Government

Eleven St. Joseph Residents Receive Pride Of Barbados Honours

Voluntary service is critical to the building of any society!

This was the strong message educator Victor Grant shared with the media after receiving his Pride of Barbados Award from President of Barbados, Her Excellency, The Most Honourable Dame Sandra Mason, at State House, today.

Nine of the 11 persons on the St. Joseph We Gatherin’ 2025 Honours List were bestowed with their Pride of Barbados Awards. They are Ryan Brathwaite, Cleophas Gamble, Pastor Albert Gill, Victor Grant, Ava Griffith, Caleb Hinkson, Harold Hinkson, Ronald Mayers, and Ethelbert Maynard. Velma Stoute and diaspora awardee Sandra Taitt-Eaddy were not present.

Dame Sandra congratulated the recipients and said they deserved the accolades for their outstanding work in the community.

Mr. Grant, who spent about 40 years in the teaching service, said he felt “really happy and honoured” to have received the award. He added that he eagerly served, not expecting anything in return, but was grateful that his hard work had been recognised.

“Although I was not assigned in St Joseph, I did lessons free of cost for many of the young people in St. Joseph over the years, and when I reflect on many of their lives now, it’s really an honour and a privilege that I did it….

“One of the important things in building any society is for voluntary service to be a very important and vital part of it…. I would encourage others to serve without looking for any rewards. The rewards will come, but the important thing is the service that you give,” he underscored.

Retired nurse and midwife, Ava Griffith, who will be 66 years old tomorrow, described herself as a community person at heart, with an open-door policy. She continues to teach in the community and is involved in the St. Joseph Parish Independence Committee.

Mrs. Griffith has given selfless service over the years and was one of the first people on the scene of the Joe’s River mass casualty event, which occurred 17 years ago.

She said it was an honour to have been nominated for the award. “My door is always open; my telephone is always available to anybody in my district, and they know that,” she stressed.

Ryan Brathwaite, who was recognised for his service and upliftment of the parish through community restoration, youth, and elderly outreach, as well as unwavering support for education, sports, and culture, said he was “humbled” by the award.

“I’m 36 years old, so to be recognised at 36 for community service, I think, is a humbling experience. I just want to give God thanks and praise for all that He’s done for me and imparting me with the resources to help my community and my alma maters, and it is something that I will continue to do,” Mr. Brathwaite stated.

Caleb Hinkson, who was described as “undertaking quiet acts of kindness and compassion”, which “profoundly improved lives”, said he too was pleased and “very humbled” to receive the Pride of Barbados Award.

He said he poured his heart into assisting persons, not for recognition, but to serve his community and fellow man.

Mr. Hinkson continued: “I think I got my giving nature from my mother. She would give her last and go without so that somebody else’s need could be satisfied. So, I think, if it is one thing that I inherited from her, it is that.

“I want to say to all Barbados…just do something to help somebody. If you can do something to help somebody, then our living and our purpose here would not be in vain.” (PR/GIS)

CAPTION: President of Barbados, Her Excellency, The Most Honourable Dame Sandra Mason (sixth from right); Attorney General, Dale Marshall (sixth from left) and Director of the We Gatherin’ 2025 Secretariat, Senator John King (fifth from left), with the St. Joseph awardees (left to right) – Ryan Brathwaite; Caleb Hinkson; Cleophas Gamble; Pastor Albert Gill; Ava Griffith; Victor Grant; Ethelbert Maynard; Harold Hinkson and Ronald Mayers

Government

Attorney-At-Law Sandra Rawlins Is New Public Counsel

Attorney-at-law Sandra Rawlins is the new Public Counsel in the Office of Public Counsel, Ministry of Energy and Business.

Ms. Rawlins was appointed on promotion to the position with effect from April 15, 2025.

The new Public Counsel said she was grateful for the opportunity to serve the people of Barbados and promised to do her best along with her staff, to protect consumers’ rights and advocate for them in accordance with the law.

