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FROM LEFT: Chair of the 50th Anniversary of Independence Celebrations Committee, Senator Maxine McClean; the man of the hour, National Hero, the Rt. Excellent Sir Garfield Sobers; Henry Inniss, Head Of Life Division at ICBL; Director of Marketing for Digicel Carolyn Shepherd; and CEO of Cave Shepherd Group of Companies John Williams.
 

CELEBRATING A LEGEND

 

  
Next week, National Hero, the Right Excellent Sir Garfield Sobers is in for a grand time at the Oval in celebration of his 80th birthday, and the celebratory week of activities promises to make it his best birthday yet.
The 50th Anniversary of Independence Celebrations Secretariat and the Sir Garry at 80 Committee have planned tirelessly, with the aid of sponsors including Cave Shepherd Group of Companies, Digicel and the Insurance Corporation of Barbados Limited (ICBL). 
In a media briefing to update the media on the preparations for the events, Senator Maxine McClean expressed her thanks to the sponsors and the partners involved in the planning. McClean gave a run-down of the week’s activities, which include  Sir Garry’s 80th birthday cricket match at Kensington Oval on Thursday, July 28; a gala reception titled “An Evening with Sir Garry” on Friday, July 29 at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre; and finally an international golf tournament on Sunday, July 31 at the Sandy Lane Golf and Country Club in recognition of Sir Garry’s passion for golf.
 
The opening ceremony for the birthday cricket match  will commence at 6:30 p.m. but the gates will open to the public at 5 p.m. From 6 to 6:30 p.m. a video loop of Sir Garry’s achievements will be played to set the tone for the evening. 
 
The evening’s proceedings will be opened by the singing of the national anthem by Edwin Yearwood and then the welcome by MCs Andrew Sealy and Carol Roberts. There will also be remarks by Brian Lara and the feature remarks by the Prime Minister of Barbados, the Right Excellent Freundel Stuart. 
 
Sir Garry will ceremoniously step onto the field and walk the ‘Corridor of Honour’ and introduce the teams. Many past and present international cricket stars will be in attendance to play the match to honour Sir Garry, including Carl Hooper, Brian Lara, Ravi Sashtri and Wasim Akram.
 
At the innings break there will be a cultural presentation by the National Cultural Foundation in recognition of ‘the Greatest Cricketer on Earth or Mars’. This presentation promises to be on a scale that has never been seen before at Kensington Oval. 
 
At the end of the game the player of the match will be announced and the necessary trophy presentations will be made by the sponsors.
 
Henry Inniss, Head of the Life Division at ICBL expressed his excitement at seeing the cricket legends play at Kensington. He stated that ICBL is extremely proud to be a part of the event and that Sir Garry has always been there for Barbados as an ambassador on the field and off the field when we needed him most. Inniss said that it was therefore without hesitation that ICBL has come on board to pay tribute to him for his service by being there when he needs them most. 
 
Carolyn Shepherd, Director of Marketing at Digicel spoke admiringly about Digicel’s ambassador. She expressed thanks to him for proudly and tirelessly promoting the brand from inception over the last 12 years, and stated that the company will continue to support him throughout his endeavours. She was stated that they were excited about being part of the initiative to honour a true friend of the company. 
 
Chief Executive Officer of the Cave Shepherd Group of Companies John Williams joined with his fellow sponsor representatives to say that Cave Shepherd hopes that in this small way they could aid in the recognition of Sir Garry for the outstanding work he has done for the island. Williams highlighted the fact that in no way could the National Hero be repaid for his good work over the decades, but wished that the week’s events and future support would be added to the effort of paying tribute. 
 

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