Titchfield High names driveway in honour of late former principal

The main driveway at Titchfield High School in Port Antonio, Portland, has been officially named the Lloyd O. Chin Drive, in honour of the 234-year-old institution’s late principal, who served from 1976 to 1992.

Members of the school’s board and management headed community and other stakeholders attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony on November 11.

The collective effort to undertake the project involved several past students, among them Managing Director of Matcon Construction Systems Limited Henry Fisher, who donated nearly half of the undertaking’s estimated cost of $2.5 million in the form of expertise and use of company equipment.

Board member and past student Keith Garvey indicated that the project was conceptualised by Titchfield’s management some 10 months ago.

“This was the first major project undertaken by the new board, led by Vincent Gordon. It entailed the laying of 1,000 feet of asphalt from the entrance to the exit of the school. This was not funded from the school’s budget, but solely by the efforts of our past students,” he said.

‘A BEACON OF INSPIRATION’

Acting principal Sheryl Horne-Mair, who hailed Chin as one who was greatly admired by all persons with whom he interacted, expressed the hope that in bestowing the honour on her predecessor, “his name and the life he lived will serve as a beacon of inspiration for others”.

“Today I feel humbled to be the one commemorating this milestone of the road rehabilitation. The resurfacing of the Titchfield High School main road is a project which was quite costly, and would not be one that would be readily factored into the school’s annual budget,” she said.

Against this background, Horne-Mair said she was grateful to Garvey and Fisher, in particular, noting that their tireless work and unwavering commitment in providing expertise and soliciting of donations were instrumental in the project’s completion.

“When the responses for help came, they came from some of the very students who would have treaded the very roads and halls of this institution,” she added.

Horne-Mair further stated that “as we celebrate the contributions of our benefactors in the form of our past students today, let it serve as a reminder to us, both educators and stakeholders in the education system, of our mandate of educating the nation’s children”.