By Tamara King, Freelance WriterWESTERN BUREAU:
THE WESTMORELAND Parish Council last week paid tribute to 12 individuals who had given years of service to the parish and to Local Government.
The ceremony was held at the Commingle Hotel in Savanna-la-Mar on November 29, and was the last of a list of activities to mark Local Government Month.
The distinguished list of honourees included five past councillors; Stennet Young, who entered politics in 1966 and served as chairman of the Parish Council; Hibert Green who gave 21 years of unbroken service to the Parish Council; Alga MacKenzie who entered politics in 1960; Cebert Davis who entered in 1969; and Hislop B. Laing, who represented the Little London division for 13 years.
Former workers of the Council who were honoured included Mary Walker, who retired as the Inspector of the Poor in 1991; Thelma Malcolm, who gave 10 years service to the Westmore-land PC; Basil Cox who serve as Assistant Superintendent of Roads and Works; Herman Duncan, who served the Savanna-la-Mar Infirmary; and Lloyd Linton who gave 39 years to the Fire Department.
Laughton Jones was presented with a special award for maintaining the town's clock even though it was not a paid job, from as far back as the mid-50s. Mr. Jones in his response took his audience down memory lane with a warm rendition of "My Grandfather's Clock".
The Cornwall Mountain division was presented with a trophy for winning the football competition.
Guest speaker, Custos of Westmoreland, Owen Sinclair, whipped up the audience with a stirring, and philosophical speech about 'Time'. "One has to master time management if one is to be an effective leader," he noted. "Self-confidence is important, the ability to communicate well is important, but the element which really characterises an effective leader is the ability to organise and manage a number of resources including and especially time."
He invited the audience to, "Consider for a while some of our common phrases about time: It's high time. If I only had time, no time on hand, running out of time, stalling for time, Mother Nature and Father Time, if I could turn back the hands of time, time is of the essence."
In closing a speech punctuated with timely anecdotes, Mr. Sinclair reinforced the importance of time in getting things done. "As you leave here today, I am asking you to remember that time enters into efficiency in every activity. The well-organised life leaves time for planning, doing and following through; time to work, time to love, time to make life worth living. I urge you to take time out to consider my plea. I trust that your time here has been well spent," he finished to loud applause from the audience.
