THE body of fallen business icon, Mrs. Allison Butters-Grant was on Tuesday given a hero’s farewell, beginning with a moving Thanks Giving Service at the St. Phillips Church, Smyth Street, Work-en-Rust, after which it was taken to the Memorial Gardens, Le Repentir Cemetery for cremation.

Mrs. Butters died on January 13, in the United States of America after a prolonged battle with a terminal illness. She was 53.

Grant was Chief Executive Officer of Global Sea Food Distributors, a sea- food processing and packaging entity for local distribution as well as export to the Caribbean and the USA. The facility, founded by Mrs. Grant some four years ago, is located at West Ruimveldt.

There were many glowing tributes in her honour both at a Night of Reflection held at the Malteenoes Sports Club on Sunday, as well as at the Church where hundreds congregated to join the bereaved family members in paying their last respects.

Among those offering tributes were Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence, who also offered words of support and condolences on behalf of His Excellency, President David Granger; President of the African Cultural Development Association (ACDA), Eric Phillips; and Ramesh Dookhoo of the Guyana Manufacturing Services. Representatives of the Guyana Association of Trawlers and Seafoods Processors; the Private Sector Commission; St. Roses High School Board of Governors. A letter of condolence from a Congressman of East Orange, USA, to which Grant was affiliated prior to re-migrating to Guyana from the USA, was also read .
Minister Lawrence stated that the President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and Leader of the PNCR, David Arthur Granger, was saddened by Allison’s passing. Said Minister Lawrence: “President Granger has asked that I publicly express his admiration and respect for her sterling attributes of service to country, spirit of entrepreneurship and foresight that characterised her vivacious personality.”

He went on: “Allison will be remembered and respected as a female entrepreneur and trailblazer, whose business is entirely in keeping with government’s food security policy… our country is all the poorer for the demise of this strategist whose enthusiasm, energy and selflessness transformed the family business into a thriving business entity, and in so doing, helped to take Guyana’s seafood industry into a remarkably high plateau.

“Global Sea Food Distributors Limited has become a well-known and much talked about enterprise, thanks to Allison’s initiatives and matchless entrepreneurial skills,” the head of state concluded.

And for her part, the public health minister opined: “I am certain that in developing this business career, Allison would have encountered challenges of different proportions, but yet she pressed on… no challenge was too great for her to overcome; no defeat could dampen her creativity and self-esteem; her will and resolve to achieve great heights and to place her country on a sound economic pedestal in the sphere of the seafood industry.”

Meanwhile, Minister Lawrence, in quoting former US President John F. Kennedy, who in his inaugural address, said ‘Ask not what your country can do for you … ask what you can do for your country’, observed that Allison’s awesome love for Guyana and absolute commitment to country lived this mantra. Despite what she achieved while living in East Orange, New Jersey, USA, her passion for the fishing industry and the Guyanese culture never waned.”

Coming from a background where her parents in Charlestown, Guyana were owners of fishing trawlers, gold mining and farms, she was ideally poised to venture out into the seafood processing and distribution industry.

Described as a hero, always bringing out the best in persons, she used this venture, not with self in mind, but as an opportunity to assist in the development of small fisherfolk from whom she made purchases. “She left her home in America to assist in the development of Guyana, and has turned out to be a major driving force in the fishing industry in Guyana,” one contributor said.

During the tributes, Grant was eulogised as a phenomenal woman; a business icon and entrepreneur; a person with lots of energy and drive beyond comprehension; and an avid lover of young people, which naturally led to her starting the Victoria Youth Development Organisation.
She was also instrumental in the development of the Victoria Fishing Industry and lead personality in the African Business Round Table. She was remembered as being always positive, always on the go.

Beyond her entrepreneurial spirit, the Obituary read, Allison also served in various capacities within several organisations in the USA and Guyana. She was Commissioner on the Zoning Board of East Orange and Orange; board member of the Caribbean American Business Association (CABA), member of the Caribbean Medical Mission and the Guyana Medical Mission; and member of the East Orange Chamber of Commerce and the Guyana American Heritage Foundation which she co-founded. Meanwhile, in Guyana, she was a member of the University of Guyana Council; Member of the African Business Round Table; the Guyana Chamber of Commerce and Industry; the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association; and the Guyana Women Miners’ Association.

Allison Butters-Grant has made sterling contributions to both the local and international arena. Her favourite quote to her children was: “The sky is the limit” and she lived this throughout her life. Nothing was too daunting for her to accomplish. Allison was an inspiration to many and she has left a legacy that can be upheld and admired by all.

Allison Butters-Grant leaves to mourn her husband, Kerwin Grant; daughters: Tiffany Sobers-Smith and Tricina Sobers; son-in-law Sherwin Smith; sister-in-law Simone Butters; grandmother Declan Sobers and many others.