Former Attorney General (AG) Dale Marshall is this year’s recipient of the Barbados Labour Party’s (BLP) highest honour.
The former Senator and Member of Parliament for St Joseph, which he represented for 23 years, was recognised for his “distinguished record of public service, steady leadership and commitment to the party” and, as such, was awarded the Grantley Adams Award by party leader, Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley during the Barbados Labour Party’s 87th Annual Conference cocktail reception and awards ceremony at St George Secondary School, Constant, St George.
In his acceptance speech, the veteran politician, who announced his retirement from elective politics shortly after the general election in February, thanked the BLP for recognising the efforts of all the awardees.
“I am deeply humbled and honoured to receive [this] award. I can’t readily identify anything I have done over the years of membership of this great party which would even place me in the same category as the many outstanding party members who have had this particular honour bestowed on them in prior years,” he said.
Marshall said the award was not given lightly and he accepted it with “profound gratitude”.
He thanked the party members for their support and friendship, the “wonderful people of St Joseph” for placing their trust in him, and his long-suffering family, who gave up spending time with him so he could serve his country.
Despite his retirement from active politics, Marshall pledged his continued support for the party and promised he would be available to play his part “whenever and wherever” he was needed. The former AG regaled the audience with a brief history of his joining the party, saying he joined at a low point of the party and saw it rise to greatness, adding that the highlights of his career were the camaraderie, friendships made, and helping people, which did not stem from high office.
“I have always held the view that it has been when we were in Opposition that the true greatness of this party is seen. It is then our resilience is most evident; it is then our strength as a party most keenly felt; that is when we rally around each other and lift each other up.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not wishing for us to be in Opposition again, but I’m sure the PM would agree with me, and I say it to all who have only known electoral victory, that the real test is when you are not in power. That is when the people see who you truly are and determine your worth,” he said, advising the party never to forget the people who got them there.
The night also featured Diana Forde receiving the Milroy Reece Award; Ambassador David Comissiong receiving the Chairman’s Award; Carolyn Corbin receiving the Chessel Rock Award; Kyrie Bethune receiving the David Simmons Award; and Beverly Yearwood receiving the Ermie Bourne Award. (CA)