THREE outstanding Berbicians with outstanding careers in the field of Education, Sports and Community Development were awarded with Ansa McAl Award of Excellence. Margaret Ann Fingal-Beaton, Kawalpattie Dayaram and Desiree Lancaster were presented with their awards recently by the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC). Secretary/CEO of the club, Hilbert Foster, remarked that the honorees were modern-day heroes. “Heroes must be honoured in their lifetime, so that they can be aware of how cherished they are to the people whose lives they had an impact on”. He indicated that those persons should carry on in the same vein as they did before the awards and come to the aid of those in need.
Director of Sport Christopher Jones and Minister of Education both congratulated the Awardees on being honoured and expressed gratitude to them for their contributions to Guyana. Dr Roopnarine stated that too many Guyanese leave our country when we need them to play a part in our development. The Minister also saluted the work of the RHTY&SC and its parent body, the St Francis Community Developers, describing both organisations as role models.
Awardee Margaret Ann Fingal-Beaton expressed gratitude to the RHTY&SC and Ansa McAl for honouring her and her colleagues. She stated that the awardees felt privileged to be honoured for their contributions to the development of Guyana. Beaton also praised the outstanding work of the (RHTY&SC), calling it a blessing to the township of Rose Hall Town and the County of Berbice.
Fingal-Beaton had a highly successful career as a teacher and reached the position of Assistant Regional Education Officer before her retirement while Dayaram has served residents of the Canje area in her capacity as President of the East Canje Humanitarian Society, a non-profit, non-religious social organisation, whose aim is to make a positive difference in the lives of the less fortunate. Desiree Lancaster, a nine-time national table tennis champion was honoured for an outstanding career in sports and as a role model/mentor to young Berbicians as a Certified Level One coach.
Each of the awardees was selected by a panel of judges headed by veteran Berbice journalist Gregory Rambarran. Members of the public were invited to submit nominations and the club received a total of 24 under the three sub-headings.
Each awardee received a medal, a certificate of excellence, a trophy and a special Ansa McAl hamper.