… CEO asks administrators to focus on job ahead
FORMER President of the United States of America, the late Ronald Walter Reagan, in predicting the future of his country once said, “If you think you have seen it all, you ain’t see anything yet.”
Yesterday in the canteen of Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T), Secretary/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTYSC) and 2009 National Male Sports Personality, Hilbert Foster, used same in his speech to launch his club’s 11th annual magazine.
According to Foster, the St Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Youth Club as part of its outreach programme, formed the RHTYSC to offer sports, culture and education as an alternative to youths, following which the club went on to lose their first 17 cricket matches to become the laughing stock to the more established clubs.
Twenty years later, the club developed to be the leading youth and sports organisation in Guyana with an unmatched list of activities and achievements beyond their wildest dreams.
“I was one of the founders of the club, serving in the position of Public Relations Officer (PRO) at 21 years old. Today I stand before you as the Secretary/CEO proud of what we have achieved over the past two decades and at times I have to pinch myself to make sure it is not a dream.
We were able to reach the top of the field thanks to hard work, honesty, commitment, faith in the God we serve, belief in the work we do, visionary leadership, forward planning and sticking to each other’s side in season and out of season,” stated Foster.
He added; “Ours is a story that would be talked about long after we have left Mother Earth and as we celebrate our 20th anniversary, we are proud of the fact that we have organised over 1 800 different programmes and projects, touching the lives of thousands of youths, the elderly and less fortunate.
What we do as a club in one week, most organisations do in a year and today the RHTYSC undertook over 150 projects per year.”
Among some of the achievements for the club over the past 20 years are five national senior players, 19 junior national players, three junior national captains, one female national captain and four senior female players.
The restoration of the Lower Corentyne Secondary School and the Area ‘H’ ground to a total value of G$19M, the publication of 14 magazines and booklets over the past 10 years, the producing of a West Indies limited-overs player in Royston Crandon, an ‘A’ team player in Assad Fudadin, one Sixes player and three female West Indies cricketers also form part of the club’s achievements.
The list continues with 14 cricket academies for over 800 youth cricketers, 150 television programmes, seven educational camps, 19 annual awards ceremony, the distribution of 30 000 warm meals, over 800 feeding programmes, along with the donation of clothing and footwear, sports gear, educational and hygiene kits and food items to the value of $110M.
“RHTYSC’s list of achievements can go on, but time does not allow it and we are very proud of our activities to date, but we are fully aware that a lot more has to be done, as everyday youths are tempted by Satan and this evil world, while poverty continues to stalk our land,” said Foster.
A list of activities numbering 20 in total will be hosted by the club from August 15 to October 30, to mark their historic anniversary, along with the launching of the magazine which was made possible through the kind courtesy of several sponsors including GT&T who, through its Cellink brand of products, have agreed to sponsor 50% of the cost to print and publish the 48-page magazine.
Foster’s audience which included Wystan Robertson and Terry Holder of GT&T, Marketing Officer of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Ramsay Ali, vice-president of the GCB Bissoondyal Singh, former secretary of GCB Bishwa Panday and former West Indies all-rounder Roger Harper were all privy to hear the list of sponsors who contributed to the development of his club.
These included GT&T, GCB, Republic Bank, Sterling Products Limited, Metro, Ricks and Sari, Farfan and Mendes, H A Snacks, Bakewell, NAMILCO, Trophy Stall (Bourda Market), Impressions, New GPC Inc and F&H Printery, the printers and publishers of all the club’s magazines.
He (Foster) was high in praise for GT&T who over the years have invested millions of dollars into the club, something both Holder and Robertson said were worthy investments their company had no regrets doing and will continue to do in the years ahead, while Robertson offered the club free DSL services.
Foster took the time to call on local cricket administrators to stop the internal ramblings and fighting and focus on taking Guyana’s cricket somewhere, a statement that brought a rapturous round of applause from the audience that also included former president of the Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) Alfred Mentore.
“As cricket administrators, your job is not to yourself, but to the thousands of cricketers across Guyana at all levels. It is a voluntary position and I would like to take this opportunity to call on all cricket administrators to stop the in-house fighting and ramblings that can be attributed to schoolchildren and let’s focus on putting Guyana’s cricket first so we can take it somewhere.
Do not misinterpret my statement, as I am not interested in any position on the GCB, but having read an article in one of the newspaper today (yesterday) where it was stated that Neal and Massy was withdrawing their sponsorship from the GCB for specific reasons, I think it is time we wake up and stop this foolishness,” stated Foster.
Foster said he was more inclined to focus on making RHTYSC and to an extent, Berbice cricket which he serves as Public Relations Officer and head of their Special Events Committee, rather that the GCB, something he has told numerous individuals when asked about contesting the presidency of the GCB.
Kaieteur News’ Franklyn Wilson and a cameraman from Berbice were the lone recipients of monetary awards, following their publication of RHTYSC’s press releases, while all who attended the launching received a copy of the magazine which will later be distributed to libraries, clubs, Government Agencies, members of the Diplomatic Community and NGOs free of cost.