PM lauds Harvard Club at its diamond anniversary

Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley lauded the efforts of the management and members of The Harvard Club, while addressing them at the club’s 75th anniversary celebration held in St. Clair on Saturday.

Dr. Rowley described the club as an institution in TT, having honed in on the skills of thousands of youths over the years, some going on to become international and national athletes. Speaking off the cuff, he also commended the club for opening up its membership to females stating that any great institution must include people of all genders, race, colour and creed.

Dr. Rowley also divulged that had he contemplated joining the club as a young man and had he done so he would have been a member for the past 48 years. But as it is today, he recognises all the various facets of the club and deemed that The Harvard Club could be a good service club in terms of national building, and praised all the club has done in the last 75 years, acknowledging too that it never sought government subventions to attain their goals.

In his welcome remarks, Andre John, club president said words could not express his emotions as he welcomed invited guests that included sports minister Shamfa Cudjoe and Port of Spain mayor Joel Martinez, and members to the 75th anniversary celebration of The Harvard club.

He said: “Anniversaries of long standing organisations are cherished moments. Our club was founded in 1943 by three individuals whose main focus at the time was cricket. Now we have a membership of approximately 500 and we have expanded our horizons, now including many more sports: Cricket, soccer, basketball, table tennis, hockey and rugby.

“We have also ventured into the cultural field, with our steel band, the Harvard Harps and on most evenings members gather in our club house to enjoy each other’s company. “The history of our club clearly shows that our loyal and dedicated members give sacrificially of their time to encourage and develop the youth of this nation.”

Aspiring to serve faithfully, John said 75 years is a long time for an organisation to be continually effective, but club members can be justly proud of many of their achievements to date.