Caribbean L 8 ife, Jan. 31-Feb. 6, 2020
Garnes Byron (fourth from left) receives plaque from SVG Ex-Teachers Association
of New York,Inc, fl anked by Byron’s wife, Kerry-Ann (to his right).
Others in photo, from left: Consul General to the US, Howie Prince; Laverne
McDowald-Thompson, COSAGO president; Al Phillips, SVG Ex-Teachers
Association of New York, Inc. executive; and Jackson Farrell, president of
the SVG Ex-Teachers Association of New York, Inc. Photo by Nelson A. King
Vincy ex-teachers honor
community activist
By Nelson A. King
The Brooklyn-based St. Vincent and
the Grenadines Ex-Teachers Association
of New York, Inc. on Sunday, jan 19
honored ardent Vincentian community
activist Garnes Byron at the group’s
annual gala luncheon at Grand Prospect
Hall in Brooklyn.
Byron was the lone honoree during
the ceremony that also marked the
association’s 37th anniversary and the
commemoration of the Rev. Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr.’s birthday.
“To our honoree, Garnes Byron, you
are one of the pillars of our community,”
said Jackson Farrell, president of the St.
Vincent and the Grenadines Ex-Teachers
Association of New York, Inc. “You seem
to be everywhere and everything, as
events that affect us here in the Diaspora
or in SVG unfold.
“Thanks for everything you do in
general and for Ex-Teachers in particular,”
he added. “Sometimes, these accolades
get to our heads, and it changes
behavior. A measure of a man or woman
is accepting this and more while continuing
to be positive. You are that man.
Congratulations, you deserve this.”
Laverne McDowald-Thompson, president
of the Brooklyn-based Vincentian
umbrella organization in the US, Council
of St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Organizations, U.S.A., Inc. (COSAGO),
said she was “especially pleased to give
my most heartfelt blessings and congratulations
to your honoree, Mr. Garnes
Byron.
“You are a pillar of the community,”
McDowald-Thompson also said of Byron.
“Your continuous good deeds and your
tireless efforts in serving your community
is truly honorable.”
In accepting the award, Byron said:
“This world is a better place because of
you teachers.
“Your commitment, dedication and
determination to train and mold young
minds to be agents of change and critical
thinkers are profoundly exceptional,”
he said. “I am proud of you and your
profession.
“Even though some of you have
retired, the old saying still holds true,
‘Once a teacher always a teacher,’” he
added. “You have changed lives, developed
villages and communities. You have
built our nation and, by extension, you
are building this country we have adopted
as our home.
“You’ve been and still are role models
and mentors for many you have taught,”
Byron continued. “Thank you from the
bottom of my heart for your consideration
and thoughtfulness in choosing me
for this award.”
Byron said he has committed himself
“to be patriotic and to support in the
building and rebuilding process of SVG
(St. Vincent and the Grenadines) where
ever I can.
“The talent, gifts, abilities and resources
the good God has blessed me with,
I have determined to share and serve
unselfishly with you or any other organization
in pursuit of helping SVG and our
people,” he said. “I respectfully thank
you again for this award, and may God
Almighty continue to bless and proper
the SVG Ex-Teachers Association.”