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TelEm Group Chief Commercial Officer (CFO) Brian Mingo, presents Keacy Carty with NAf 5,000 at the Caribe Lumber Ballpark, Sunday.

CUL DE SAC—Local U19 World Cup cricket hero Keacy Carty was showered with NAf. 52,000 from the business community for his 52 not out in the finals of the ICC Youth World Cup to help the West Indies beat India to win its first youth World Cup in Bangladesh last Sunday.

At a massive homecoming ceremony at the Caribe Lumber Ballpark which was organized by the Government of St. Maarten and NAGICO, Carty was rightfully rewarded for his outstanding feat in the finals in which he was also named man of the match. The young cricket star was also handed a pledge of US $20,000 by Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Silveria Jacobs on behalf of the Government of St. Maarten as a scholarship for a four-year study programme.
The ceremony was graced with the presence of His Excellency the Governor of St. Maarten Eugene Holiday and his wife. There were members of Parliament and other Heads of Government agencies in attendance to celebrate the historic event.
The following business institutions contributed NAf. 5,000 each: Port St. Maarten, Social Health Insurances-SZV, NV GEBE, TelEm Groups of Company and the Indian Merchant Association and Prime Distributors (US $3,000). Each representative from the institutions made brief remarks of commendations and commitment to sports of the island.
After receiving NAf. 30,000 from those companies, Imran McSood Amjad upped contributions with a whopping NAf. 22,000 on behalf of himself and his family to loud cheers from the large crowd. He also gave Carty a Movado watch.
The ceremony began after Carty rode into the cricket field on the back of an open convertible with Dormoy New Generation Status Drum Band in front of his vehicle. Pastor Henry Peters opened the proceedings with prayer and a trio sang the St. Maarten Song.
Chairman of Parliament Sarah Wescott Williams made an urgent plea for there to be more support from government for sports, “When was the last time that our institutions and sports field was upgraded?” she asked. “As we are going to be debating the budget in a couple of days, I HOPE that our Minister of (Education) Culture, Youth and Sport gets all the support that she needs in order to be able to upgrade the different facilities here on St. Maarten. So that we could have a Keacy number one, a Keacy two, a Keacy number three and a Keacy number four.”
Minister Jacobs again stated her commitment to recognize all of St. Maarten’s outstanding athletes here and abroad in all the different disciplines. She openly identified two awardees who were present at the function in Yoly Hawley and a representative from the Moot Court group who placed second in an educational competition in The Netherlands.
“Keacy Carty, that boy from Cole Bay, that little boy from Cole Bay just did not make us proud but has the entire Caribbean proud. His success shows us that parenting counts and it is the main thing for every child in this world. With strong parents pulling you, tugging you, making sure you get out of bed, making sure you go to school, you can achieve your dreams. Yes Youth Can is the minister’s slogan for this year.”
She presented him with a plaque on behalf of the Government of St. Maarten and then a pledge card. The pledge stated “The Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Sylveria E. Jacobs pledges to award a talent scholarship to Keacy Carty in recognition of achieving man of the match ICC Youth U19 World Cup Cricket 2016.”
According to the minister “This pledge is not a cheque you can cash. It is not cash in hand but it has value in terms of your education. You will be awarded US $20,000 for five years from government regardless of who sits on that seat based on this pledge.” The gesture from government brought rapturous applause from the audience.
Minister of Sports and Tourism in the Anguilla Government Cardigan Connor noted that the support for Keacy Carty has been tremendous. He noted that the relationship between Anguilla and St. Maarten is needed in order for progress to be made in the Leeward Islands.
President of Anguilla Cricket Association Ralph Hodge said that Anguilla is not planning to steal Keacy but the togetherness is needed to build up the youngster.
Chairman of NAGICO and Cricket St. Maarten Imran McSood Amjad paid tribute to the present and past contributors to cricket on the island. He stated that cricket on St. Maarten should be celebrated today, a sport he came and met the people of this island playing. He further thanked the numerous sponsors for the event and cricket in general.
CEO of NAGICO Dwayne Elgin on behalf of the company revealed that both parents of Keacy, Keith and Angela, will be given free comprehensive or third-party insurance for their vehicles for 2016.
Keith Carty, the father of Keacy gave a synopsis of how his son was able to achieve the feat. He related how his son wanted to play football but he could not teach him football. In the end his son enjoyed playing cricket and also had ambition of playing it at the professional level.
The throng of supporters then left the field for a motorcade around the island. Keacy is scheduled to leave the island this week to join the Leeward Islands Hurricanes in Trinidad and Tobago for the continuation of the Professional Cricket League.