WESTERN BUREAU:
Retired St James-based football referee Alva ‘Second’ Gordon was all smiles as he was presented with the Mayor of Montego Bay’s Special Award at Tuesday’s annual Spirit of Independence Civic and Awards ceremony in the western parish.
The 69-year-old, who was also an accomplished track and field umpire, was among 11 awardees at the ceremony that was part of Jamaica’s 62nd Independence celebrations, held at Sam Sharpe Square.
“I was glad when the mayor [Mayor Richard Vernon] said he had something for me today, so I must get myself prepared and come to Sam Sharpe Square, and this is it, this special award in the field of sports,” a smiling Gordon told The Gleaner.
“I feel great about it, because whenever they call me, once I am not working and I am not overseas, I am there.”
Two St James-based organisations also received the Mayor’s Special Award, while eight individuals received the Spirit of Independence Award.
Gordon, a native of Rose Heights, St James, has had an extensive involvement in sports, spanning over 40 years. He has worked with the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) as a track and field umpire, where got a firsthand view of Usain Bolt’s climb to greatness; and as a football referee, he got a close-up view of several national players from their formative years.
“I played an influential role in the development of ‘Tappa’ Whitmore (Theodore), Barrett (Warren), ‘Shorty’ Malcolm (Stephen), Winston Anglin, and Paul ‘Tegat’ Davis....all of them were members of the Montego Bay Boys and Girls Club (MBBGC), so they grew up around me, and I always encouraged them,” said Gordon, who was a member of the MBBGC from his childhood days.
“I ended up on the field refereeing with them. I refereed football matches with them from the under-12 stage and the under-19 level right up to the Premier League.”
Gordon is one of several top-level football referees to have emerged from St James during the 1980s and 1990s. He operated alongside the likes of Owen Saams, Douglas Prout, Raymond Williams, Winston Williams, and FIFA referee Steve Bucknor.
As a track and field official, Gordon got a chance to see Bolt in action long before he became a superstar, as he used to officiate in track meets at William Knibb Memorial High School, the alma mater of the legendary track icon.
“I used to go by William Knibb Memorial High School to their sports day, and I can tell you Usain Bolt used to run barefoot, and see it there now, he is a great man,” said Gordon.
Reflecting on his experience as a mentor at the Montego Bay Boys and Girls Club, which he joined in 1970 at the age of 15, Gordon offered words of wisdom to the younger generation even as he joked about his own youthful appearance.
“I am always told, ‘Second, you are not getting old’, and I asked why, and persons would say ‘every time we see you, you look younger’. I am around the youths from the Boys and Girls Club, we have a lot of them from age five onward, so probably being around the youths helps me look so young,” Gordon shared with laughter.
Gordon, who is renowned as a disciplinarian, wants the youngsters who are involved in nefarious activities to change their lives before it is too late.
“Young people need to put away all the guns, and whatever they are doing, and go on the right side. They need to develop themselves so that they can find a good trade or a good job to do,” said Gordon.
Gordon was not the only sports veteran from St James to be recognised during Tuesday’s awards ceremony, as fellow retired referee Texchus Nembhard was among the eight awardees who received the Spirit of Independence Awards.