Supporters, friends and members of the Willie Redhead Foundation gathered at the Radisson Beach Resort in Grand Anse on the evening of Monday November 18, 2019 to celebrate the climax of the 25th anniversary  (1994-2019 of the Foundation, and to honour those in our society who have demonstrated their awareness and significance of the built heritage by the award of a Patrimonial Plaque and an Honour Scroll to those in the wider community who have made significant contributions to national development.

To begin the event the Master of Ceremony – Mr. Cecil Edwards requested the invitees to stand and give the Foundation a hearty round of applause in achieving this milestone, despite the challenges over the years.

This was followed by the Invocation from the President – Rev. Mr. Samuel “Tim” Byam, then the playing of the National Anthem by Panist Miss Kemik DeGale, who displayed her virtuoso to the delight of the audience.  President Byam gave the welcoming remarks and expressed the “good News”, that at last after 15years at the passing of Hurricane Ivan – the debris from the damaged York House is now being removed by the Ministry of Works.

Mr. Alan Bierzynski gave the feature Address and drew attention to two salient points among other burning issues as follows:

“If our primary school students are not engaged in developing an appreciation of the built heritage and the need not to little their surroundings, it will be that much harder when they are distracted by the demands of Secondary School and the cultural penetration coming over the internet on their personal electronic devices”.

And the other – “Our tourism product …… should not ever be the subject of political differences because it just makes common sense to renovate the Public Library building on  Matthew Street and the burnt-out buildings adjoining the drill yard to be at least cleaned up and make safe for tours, and finally it appears that “something” may be happening at York House.  Is this another State secret?

There were 5 Plaque Awardees and 4 Honour Scroll recipients.  The citation for the Plaque Awardees were read by Ms. Gloria Payne-Banfield and that of the Honour Scroll recipients were read by Ms. Lorice Pascall.  Mrs Anya Chow Chung CEO of Geo. F. Huggins graciously made the Plaque presentation while Mrs Roxie McLeish-Hutchinson – Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Climate Resilience graciously made the Honour Scroll presentation, all of this proceedings ably assisted by Miss Kemik DeGale.

For the record – the five (5) plaque awardees were presented to the St. John’s Anglican Church in Gouyave, the St. Louis R.C. Girls School (Stone building) in St. George’s. The Holas Residence “Chez Nora” in St. Patrick, the Mt. Rose House of Mr. Tony Courtney in St. Patrick and Mr. Denis Mason house in St. Andrew.  The four (4) Honour Scrolls were presented to the St. George’s Community Library, the Coyaba Beach Resort landscaped gardens, Mrs Catherine John and her Chelsea Team, with  five consecutive golden awards and Mrs Jeanne Fisher for the promotion of Grenada’s History, Arts and Culture.

The Vote of Thanks by Ms. Lorice Pascall which acknowledged the support of our 3 sponsors – namely Co-op Bank, Republic Bank and Hubbards, ended the formal session.  This was followed by a presentation by the Ven, Vwei La Grenade Dance Company under the direction of Mr. Davis Thomas.  This dance company is perhaps the leading performers of GRENADA FOLK music and dance, which left us with a taste of the culture of Grenada’s latent performing arts, and a reminder of the artistic expressions of our ancestors.

The curtains came down with a standing ovation for Mrs. Jeanne Fisher who gave a short history of her arrival in Grenada from Mexico in 1955, and her immediate love for the island on her dramatic arrival via a five seater sea plane on the Carenage with the Georgian warehouses lining the water edge and the surrounding mountain and green backdrop interspersed with Grenadian Vernacular buildings – together, made a lasting impression on the visitor, now permanent resident and major contributor to the Craft Industry, the setting up of the Museum the Arts Council, and what she is most remembered for – her TIKAL ART SHOP ON Young Street in St. George’s, now the “Chocolate House”.

The Foundation wishes to thank WEE-FM for its radio recording of the event and look forward to having it exposed to the public as soon as possible.

Last but not least – the staff of the Radisson Beach Resort for the efficient and professional service provided for the successful holding of the event.

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 A  Willie Redhead Foundation Presentation                  December 9, 2019