Politician Irene Sandiford-Garner and well-known sports administrator Orson Simpson are among three new members elected to the board of directors of the Barbados Association of Retired Persons (BARP).
Simpson, an accountant by profession, assumes the post of board secretary, replacing Henry Barrow, who now holds the position of director, while Sandiford-Garner and Lennox Prescod were elected to the post of director during BARP’s annual general meeting on July 28 at the Hilton Barbados Resort.
“We are delighted to welcome the mix of talent and experience among this team as we continue to do our utmost to help our members, indeed all seniors in this country, to enjoy a good quality of life in their golden years,” BARP president Marilyn Rice-Bowen said in a news release.
The BARP president also lauded retiring directors, former Caricom deputy secretary general, Hon. Lolita Applewhaite, former University of the West Indies professor Andrew Downes, and former banking executive K.H.L. “Tony” Marshall for their outstanding contribution to the organisation.
The rest of the BARP board comprises former deputy prime minister Dame Billie Miller as vice-president and finance professional Monica Hinds as treasurer, along with former chief executive officer of the Barbados Public Workers’ Cooperative Credit Union Clorinda Alleyne, accountant Henry Barrow, and former editor-in-chief of the Nation Eric Smith as directors.
The new members of the board will all serve for a period ending in 2024.
This diverse, all-volunteer nine-member BARP board are expected to tackle issues ranging from pension to health care, technology, and cyber security awareness as well as elder abuse.
This year’s BARP annual general meeting was well-attended, and members were informed about the organisation’s performance during the turbulent period of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic under the theme “Adjusting Your Sails”.
BARP is a non-profit, non-partisan organisation established 27 years ago that advocates for the well-being of citizens 40 years old and over to ensure they live with dignity, safety, and security.
BARP also manages a charitable trust that gives assistance to members who are ill or disabled or in financial difficulty, and operates with its own board of trustees.
(PR/AR)