS, replacing Gizmos and Gadgets in this regard.

Now celebrating its first anniversary, the partnership and its achievements have cemented the position of the Rose Hall Town Namilco Thunderbolt Flour Team as the country’s leading cricket team, with an unmatchable list of achievements on and off the field.

Club Secretary/CEO Hilbert Foster has said Namilco has been a strong supporter of both the first division team and the Under-21 Team, which it also sponsors. On the cricket field, The Rose Hall Town Namilco Thunderbolt Flour First Division team has won three different tournaments under the sponsorship, and participated in a semi-final match before the COVID-19 pandemic stopped activities of the Berbice Cricket Season.
The team won the Busta Champion of Champions 40 overs tournament; the Ivan Madray Memorial 20/20, and the Sky Vodka 50 over tournaments. The team has also qualified for the semi-finals of the historic Banks Beer first division two-day tournament, finishing second to arch-rivals Albion Cricket Club in Zone B.
This team was scheduled to play the Young Warriors CC in the semifinals, but had been unable to so do because of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Rose Hall Town Namilco Thunderbolt Flour Under-21 team is also waiting to play Albion CCCC in the finals of the Berbice Cricket Board’s Elizabeth Styles tournament.
These two teams have produced several players who have gone on to represent Berbice, Guyana, and even the West Indies.
Matthew Pottaya, Christopher Deroop, Jonathan Rampersaud, Nyron Hicks, Mahendra Gopilall and Jeremy Sandia represented Berbice at the junior level.
Clinton Pestano and Kevin Sinclair played for Guyana at the senior level while Assad Fudadin turned out for the Jamaica team in the CPL tournament. Kevin Sinclair, also, played for the West Indies Emerging Team which won the Cricket West Indies 50 overs tournament before going on to become a sensation for the Guyana Amazon Warriors 20/20 team in the Caribbean Premier League.
Three of this team’s female players: Shemaine Campbelle, Sheneta Grimmond and Shabika Gajnabi, have represented the West Indies on a regular basis; while, off the cricket field, the Namilco Thunderbolt Flour Under-21 and First Division teams have hosted more than 70 community development programmes as part of their personal development project. These include Youth Information Booklet, Namilco Tribute to Law Enforcement Officers, Namilco Tribute to Medical Personnel Programmes, Gregory Gaskin Berbice Sports Awards, Walter Nero Memorial Father of the Year, DTV-8 Mother of the Year, Clean-up campaign of the Rose Hall Town public beach, School bags distribution programme, old age pensioners monthly breakfast programme, donations to senior citizens and children’s homes.
Other programmes include assisting more than 100 youth cricketers to acquire their own gears, and distribution of 6000 food hampers under the Basil Butcher Trust Fund.
Over $1M worth of chicken products, face masks, sanitizers and cleaning detergents were shared out as part of the COVID-19 response, while donations of vital items were also made to hospitals, post offices, police stations and NDC/Town Councils. Donations were also made to several persons whose houses were either destroyed by fire or had fallen down.
Additionally, the team has co-produced the RHTY&SC 30th Anniversary Magazine and co-organised numerous activities to mark the historic anniversary.
Foster hails the relationship between the RHTY&SC, MS, and Namilco, noting that the company has, for over two decades, been very supportive of the club. On an annual basis, Namilco supports the RHTY&SC, MS, by co-sponsoring its Christmas Village, awards ceremony, cricket academy, review magazine, Say No/Say Yes campaign, among other programmes.
The club and Namilco had in 2019 come together to organise a highly successful Day of Sports at the Albion Sports Complex to mark the company’s 50th anniversary. The event was a huge success, with RHTY&SC members, several volleyball clubs and students from twenty primary and secondary schools participating in cricket, volleyball and athletics events for attractive prizes.
Foster hails the cooperation of the company’s management with special mention made of Managing Director Bert Sukhai; Asst to the Managing Director, Autamaram Lakeram; Finance Controller Fitzroy Mc Leod; Human Resources Manager Michelle Majors, and Jamie Shultz.