KCOBA (Toronto) 36th Reunion and Awards Banquet - President's Message
Lance Seymour with Honoree Dennis Lalor
Our 36th year coincides with a significant change at our beloved alma mater, with the appointment of Jamaica College old boy Mr. Herbert “Herbie” Nelson as the new principal. This occasion marks the first time in the last decade that a principal for Kingston College has been appointed immediately following a transition period and hopefully will result in the much needed stability at the administrative level. Having spoken to Mr. Nelson, I am rather encouraged by his apparent willingness to work with the KCOBA fraternity. This augurs well for the future.
It is also important to note the recent election of Dr. Ray Fraser as the chairman of the local KCOBA chapter. Dr. Fraser has immediately reached out to the overseas chapters and has already galvanized local old boys, resulting in a number of initiatives being undertaken and completed prior to the start of the current school year. Our brothers in Atlanta have passed on their leadership to former New York Chapter President, Mr. Winston Stewart, who has a proven track record from his long stint in New York. Mr. Audley Hewett and Dr. Ivor Nugent remain the principals for the South Florida Chapter, while Mr. Robert Kelly continues in the role of President of the New York Chapter following their recent annual general meeting.
KCOBA (Toronto) is committed to working within this broad framework of stakeholders with a view to moving forward the vision of the school administration has outlined in the 5 year strategic plan.
Recap of our achievements
The highlight of 2009 for KCOBA (Toronto) is undoubtedly the $20,000 worth of brand new tools shipped to Kingston College as a result of the generous donation from the Carpenters Union of Ontario. I am particularly pleased that their Financial Secretary, Mr. Ucal Powell is present with us this evening to accept our public acknowledgement of this tremendous gift. Full credit is due to Mr. Alex “Franno” Francis, who spearheaded this project. This is the type of institutional relationship that is required to move forward the very ambitious plans outlined in the 5 year strategic plan of the school.
Six of our members, Misters Patrick Johnson, Hugh Marshall, Robert Morais, Earle Oxford, Eddie Patterson and Kingsley Young continue their financial support of the bursary established to assist deserving but needy students at the school. Once again, I use this opportunity to publicly acknowledge their generosity.
Lance Seymour honors Glen Miller at Awards Banquet
We continued our financial support of the Lunch and Breakfast Program at the school. We gladly supported the luncheon held in honour of the hard working and dedicated teachers at Kingston College. Due to their tremendous work, Kingston College emerged among the top performing high school based on the academic performances of the students in the regional examinations. We remitted our initial installment to the scholarship program recently launched with the support of all the chapters to assist the teachers to further their education and professional development. This is an excellent program and full credit is due to our brothers in South Florida, for making this vision a reality.
The York University Emerging Leadership program continued with seminars in Toronto in May and Barbados in October. Kingston College students Jahmall Bernard and Devon Duncan were able to attend the respective seminars due to our continued sponsorship of Kingston College’s participation in this important educational initiative. This is a program established by York University involving students from across Ontario and includes Jamaica and Barbados from the Caribbean. The aim is to help young people who demonstrate leadership potential achieve their goals. Of the 10 places open to Jamaica only 4 schools have participated. Hopefully, this number will increase over time as the country will ultimately benefit from the success of these young people.
Of course our quarterly “Fortis Friday” networking sessions remain highly popular. The most recent event featured my former English teacher, Ms. Rachel Manley, daughter of the late great Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley. These forums provide an opportunity for members to meet, share information about the happenings at the school and generally have a good time with the obligatory beverage and food.
The challenge ahead
At last count, approximately Jamaican $200 million is required over the next few years to implement all the projects identified in the 5 year strategic plan. Some progress has been in the area of teacher incentives with the establishment of the scholarship, mentioned earlier in this message. The focus over the next 18 months is expected to be the upgrading of the Douglas Forrest building which calls for the construction of an additional floor to the structure. This effort will likely require institutional support from overseas foundations working with the KCOBA fraternity and other stakeholders. This is a view held by several key individuals whose involvement will be critical to the success of this project.
There is likely to be some tension generated by competing priorities, the most glaring of which is the request by the management of the Kingston College Development Trust Fund (KCDTF) to raise an additional Jamaican $20 million by the end of next year. Other potential high priority projects are upgrading of the science labs and sinking of wells at both North Street and Melbourne. We will have to collectively agree on the priorities, outline a plan and stick to it.
Conclusion
On a sad note, last year President’s Award recipient and former KCOBA (Toronto) vice-president, Mr. Maurice MacDonald, passed away after a long illness. At the suggestion of Mr. Barry Huie and with the approval of the MacDonald family, I am please to announce that a scholarship in honour of Maurice has been established to support local students, who plan to pursue post secondary education and are affiliated with KCOBA (Toronto) members,
Tonight is really about celebrating our efforts, raising funds for our alma mater and affords us an opportunity to publicly acknowledge some of our own for their dedication to the cause. This year the President’s award will be given to Kingston College Old Boy, the Honourble Mr. Dennis Lalor, businessman and philanthropist. Our own KCOBA (Toronto) member, Mr. Glen Miller, attorney at law, will receive the meritorious service award. Both gentlemen are truly deserving of this recognition.
I have no doubt that the entertainment will be of the highest caliber featuring a live performance by the Arsenal Ska band which will undoubtedly take many of us down memory lane. Have an enjoyable night.
Of course, your suggestions and comments are welcome and I encourage you to contact us by e-mail at kcobatoronto@yahoo.com, or by visiting our website at the new url http://www.kcobatoronto.com and post a message and of course in person at our quarterly Fortis Friday networking gatherings.
