National Investiture Ceremony (flyline) …Guyana awards citizens of “distinction”
National Awards 5: City Mayor Hamilton Green receiving the Order of Roraima from President David Granger
National Awards 5: City Mayor Hamilton Green receiving the Order of Roraima from President David Granger

 

CITY Mayor Hamilton Green; Historian Sister Mary Noel Menezes; and former Chief Parliamentary Counsel, Brynmor Pollard, led the list of fifty-two national awardees yesterday when the National Investiture Ceremony returned to this country after a four-year hiatus.

The abovementioned persons were bestowed with the country’s second highest award, while the late Burnell Lancelot Thomas, Olga Bone and Wordsworth Mc Andrew were honoured posthumously at the gala event held at the National Cultural Centre.

President David Granger, in brief remarks, said the awardees have served Guyana loyally and are most deserving. National awards, he said, established some 45 years ago, are a symbol of nationhood. “They are the greatest gift that a grateful nation can offer to its best citizens. They express the esteem of our people,” the President stated. He added that national awards, like the National Anthem, flag and monuments, are ordained by the constitution and “must not be devalued.”

“This congregation must not be disparaged. This ceremony must not be disregarded or belittled. These awards must not be conferred capriciously or irregularly,” said President Granger, who spoke before an almost packed National Cultural Centre. National awards, the President added, “constitute an important institution of the state.”

“It is our constitutional obligation unfailingly to discharge this duty to our deserving citizens. We vow to come here to this national centre every year to pay respect to those to whom respect is due. We are the trustees of the traditions which sustain society.”

The President said that recognising the work of deserving Guyanese is a “culture of good governance”. “That is the culture of a good society. That is the culture of a good life,” the President, who is Chancellor of the Orders of Guyana, said. “You have been inducted today into an elite corps of eminent citizens. You are the cynosure of admiration, emulation and inspiration to the nation, particularly to young Guyanese,” said the President, as he encouraged the awardees to let their light shine.

Acknowledging that national awards can be no more than tokens, Granger told the awardees that their awards cannot “calculate the value of your contributions. They cannot measure the magnitude of the selflessness of your service, for which you have been recognised. They are a reflection of the respect and reverence of a grateful nation. We know that you have toiled in obscurity, sometimes with great exertion and at personal expense, usually without reward, and in most cases over a long period of time,” he added.

The Chancellor of Orders congratulated the many awardees for distinguishing themselves in their respective fields. “We applaud your accomplishments in your diverse fields – academia, business, charitable and community work, engineering, the economy, medicine, public service, religion, sports, teaching, the defence and security services, and other fields of enterprise and endeavour.”

Stressing the importance of recognising and appreciating the work of Guyanese who have paved the way for others to follow, President Granger said, “Your commitment to the public good deserves requital. Your dedication to the improvement of your professional calling, your community and your country is appreciated and has been acknowledged. Guyana congratulates you on your achievement.”

Granger added that the ceremony ought to be an occasion for national celebration, commendation and congratulation. “Let this not be an opportunity for boorishness, small-mindedness and ill-tempered peevishness. Guyana encourages you to continue, through precept and example, to serve your country,” he added.

Lasting mementos
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Advisory Council of the Orders of Guyana, Chancellor of the Judiciary, Carl Singh, said the awards “constitute lasting mementos and achievement by men and women of our country, whose love and loyalty to country, patriotism, discipline, and dedication to duty earned them recognition”. Singh said, “Every Guyanese should strive to emulate the contributions of each awardee for the good of the country. We warmly congratulate today’s recipients, and wish them continued success in their various fields of endeavor.”

Singh reminded that it was important to remember those who were conferred with national awards in the past but have died since that last Investiture Ceremony.

None of the 52 awardees received the country’s highest award, the Order of Excellence of Guyana.

The Cacique Crown of Honour was awarded to Edith Myrtle Bynoe, Oscar Clarke, Yvonne Veronica Harewood-Benn, Clifton Mortimer Llewellyn John, Apostle Winston Franklin Mc Gowan, AA; Eshwar Vevakanand Persaud, AA; Supriya Singh-Bodden, Donald Ashley Bevil Trotman, and Apostle Elsworth Quintel Williams.

Meanwhile, Edgar Wrensford Adams, Ivor Allen, Jeanne Sharon Amelia Atkinson, Basil Brentnol Blackman, Paulette Euranie Bynoe, Mitzy Gaynor Campbell, Malcolm Gregory Chan-A-Sue, MS; Ivor Winston Crandon, Doreen Patricia Duncan, Fazil Shahibdeen Ibrahim Hakh, Maurice Berthwinsdel Henry, Sherlock Ewart Isaacs, Leila Jagdeo, Jean Benedicta Imelda La Rose, Dr. Paloma Ramona Frances Mohamed, Prince Albert Pompey, Evan Brewster Bridgewater Semple, Gwendolyn Agatha Tross and Maurice Wilfred Veecock were all awarded the Golden Arrow of Achievement.

The Medal of Service was awarded to Mabel Baveghems, Gordon Alphonso Chase, Roylance Patricia David, Jaitun Haniff-Persaud, Noshella Lalckecharan, Godfrey Emerson Marshall, Sheik Shakur Niamatali, Dionysia Nieuenkerk, Amrita Thomas and Burnell Lancelot Thomas.

Brigadier Mark Phillips, Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force, was the lone recipient of the Military Service Star, while the Military Service Medal was awarded to Colonel Wilbert Arlington Lee (rtd.) and to Lieutenant Colonel Walter Leyland Francis Morris(rtd.).

The Disciplined Services Medal, award for meritorious service, was bestowed on Carol Audrey Lewis-Primo, David Kenneth Ramnarine, Carl Vonludwig Grahame, Welton Cuthbert Trotz, Desiree Floretta DeSantos-Moore and Peter Wilson.

The Orders of Guyana were first made in 1970.

Delano Williams Photos
By Ariana Gordon

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