THE 2017 Investiture Ceremony will take place on Friday, October 6, at the National Cultural Centre (NCC) where 69 Guyanese men and women would be honoured for their sterling contributions to this country in various fields.
For their yeoman service, the awardees will be invested with the insignia of their awards by President David Granger. The ceremony is slated to commence at 16:00hrs. In order to familiarise recipients of the awards with the procedures involved, the Ministry of the Presidency has invited the awardees to attend rehearsals at the National Cultural Centre at 17:00hrs on Wednesday and Thursday.

Thirty one women are among those who will be conferred with national awards. Heading the list of 69 awardees is acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, Madame Yonette Decina Cummings-Edwards, who has been recognised with the Order of Roraima. Madame Justice Edwards, who boasts an illustrious legal career that commenced in 1988, was sworn in to her current post on March 28, 2017.
She served as a judge on the Court of Appeal of Guyana for several years, and is now the second woman to be appointed to the position of acting Chancellor of the Judiciary. The Acting Chief Justice, Madame Alison Roxane George Wiltshire, was admitted to the Bar in October 1990, for service as a Senior State Counsel and subsequently held positions of Assistant Director of Public Prosecution, Deputy Director of Public Prosecution and Director of Public Prosecution. She has been named among the recipients for the Cacique Crown of Honour, along with Secretary General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Ambassador Irwin La Rocque.

Environmental activist and pilot, Annette Arjoon-MartinS, who has been a driving force in marine conservation and mangrove replanting projects, has been named as a recipient of the Golden Arrow of Achievement, alongside Secretary General of the Guyana Red Cross Society, Dorothy Fraser. Among the other female awardees are Chief Librarian of the University of Guyana, Gwyneth George; veteran journalist Julia Ann Johnson; General Secretary of the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) Coretta McDonald; veterinarian, Dr. Karen Pilgrim and veteran educator Gem Ann Rohlehr.
Meanwhile, veteran journalists, Enrico Woolford and Adam Harris; artist and sculptor, Winslow Marcellous Craig; and Human Resources Management and Organisational Development Specialist, Sandra Jones are among the recipients for the Arrow of Achievement.

Meanwhile, among the recipients who will be conferred with the Medal of Service are businessman Patrick Nigel de Groot, Camille Patricia Carrington and George Barclay, a Guyana Chronicle journalist with more than 50 years of service in the field of journalism.
President David Granger has said that the conferring of national awards is recognised as a mechanism, provided under the Constitution of Guyana, to give due national recognition to outstanding citizens. The regular conferral of national awards is a commitment made by President Granger.