…Dr Frank Denbow lauds rich accomplishments

By Frederick Halley

GUYANA’S Minister of Citizenship and retired Commissioner of Police, Winston Felix, was among the attendees as the Guyana Ex-Police Association of America (GEPAOA) celebrated its golden jubilee at the Grand Prospect Hall, Brooklyn, New York, last Saturday night.
The black tie affair, which also featured an awards ceremony for long-serving and founder-members attracted a wide cross-section of the Guyanese community, state officials and sister organisations.
Guest speaker, renowned Guyanese medical practitioner Dr Frank Denbow, implored members of GEPAOA to treasure and carefully record their work for posterity so that the rich culture of excellence and accomplishments can be preserved for generations yet unborn. According to Dr Denbow, the founders of the organisation “were extremely proud of the police force in Guyana and being a child of the 1960s, I can understand why I was fortunate to have as my father, Frank Denbow, who was a member of the Police Service Commission from 1965 to 1974 and as a result, I met people like Mr Carl Austin, Mr Lloyd Barker and Mr Joe Braz ,all exemplary policemen and public servants.”

Dr Denbow, who is an internist in Morristown, New Jersey, pointed out that “in those days the police force was held in the highest esteem by all and sundry, and those members who came to the United States exemplified that spirit of fairness, justice and a generosity of spirit as shown by the work they did in the early days of this organisation and continue to this day.

“You have much to be proud of and I remember the outpouring of grief and pride when hero detective Holder of the New York Police Department (NYPD) and a son of one of your own was martyred back in 2015.You have continued your stellar work in helping to uplift many of the less fortunate children in Guyana and you have rightfully taken your place in the vanguard of the fight for betterment of our lovely native land of many waters.”

GEPAOA president Leroy Charles paid homage to the founding fathers of the association, disclosing that in the coming months his body will reflect on how faithful “we have been to their vision and ideals.” He said it was a result of their tenacity that GEPAOA was born on April 16, 1967. Charles opined that many people were critical of the journey, but pointed out that “men and women of goodwill and resilience were determined to prevail, so much so, we are the proud owners of our building and bus. So as we look back to whether we have been true and faithful to the dreams of our founding fathers, we can say with pride that we have played our part.”

Charles told members of the audience that GEPAOA was able to remain a dynamic institution in a fast-changing landscape. “Some of the decisions needed for that dynamic flexibility were not without their controversy. Now we must redesign ourselves for the new challenges and opportunities that our organisation faces.”

Touching on a new 10-year strategy, Charles disclosed that it provides a sound platform. “We must constantly rethink our tools, our systems, our responses. We must be wary of providing old answers to new problems, such as how we finance our organisation. We must seize the windows of opportunity that open only once, such as the cohesion that represent all races who served in the Guyana Police Force and have migrated to these shores. Above all, we must continue to be at the centre of social and economic transformation and in the creation of fair and inclusive societies that provide opportunities for all, irrespective of their circumstances of birth.”

Alluding to the fact that GEPAOA’s mandate remains as relevant as ever, Charles reminded his members that “no organisation has a divine right to exist. Indeed, an institution like ours must count as success that day when it puts itself out of business. As the winds of change, economic change, blow across our cities, we should stand steadfast to reach those challenges…”

Awards were presented founding members, past presidents and members who achieved more than 10 years of service. Among those extending greetings to GEPAOA on the historic milestone were Deputy Consul General Jacquelyn Hamer of the Guyana Consulate, New York, the Guyana Ex-police Association of Canada, which was represented by a contingent of members, Former members of the |Guyana Police Force and the Cambridge Academy Alumni Association.

Special recognition was afforded to members of the 50th anniversary committee which comprised chairman Michael Jones, members Leila Williams, Gem Sampson, Joy Burkett, Simone Burkett, Irwin Daniels, Colin Griffith, Derrick Trotman and Albert Verwayne.