A
grain of rice by itself is a grain of rice
Add chicken,
peas, and spices and what do you get?
TTOC 2017 EXECUTIVE !
Brian Lewis (President),
Dr. Terry Ali (Vice President),
Diane Henderson (Vice
President),
Ephraim Serrette (Vice President
Curtis Nero (Treasurer),
Annette Knott (Secretary General),
Nadine Seemungal (Assistant Secretary
General),
Reyah Richardson (Executive member),
Giselle La Ronde-West (Executive Member),
Wendell Constantine (Executive Member).
Racquel Moses (Trustee)
Dave Williams (Trustee),
This is the recently elected T&T Olympic
Committee (TTOC) Executive Committee members.
They were installed at the Office of His
Excellency President Anthony Thomas Aquinas Carmona O.R.T.T .S.C. in St. Ann’s.
Is this
Preparing the aforementioned ingredients for an outcome?
TTOC President, Brain Lewis told the newly
installed executive officers that they were taking office with the
country facing very tough economic circumstances;
But notwithstanding the tough times the
transformation and recreating a modern, relevant, dynamic Olympic Committee
must continue.
Wrong! There must be change to best
practices of Governance within this organization.
“We have taken an oath of office, while I
commend you for accepting the responsibility.
I also caution you that it is not one that
should be taken lightly.
As the leader of the Olympic Movement, I
remain deeply committed to remain athletes youth centered.”
Based on the RIO fiasco narrative
by Richard Thompson, Emmanuel Callendar, Jarrim Solomon, Mike Thomas, Njisane
Phillips, Kelly-Ann Baptiste, LaLonde Gordon, Keston Walcott, Michelle –Lee
Ahye, etc.
No TTOC funding assistance to date! Isn’t there an
alleged welfare fund?
Would this be a fair call, to ask if this behavior qualifies as Athlete
centered?
Not really! This is the remit of the Sportt Company /The Ministry
of Sports, is it not?
Then where does the TTOC/NAAA fit?
If the answer is yes, commit to making the necessary changes; if
the answer is no, let it go.
Is this real?
Rio (w)rap: TTOC boss on athlete funding,
CANOC and 10 gold medals for 2024
Wired868: I
know athletes talk about preparation money all the time and then there
is the matter of Ministry of Sport funding. Can you give an idea of how
much financial support there actually is?
Lewis: “As I said, again, again, I don’t want to
get into that.’
Confucius: “To see what is right and not
to do it is to lack courage or principle”
Lewis continues: “I mean, I’m being very candid and if it’s you’re going to
slant to that, I not going down that road.
What I do know is that athletes have attempted to access the
Athlete Welfare Fund.”
“It is well established there have been some challenges that are tied
into the overall economy and the current PS, etcetera, have been very insistent
upon sticking to the policy guidelines and the necessary providing
documentation and proof of use and that’s just the reality of the situation.’
Where we have been able to assist to complement certain gaps we
have really tried to do it.”
Is this a reason for smart people in T&T to Challenge the
Ridiculous positions taken by Pseudo leaders?
The Leadership Insiders network in T&T is a closed community
with sports, education and by extension other business organizations
maintaining individual institutional cabal relationship.
Is this behavior mooring the most thoughtful and influential
people in business organization in T&T?
The power of perpetual habit provides rhetorical answers to timely
questions about careers and leadership without the slightest regard for
performance and data based argumentation for implementation.
Theoretically,
anyone can challenge the leadership.
Letters expressing sentiments,
contrary views and even possible solutions can be presented for consideration.
Practically, however,
challenging Leadership is tantamount to challenging the status quo and this
realisation ends the war before it starts.
For a challenge
to gain momentum and be successful it has to possess personal appeal.
It must be personally affecting the
challenger; while there are those who challenge anything they perceive to be
unacceptable, regardless of the seemingly difficult or impossible task,
There are those
who are prepared to lend only moral support.
Challenging the leadership appears
even more insurmountable when one perceives the complexity of legal and
constitutional hurdles.
Here’s where our statesmen stand up
to be counted.
Those who ignore obstructions and
obstructionists and pursue their causes to the end. - Commitment,
self-confidence and a touch of selflessness are needed here.
Popular support thrives on
apparent success.
Others would be more likely to come
on board when the movement is up and running and seemingly feasible.
OAJ having read
this article said : “Your sentiments expressed are
objective and readily resonates with the reality of existing situations but
“who will bell the cat” and further “how will he bell the cat?”.
Support is vital. A
grain of rice by itself is a grain of rice but gather enough together and
you can provide a meal.
It is hoped that the meal is not
trip intended or an outreach for political leverage based on the composition of
the TTOC’s 2017 Executive.
President of the TTOC in a previous article said: “Criticism is criticism, is it
constructive or destructive depends on how you interpret it. The key question
is, can I use this information to better myself and the lives of others?”
So true! Then
if the answer is yes, commit to making the necessary changes; if the answer is
no, let it go.
An interview on “Wired 868” When The interviewer Lasana Liburd asked the
TTOC President:
Wired868: What are the criteria for
receiving funding from the Olympic Athlete Welfare Preparation Fund? Do all
Olympians get it? How do you gauge a promising athlete?
Examine the answer: Does it qualify as the highest form of
bureaucratic stonewalling by the TTOC President?
Lewis: “Well,
what we have done is:”
“We would have based it on those who are attempting to qualify.
It would have been a complement to what is out there in the
system.
So there are athletes we would have supported from the Pan Am
Games coming forward and we have attempted…
I mean, when you go out into specifics everybody can say: well, okay pick a hole there, pick a
hole there.
Between the Michael Johnson Performance Workshop and that, the
Olympic Committee has tried to help as best as we could.”
The story of the con artist may be unmatched for combining human
interest with insight into human nature. The grain of rice!
Trinidad & Tobago athletics need help! RIO!
Carifta ! Pan Am! All sent a clear message.
“Sometimes it’s easier for other people to see what we can’t see
ourselves and it’s worth taking the time to listen.”
At the end of the day, what would the added ingredients
turnout to be?
“By listening you get a new perspective and step outside the box
of excuses and failure habits.”
“There will be praises and criticisms but every praise and
every criticism carries the seed of growth and progress”
Nice quotes from TTOC President.
Dr.Cliff Bertrand
Olympian
Former NYC Board of Education
Public School
Administrator
