At a simple ceremony held in the boardroom of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) yesterday, Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports club (RHTYSC) inducted its third patron.
Chairman of Farfan and Mendes Limited, June Mendes, became the third patron after former president and opposition leader, the late Hugh Desmond Hoyte (1991-2002) and businessman Peter Ramsaroop (2003-2007).
Prior to Mendes being inducted, secretary of the club Hilbert Foster made a brief statement outlining to those gathered the outlook of the club and its expectations.
“RHTYSC continues to expand on a daily basis and the pressure to make sure that everything succeed or is at the standard expected of us is something too much to bear. As we expand to new programmes, management, led by our president Keith Foster, is determined to stay the course despite the fact that every new day brings challenges, including the high cost of gears, transportation and electricity bills amongst others.
“We are quite sure that Mrs. Mendes will continue the tradition of hard work, leadership by example and discipline shown by her predecessors in this position. Over the last 12 years we have had the privilege of having Mrs. Mendes and her company as one of our main sponsors and partners and this relationship has been a very fruitful and successful one,” Foster said.
He added:“Today we are pleased to take this relationship a step further as we induct Mrs. Mendes as our third patron. Our members view her as a positive role model and someone who they can look up to as they face the problems every youth faces in Guyana including drugs, crime, teenage sex and lack of proper role models.
“In closing, I would like to say thanks to Mrs. Mendes for her co-operation and assistance to our Club over the last 12 years and we are confident that another fruitful decade of togetherness lies ahead with her as our patron,” Foster stated.
In her thank you remarks, Mendes stated that it was a pleasure to accept the position of patron of such an outstanding club in Guyana.
“I am delighted to be given such an honour, and it is a pleasure to serve in the capacity of patron of such a dynamic club in Guyana. My association with the club began way back in the 90s when I learnt of the club shortly after they were given their own ground for the purpose of promoting cricket in the town of Rose Hall in Berbice.
“Of course maintenance of the ground became an issue and they approached us at Farfan and Mendes for the donation of a brush cutter to assist… That was just the beginning of a long and rewarding relationship and we have seen this club grow by leaps and bounds since then. Their coaching clinics for youths have over the years been visited by such illustrious cricketers as Roger Harper, Carl Hooper, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Clive Lloyd and Ramnaresh Sarwan just to name a few, whilst we have been sponsoring their Under-15 team which you all have known has won many championships and produced many national players for Guyana since 1997.
“The achievements of the club have demonstrated what can be done once you are motivated to work hard to make a difference, and this club has certainly made a difference in the lives of all the youths who have been a part of it.”