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St. George's College
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Good & True ...issue# 52... June, 2008
Greetings Fellow Georgians, Friends and well-wishers. How time flies! Two years ago, I committed to pledging my time and efforts to serve as the next President of this illustrious Association and we are already into year one. Thanks to the Board for their support and vote of confidence in guiding me to this role. Thanks too to the several new directors, Neville (Tony) McDowell, Greg Chin, Francis Cooke, Carl Chang and Victor Morgan who have joined the Board to make their voices heard and play their part in guiding the Association to new heights. Special thanks to our non- returning Board members Fred Russell, Charles Young, Patrick Lee, and that work horse for our association Michael (Buski) Charley.
We know we can continue to rely
on their support. And where would we be without the returning Directors, which
includes past presidents Robbie Vernon and Danny Ho Lung, Ray Chang, our
Treasurer and just about everything else, Regional V.P.'S Patrick Haddad,
Richard Saunders, Tyrone Holbrooke, and other directors John Flynn,
Patrick Garel, Dominique Nash, Pat Ferguson (Uncle P) as well as our newly
elected 1st VP and President Elect Milton Hart. This is a formidable
force and they have all recommitted themselves to give of their time and efforts
to ensure continuity from one administration to another. Thank you all
gentlemen! To reach our goal, we need your continued support! Attend our Annual Fundraiser, this year scheduled for August 1st, and bring your friends and neighbours as well. They will thank you for a great time and you will have done your part in assisting us to reach our goal. Make a tax-deductible donation … contact any member of the Board to do this…see contact details elsewhere on this page. Submit your membership dues. All these go a long way in helping us to reach our goal.
Our first event for the year was our Family Dinner held on March 29th. We were blessed with the presence of the current Head Boy of StGC, Brian McCalla who brought greetings from the school and provided an update on the happenings at the school from a student's point of view. Impressive! If Brian represents the calibre of graduates that the school is now producing, then there is much hope for the school and Jamaica. On May 3rd, I had the pleasure of attending the Florida Chapter's Fundraising Dance in Ft. Lauderdale and what an event it was! Met up with my fellow Association Presidents, Trevor Palmer (Florida) and Courtney Currie (Jamaica) as well as Principal, Margaret Campbell and newly appointed Advancement Director, Jacqueline Clarke. Got to see fellow classmate Andrew Forrester too, thanks to Donovan Yapp. Hadn't see him in 32 years … we hardly recognized each other! A very special person to Georgians and especially to our Ontario Chapter, Archbishop Lawrence Burke retired on April 12, 2008 (see Part 2). We wish him all the best and look forward to seeing more of him on his Toronto visits. Let me end by wishing you all a great 2008 and see you at our Ball on August 1st! Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
Christopher Chin
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St. George's College
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Many Georgians were out in support at the Alpha Spring Luncheon on Sunday May 4th and no doubt to hear the dynamic guest speaker Mrs. Jean Lowrie- Chin, JP, BA (Hons), MA, who also sits on the St. George’s Board. Her talk touched on the youth problems in Jamaica and particularly the recent violence among high school students. Danny HoLung and I had a chance to chat with her after and she was full of praise for the leadership of Margaret Campbell at St.George's - it's not an easy job.
Just got word from Michael Davidson who visited him there, that Fr. Quinlan was in hospital with pneumonia. Fr.Q is back out now and I spoke to him on June 3rd. "At 92.6, I am on the way out,” he kept saying, not with any sadness but as if reflecting that at this age, time was not in his favour. I assured him of our love and best wishes for his health. He seemed pleased and upbeat about the call and asked to pass on big thanks for all the Ontario Old Boys had done over the years. Many will remember our historic "Thank You" visit to them in 1997. It remains one of the most memorable experiences of my life : most who were there expressed the same view. Fr. Q sent along this picture of a visit from the Richards family on Martin Luther King's Birthday holiday on Jan 21st. The troops rallied around him and the other Jesuits. Nice to see beloved Fr. Jim Hosie in the group and seems like they got a real Jamaica treat. Look at what he's holding - good ole "Red Stripe".
Nice chatting to Dwight Campbell, one of our earliest members and supporters in Prince George, B.C. Dwight dropped off the radar, when for a while, he was coping with prolonged illnesses. So pleased to get back in touch. He was most appreciative of the communication and interest shown from the Ontario Old Boys. Kudos to our Care Committee Director, Uncle P, whom he said was always a phone call away. Dwight, keep up the good fight, my friend, and keep in touch with us.
A founding member of our Ontario chapter, Pat Ferguson (Uncle P), has been on the Board since inception in 1985. As our Care Committee Director, he keeps in touch with members on our behalf, and his words and cards, sharing in the grief, illnesses, and special events of members, have helped to keep us as a diasporic community close together over the years. No wonder then that so many of his fellow directors and friends joined him to celebrate his 75th Birthday which took place on April 10th. Well done, Uncle P. We wish you many more years of happiness. Continue to do what you do so well- "care about others".
OUR NEW WEB DESIGN Have you seen our new web design? Check it out at stgctoronto.com. It has many new features, including online membership applications and photo exhibits of important events. Kudos to Buski Charley, who has put in enormous hours on this and in getting the newsletter on the web as well - the compliments are just flying in. Buski and Greg Chin helped out also on the new Alpha Florida website, and are they pleased? Check it out on jaweb2.com. What a pair of Georgians! You guys are something else. But then you are Georgians. Some comments on our website: "The photo gallery is awesome. The upload time was quick. I am telling you - the StGC Toronto website is the best I have seen so far." "Hey Mon, How long did it take you to do all this? It is great to see all those pictures. Did not know the campus was in such excellent condition. Looks out of this world, I tell you."
Also great for me to catch up with Clem McCalla who was visiting family in Toronto on the May 29th weekend. He resides in New Jersey. Clem was the Jamaica Scholar from 6th form at StGC and went on to obtain a BA in Mathematics from Cambridge University and a PhD in Applied Maths from MIT. Turned out to be quite a George's connection and we got an update on Patrick Terrelonge from his sister Martina and her son Robert.
Robbie Vernon
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