Dupres bids to steady Pan Trinbago

LAWFORD DUPRES, who is contesting the post of president in Sunday’s Pan Trinbago elections, told Newsday, “With goodwill, common sense, hard work and steady hands at the top, Pan Trinbago will succeed.”

He also feels the many good ideas out there need to be heard.

Giving an outline of the priority areas of focus in the short to medium-term for Pan Trinbago, Dupres said: “The immediate problem to be resolved is the debt of some $30 million owed by Pan Trinbago. Government must play a major role in rectifying this situation. I believe that they do recognise this responsibility. I will aim to expedite a resolution of this matter within the shortest possible time, so that outstanding funds can be made available to the players and bands well before the Panorama season.”

Dupres first worked with the national air carrier British West Indian Airways (BWIA) from 1955-1959, before studying at the University of British Columbia in Canada. As a qualified chemical engineer, he remained in Canada, working for Imperial Oil (Esso Canada) 1964-1975, then returned home to work at Trintoc/Petrotrin 1975-1998, retiring as president/managing director.

In 2000 he took up the executive director post at the Bureau of Standards (TTBS) and remained there till 2004. He also served as chairman of National Petroleum, Lake Asphalt and Panvesco.

Currently, he is chairman of the Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards (TTBS), and a director of five companies in the private sector and the Rotary Club of Port of Spain.

Dupres said: “Pan Trinbago’s financial records and operational processes must be brought into line with good business practices as a matter of extreme urgency.

"My commitment to transparency and integrity in the management of Pan Trinbago’s affairs will drive this effort. With the assistance of the elected executive team, including the government appointed auditors, Pan Trinbago can emerge from the clouds of suspicion and mistrust that currently impair its public image and the confidence of its members. When this is achieved, support from the corporate sector will improve.”

He added that there are many opportunities for Pan Trinbago to enhance its revenue-earning capacity, some of which are not new. Dupres said special focus must be placed on bringing these into implementation in order to graduate the organisation from its current state of dependency into one of financial robustness.

“Much work is required to achieve a national vision for the future of Pan Trinbago that can not only attract the resources needed to move the organisation to a higher level of internal performance, but can catalyse the penetration of local bands into the international marketplace. More particularly, several inhibiting factors including instrument standardisation and size of touring bands must be addressed to increase the potential for employment and forex earnings.”

He also said a special committee will be necessary to review the constitution of Pan Trinbago to ensure its relevance to the present and future needs of the organisation.

Dupres’ first contact with pan came in 1944 at seven. In 1952 he joined Dixie Stars at Gatacre Street, Woodbrook, then played with Silver Stars, Tropitones, SilverTones (the Simplex band) and Dixieland, before leaving for Canada. While there, he formed the first steelband in the university, the Moonlighters.

After starting work with Esso, he was transferred in 1968, to Toronto where he joined with Patrick Arnold and other ex-members of Our Boys to revive a band that Nicky Inniss had started, the Steltones.

Returning to Trinidad in 1975 to join Trintoc, Dupres had to give up pan until the opportunity came to start playing again with the Harvard Harps over 20 years ago and continues to date.

Dupres said: “My association with the pan has allowed me to perform in Jamaica and Puerto Rico (Dixie Stars), Toronto’s Canadian National Exhibition (Tropitones), Barbados (Tropitones), Quebec (Silvertones), the Irpinia Cruise ship (Dixieland), Vancouver, Toronto and other parts of Ontario. Further to that, I was able to finance my university education in Canada with ‘pan money’ and without recourse to my parents – and perhaps most importantly, meet my wife.”