President's Message

Milton Hart

STGC OBA (Ontario) 2010-2011 Executive

Happenings

Robbie Vernon

      In November, the Georgian community and indeed Jamaica suffered a huge loss in the passing of Professor Barry Chevannes, 1999 recipient of the Monsignor Gladstone Wilson Award.  A leading sociologist and anthropologist and outstanding Professor at UWI, he was a champion for the marginalized in the ghettos of Kingston.  Tributes were paid by Prime Minister, the Hon Bruce Golding, who said his death was a tremendous blow to the academic, religious and cultural Jamaican community. On November 9, Members of The Jamaica House of representatives paid special tributes to him. He has also posthumously been awarded the Order of Jamaica- the nation’s fourth highest honour, and our own school’s Knight of St.George .

     Fr. Bill Raftery S.J. died at Campion House in Boston after a fairly long illness with cancer. Known from the student’s perspective more for his quiet demeanour and movie star looks, he became a very popular campus figure in the 50’s/60’s. ICHS & Alpha- remember him?

      On November 5 2010, Keith Loundes and wife Pauline  celebrated  50 years of marriage. Keith is from the class of 1954 and remembers well John Issa, Francis Tulloch, Winston Bogues, Earl Bernard, Denzil  Lue.
Some people never find the love of their life, but for Keith and Pauline, they both say it was a brief courtship and they were married.  They are the proud parents of four wonderful children – Mitzi, Donna, Deborah and Gavi.
       In August 2010 they returned to Jamaica to renew their marriage vows.   The event was celebrated at a resort in Negril with their children and grandchildren present.  With all the family there it shows how far they have come since they left the island over 50 years ago. They now reside in Mississauga, Ontario.
       When asked about their secret to a long and successful marriage, Keith only  replied “Always say -Yes Dear!”
 

       Our Treasurer Ray Chang has been selected as Outstanding Philanthropist of the year by the Greater Toronto Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). This award recognizes an individual that has demonstrated outstanding civic and philanthropic leadership through a proven record of exceptional generosity and financial support.  Ray was nominated jointly by Ryerson University and CAMH and the nomination was supported by several other institutions including the ROM Governors.  He will receive the award at the AFP’s annual Philanthropy Awards Luncheon on Thursday, December 2nd.
        Congrats, Ray. The AFP says that his generous gift last year enabled them to create two new funds; The G. Raymond Chang Accessibility Fund and the G. Raymond Chang Children’s Education & Family Programming Fund in support of wide reaching projects in accessibility, programming and education.
 

         Also in the news was our newest Director, energetic Gary Thompson, who was the winner of the Regional Municipality of York’s Police Services Board 2010 Award for Civic Leadership.

            The board recognized his commitment to community service and safety as well as volunteer work.

          In addition to duties on our Board Gary holds several positions. He is the chairperson of the Police/Community advisory council in York Region; was a co- founder of the Thornhill African Caribbean Canadian Association and is involved with Vaughan’s diversity committee and the United Way.

In an interview for York Region news Gary remarked on the influence of his community-minded parents and Roman Catholic grounding which instilled in him a strong sense of social justice.

Gary opined that Police in a modern community, such as York Region, should not exclusively function in a "guns-blazing, sirens-wailing" traditional law enforcement role, he says. Rather, police should assist in community development through dialogue. He believes the need for law enforcement will never be eliminated, but points to the celebration by York police of Black History Month and the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination as unique.

       Most of us by now all know that Yendi Phillips was 1st Runner Up in the Miss Universe contest, creating history as the highest ever finish by a Jamaican in that contest.  Yendi is the niece of our own Herb Phillipps jr.

        There was a huge turnout in Streetsville for the book launch of a collection of short stories by Peta-Gaye Nash, wife of our secretary Dominique Nash.  Peta-Gaye read selections from her stories. There is an obvious connection to interesting real life experiences in Jamaica and Canada, and some will no doubt relate to some of these - I know I did.  Once started on the stories, I couldn’t put the book down and both Heather and grandma had the same experience - Go grab a copy.

           Got an update from Bill & Jeannie Look-Hong on their daughter Nicole, who was our StGC Ontario 2002 scholarship winner. Bill says she has always treasured that scholarship award.

            After completing her B.Sc. degree at Queen’s University on a chancellor’s scholarship, she went on to complete her M.D. degree with honours at the University of Toronto, and deciding to pursue a career in General Surgery did her residency at the University of Toronto. During this residency program, she took advantage of an opportunity to complete a master’s degree in Clinical Epidemiology and did her thesis researching cancer statistics in the Province of Ontario.  She has now completed her Surgical Residency and was recently successful in the Board’s examination which allows her to use the designation of a certified General Surgeon, i.e.  Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada (F.R.C.S.C)

         Nicole’s interest in cancer surgery has now taken her to Boston, as Harvard Medical School has offered her a Clinical Fellowship for the next two years in Surgical Oncology.  During this period, she will be involved in both teaching of medical students and residents along with honing her surgical skills focussing on the surgical treatment and management of malignant disorders.

