Three burgesses and a long-standing business of the City of San Fernando were singled out to receive keys to the municipality as part of the city’s annual Civic Awards Ceremony on Wednesday.
Steelpan virtuoso and Guinness World Record holder Joshua Regrello, former Minister of Trade Diane Seukeran, chutney artiste Imran ‘GI’ Beharry, and J.E. Guide’s Funeral Home were all recipients of the City of San Fernando’s highest honour, the Key.
Mr. Regrello said he was honoured to be chosen for recognition.
“Earlier today they unveiled a photograph, a plaque of me on the promenade and he spoke about when when he was younger he would walk on the promenade and would come there and lime. And I also did that in my time you would come on the promenade, you check girls, so it is crazy, especially at this young age, to see myself on the promenade. I think what this and that plaque shows is that the City of San Fernando honours their own.”
Ms. Seukeran complimented Mr. Regrello on his achievement, as she noted that while he achieved his world record on his own, she owed her successes to those around her.
“To get this, it wasn’t me. It was teamwork. It was everybody joining together to allow me to be who I became. And so, I wanted to say thank you to every one of them publicly and personally to thank them.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Beharry said receiving the award meant more to him than any accolade he might receive outside of Trinidad and Tobago.
“Today is truly an honour. To stand here and receive the keys to the City of San Fernando is one of the greatest recognitions I could ever imagine. San Fernando is not just a place on a map for me. It’s home. It is my heart. It is heritage. This city has been instrumental in shaping me, supporting me, and inspiring me, and I am deeply humbled to be acknowledged in this way.”
The family-owned business, J. E. Guide Funeral Home and Crematorium Limited, was founded in 1945 in San Fernando.