ACCORDING to the Oxford Concise dictionary, the word perseverance means the steadfast pursuit of an objective.
Sitting in the Guyana Pegasus Hotel last Friday afternoon and listening to the emotional tributes that flowed from the various speakers at the Guyana launch of Joseph Anthony ‘Reds’ Perreira’s book entitled ‘Living my Dreams’ the attribute that comes to mind immediately is perseverance.
Head of the Caribbean Radio Broadcast Partnership (CRBP) Dr Alison Leacock in her reflections on Perreira described her first meeting with the world renowned sports commentator.
“My connection with ‘Reds’ began in the broadcast field in Barbados where even though I had heard him on the radio, I never had the opportunity to meet him in person, hence you can guess my anxiety level when he asked me to join him on a radio broadcast at a Central American and Caribbean Games meeting.
“He sought to enlighten all of us who were green broadcasters at the time, of his knowledge and passion for sports, particularly cricket. His tenacity of purpose and commitment to whatever he did, which was always 150%, coupled with the willingness to share with persons his knowledge in the field of sports broadcasting, speaks volumes of the man,” stated Leacock.
She further stated that Perreira’s book ‘Living my Dreams’ is a fitting culmination of his journey and even though he did not get the opportunity to capture all that he did in his book, he has managed to capture for the attention of the many readers his life as a sports broadcaster.
Former Commonwealth Secretary General Sir Shridath Ramphal said he missed the launch of the book in Barbados last month and had attached the word ‘importance’ in his diary for the launch in Guyana.
“I tagged it importance in a sense that even though I lived on the boundaries of the Wanderers Cricket Club in Barbados, I was not able to attend the launch there as I was in Guyana.
It was also tagged importance in a sense that ‘Reds’ is to Guyana and the Caribbean, while being a person who is well admired by many,” said Sir Shridath.
Sir Shridath, who is also a former Minister of Foreign Affairs further stated that what Perreira has demonstrated is the fact that Guyanese are capable of holding themselves among the very best in the world, while there is nothing beyond our reach.
“It’s opportunities like this which gives us the privilege to applaud ‘Reds’ Perreira for his reaching out to the world from the Pomeroon, which makes him an icon in both the Leeward and Windward Islands respectively and rightly so can be acclaimed Pomeroon’s gift to the world.
“He has a mental stamina, one that allowed him to overcome a speech impediment, something he had to do to reach the heights in the field of sports broadcasting and that alone, in itself, is a tremendous achievement.”
Touching memoirs also flowed from both Dr Ian McDonald and Retired Brigadier General Joseph Singh, with the former calling Perreira’s achievements as a sports broadcaster a remarkable and extraordinary one, as he seemed to know anything and everything in the world of sports.
“Whether it is the English Premier League in England or even the Sheffield Shield in Australia, ‘Reds’ knowledge for sports was encyclopedic, wherein he knew all that was taking place in the world of sports and I have never known anyone who loves sports more than he,” said McDonald.
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr Frank Anthony was not hesitant in stating that he has not known much about Perreira because of the generation gap, but did meet him when he ascended to the office of Minister for the first time.
“His book will help to document a bit of our sports history and that is significant about it, as very little has been documented about Guyana’s sporting history, as there is no sports archives,” stated Minister Anthony.
He continued: “Very few executives can tell you about the history of their respective sports in Guyana, but thanks to this book which speaks volumes on the history of sports in Guyana, something can be said about our history in sports and for this I wish to say a heartfelt thank you to Joseph ‘Reds’ Perreira.”
Then it was the man of the moment, Joseph Anthony ‘Reds’ Perreira’s turn to take the podium and he did so to a rousing round of applause that would have woken the devil in hell if he was taking a nap at that time.
He recounted his boyhood days in the streets of Charlestown and thanked his late father for not choosing the more high class areas such as Bel Air Park or even Campbellville, saying he would not exchange it for anything in the world.
“I have always been a broadminded person and an individual who never holds anything against anyone, irrespective of how hurtful that person or persons may have hurt me and with that, I would like to say how nice it is to sit and hear the flowing tributes which were always overwhelming and touching.
Without my Guyana experience, without the small contribution of those companies, without that humble and poor Pomeroon experience and my very beautiful upbringing to which I thank my late father for not choosing Bel Air Park or Campbellville, I would not have had the privilege to overcome a speech impediment, know the struggles of the less fortunate and stand here today to put it all into the book ‘Living my Dreams’.” stated Perreira.
He called on Katherine Atkinson a journalist from St Lucia and one of the persons who were instrumental in the publication of his book, which started in July last year after his 70th birthday and was concluded in February of this year, to read a few excerpts from same.
Master of Ceremonies and Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Guyana Cricket Board, Terry Holder, who in his own right is also a former co-worker of Perreira, back in the days of the Guyana Broadcasting Service, read a few messages from Sir Vivian Richards and Guyana’s very own Lancelot Gibbs.
The next launch of the book will take place in Toronto, Canada, on the July 26 and according to Perreira, some private sector companies in St Lucia, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago have already bought some of the books for the schools in those countries.
“It would be nice if a private sector company here in Guyana can follow suit and do the same, after all it is being sold at a cost that is reachable by all and sundry; and another thing I would like to see done is the renaming of some places in the memory of our sporting heroes.”
He identified Blairmount Community Centre ground, which he recommended be renamed the Roy Fredericks ground, while he called on billboards to be erected at strategic points in certain villages, highlighting our sportsmen and women who came from same.
Using the late Sir Frank Worrell’s home as an example, where the Barbados Tourism Authority has been renovating and making it as a tourist attraction site, Perreira called on the relevant authorities to renovate the home of Rohan Kanhai and make it an exhibition site.