        Nicole’s plans, following this additional period of training, are to return to Ontario to practice and serve the community.

       On most Fridays our Care Committee Director Pat Ferguson (Uncle P) selects a West Indian restaurant and gets together in the Scarborough area of Toronto with other old boys over lunch. A great way to keep in touch, a great opportunity to “shoot the breeze” with some wonderful guys in a very informal atmosphere.  Sometimes the wives join the boys. The regulars are  Uncle P, Mike Brandon, Skedron, and Lloyd Chung. This has been going on for years and when able I meander over from the west end of the city. Many  StGC visitors to Canada now know to make it their first order of business  to contact Uncle P at: 905-837-9442 or Pat Smith (Skedron) at 416-292-6423 to find out  “Wa Ah Gwan” and join in on the Friday session. On October 1st Msgr. George Bardowell  was in town and joined the group. 

Front L-R: Patrick (Skedron) Smith,,Robbie Vernon, Derrick(Mello)Melvin, Michael Brandon,
Back L-R: Francis Cooke, Lloyd Chung, Peter Hitchins, Pat Ferguson(Uncle P)

         Heather and I had lunch with Barbara Burke in that pretty little garden town of St. Catharine’s in the Niagara Falls area.  It’s been  ten months since Archbishop Lawrence Burke S.J.  died in Kingston, Jamaica and my last recollection of Barbara  was her tearful reflection at the memorial service for her beloved brother  in Toronto on March 24th. Hadn’t seen her or sister Madge since.

         Archbishop Burke was very close to his three sisters;  Madge, Barbara and Cynthia  and in his later years in visits to Toronto and gatherings with the old boys; often at Ray and Donette Chang’s, Madge and Barbara were always there. They were too a part of our St. George’s family.

          Barbara was in good spirits - flying to Bermuda the following day and updated us on Madge and Cynthia who were all fine.

         She  guided us into the special reflection nook  in the basement housing Archbishop Burke’s Mitre, His Order of Jamaica, Knight of St. George medallion and other personal religious  effects. You could see that she was in there often. We discussed the Lawrence Burke building, a fitting memorial to this outstanding Georgian and Jamaican.  Fellows, we have to get the job done.

Below the historic reinstalled gate: Lennox Robinson & Anthony Hill.

At KC fundraiser: Front L-R: Georgie & Fred Kennedy, Robbie & Heather Vernon
Back L-R: Danny HoLung, Charmaine Chin, Jo Jo Ho Lung, Chris Chin

        Georgians crop up everywhere and on a recent visit to Washington, D.C.  ran into Joe Henry, who remembers Uncle P (Pat Ferguson)- He went to StGC in the early to mid 40’s. Joe lives in Crofton, Maryland with his lovely wife Marcel, and had fond memories of StGC and his mentor Fr. Denis Cruchley - that we share in common, as Fr.Cruchley was a big influence on my life at Holy Cross parish in the 50’s when he was in charge of the altar boys.

          With the success of our Chapter’s fundraising endeavours we were able once again to make our annual donation of Cdn$20,000 to the school.  We had originally committed to raising and sending down  $10,000 per  year but with our successes have increased this to the $20,000 level for the past few years. Our Thanks to our Board and members who work so hard to ensure the success of our fundraising efforts for the school. In these tough economic times, everyone feels the pinch, but more so in Jamaica and especially the schools and every Canadian dollar sent goes a very long way. Our liaison Director, Carl Chang, made the presentation on our behalf on November 12th  at the school’s Prize giving Event. Carl, himself, was given a special Award for his work on building repairs and maintenance. Also receiving Awards at this exercise were Tony Wong, Lennox Robinson, Richard Lake and Lloyd Tenn for their  assistance to the Manning team.

      Yes, the school needs all the help it can get and here Principal Margaret Campbell is elated as she receives another cheque - this time from former Ontario Director Francis Cooke who made a special trip to Jamaica and the school, where he was given a guided tour by our Liaison Director Carl Chang. Francis with his generous donation has now become the latest Knight of St.George and urges all to give back to the school. “Every mikkle mek a mukkle” they say and money is always welcome but so is time and effort and this is just as valued and needed. Francis exhorts all to make an effort to visit the school- this is great encouragement to the students who are given a glimpse of where others have gone before them and the fact that they witness them coming back to the source of their success has an impact on their psyches that is immeasurable.

        Great late breaking news - The Old Boys' Assoc. Florida Chapter donated US$10,000 to the Archbishop Burke building and 20 laptops to the school.

          Florida Pres. Trevor Palmer made the presentation in Jamaica on Friday Nov 26th and later that same day  was surprised by the Jamaica Old boys at their Christmas luncheon with a special cake in honour of his birthday.

          Trevor’s message: The Florida Chapter looks forward to working with the other chapters and the school in completing meaningful projects that will return our Alma Mater to the "Oxford" of high schools in Jamaica .

          Sentiments shared by us all, Trevor. 

The School Needs Your Help!