“My immediate plans for the organisation are to handle consumer complaints expeditiously; to have a website set up before the end of this financial year; and to continue our programme of education to consumers and suppliers,” she shared.

Prior to this appointment, she acted as Deputy Solicitor General with responsibility for Contracts and International Law, in the Solicitor General’s Chambers for about two and a half years.

Ms. Rawlins was called to the Bar in Barbados in 2006, after successfully completing the Legal Education Certificate at the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad and Tobago. She has a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Wolverhampton, United Kingdom, and a Master of Laws from the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, in Corporate and Commercial Law.

Since 2007, she stated, she “has gained valuable legal experience, including litigation”, while working in the Solicitor General’s Chambers. In 2017 and 2018, Ms. Rawlins briefly served as an acting Magistrate in the District A (Criminal Court) and District C Magistrate’s Court.

Before entering the legal profession, Ms. Rawlins was a graduate teacher at two secondary schools, having joined the Barbados Public Service in September 1984. (PR/GIS)

Government

Chad Blackman Sworn In At State House

Minister of Educational Transformation, Chad Blackman, was today sworn in as a Member of the Cabinet and Member of Parliament by The President of Barbados, Her Excellency The Most Honourable Dame Sandra Mason, at State House.

After the brief swearing-in ceremony, Dame Sandra congratulated Mr. Blackman, who is the new Member of Parliament for St. James North.

The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley; Deputy Prime Minister, Santia Bradshaw; Attorney General Dale Marshall; Senior Ministers Kerrie Symmonds and Dr. William Duguid; other ministers; and Mr. Blackman’s parents Delvin and Jacqueline Blackman, among others.

Ms. Mottley congratulated the new Minister and lauded some of his attributes. She thanked Mr. Blackman “for his extraordinary humility, commitment to people, discipline and willingness to engage persons at all levels….

“I ask only that you remain humble, … [and] committed to serving the people of Barbados”, she urged.

Additionally, the Prime Minister expressed gratitude to the Minister’s parents, saying that over the years, he had set a fine example in being committed to serving at all levels.

Ms. Mottley said a vacancy now existed in the Senate Chambers and a new Senator would be announced shortly.

Meanwhile, Mr. Blackman thanked the Prime Minister for again reposing confidence in him and allowing him to serve in the Cabinet.

He continued: “I commit to working to ensure that the country’s educational transformational journey is one that, of course, is exciting, but equally rooted in understanding where we have to go, bearing in mind the nuances that we have as a country to take into consideration, as the global community that we operate under constantly changes.

“And, therefore, we have to change and adapt to it, equally putting Bajan values and ideas to the fore because the world must benefit from the intellectual capacity that we have in Barbados.”

Mr. Blackman said he was again looking forward to serving at the ministerial level and promised to continue working on behalf of the people of Barbados. (PR/GIS)

CAPTION: Minister of Educational Transformation, Chad Blackman, is congratulated by parents Delvin and Jacqueline Blackman, at State House

Government

CHAD BLACKMAN TO BE SWORN IN TODAY

Chad Blackman is set to be sworn in on Thursday as the new Member of Parliament for St James North, following a resounding win in Wednesday’s by-election. Representing the Barbados Labour Party (BLP), Blackman captured 84 per cent of the vote.

He secured 2,723 of the 3,231 ballots cast, leaving his nearest challenger, Felicia Dujon of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP), far behind with 468 votes. Steffanie Williams of the Community Empowerment Party received 21 votes, while Alex Mitchell of the Bajan Free Party garnered seven. A total of 12 ballots were rejected.

With just over 8,500 registered voters in the constituency, the turnout stood at approximately 38 per cent.

When asked about how he felt after securing victory, Blackman said he was humbled, adding, “I see this, yes, as a victory, but now the real hard work begins. I made a lot of commitments to the people of St James North and, of course, the people of Barbados, and it’s really now to get on to the business of work.”