THE Mon Repos Eastern Cooperative Credit Union (1968) Ltd., through its traditional community programmes has maintained a record of membership growth, significant increase in assets and support for the overall development of its membership. It is an achievement that has been accentuated during the period of the last decade and a half.
This level of support is quite visible in the field of sports where, on an annual basis, the credit union has sponsored a major competition in either football or cricket for clubs affiliated to the Mon Repos Youth and Sports Council and other clubs well beyond the community.
In keeping with its well-established mandate, the Mon Repos Credit Union has pumped in a record $20,000 into a T20 cricket competition and a further $2,400 towards the provision of a full complement of gear for Garvin Serieux Jr., who is the latest cricket sensation and certainly the first born in this millennium to have been called to a West Indies Team.
Following the achievement of Bryan Stephen called up to the West Indies Under-19 and Garey Mathurin to the West Indies 20/20 squad, Garvin Serieux Jr. has now been called to the West Indies Under-16 squad.
It is an outstanding achievement to make it at this level even if some of the signs were there. His father, Garvin Servieux, has continued to serve as a personal coach along with the formal coaches, such as Walter Emmanuel, Marcellus Serieux and Alton Crafton.
It should be pointed out that his father to date holds the record for the most centuries in the community competition. At last count, a few years ago, he had completed 17. There is also a brother, JeannichSerieux, who was an Under-15 national player. His uncle, Liebert Serieux, is also a former senior national player and other uncle, Boniface Serieux, was a stalwart of the La Pointe and Mon Repos Cricket teams of the Eighties and Nineties,
Of course, he enjoyed the support of his mother GilberthaSerieux, an ardent follower, who at any game will be a cheerleader, scorer or caterer. She is also a very active female cricketer. So, perhaps all that was missing was the contribution from the Mon Repos Credit Union with the assistance of Jacob Emmanuel, who helped in procuring quality gear, for which our community is grateful.
We congratulate Garvin Serieux Jr. His is an outstanding achievement from our rural community. The aforementioned Bryan Stephen and Gary Mathurin of the same community have been noted. There is also the contribution of the Emmanuel family of Malgretoute, which produced Walter Emmanuel, Jacob and Claudius Emmanuel, who all played for the junior and or senior national teams and at the youth level for the Windwards in their days.
A subsequent generation in Craig and Russel Emmanuel also represented one or both Saint Lucia teams and in the case of Craig, on the Windward Islands senior team, for many years. Of course, they all have served in leadership capacities as captains, managers and coach, not least of all Jacob, who continues to be very active in the Brooklyn League as a player and administrator but, above all, continues to be involved in fundraising activities for the needy and the clubs here at home. Not forgetting Wiona, the daughter of Walter and sister of Craig, who is now a female national cricket representative and her cousin, Anita Sansha Emmanuel, who was the lone female Test cricket scorer for years.
Congratulations to Garvin Serieux Jr. on his achievement. Thank you for your contribution to the development of cricket in La Pointe and Mon Repos.
Thank you to the Emmanuel family of Malgretoute for their sterling contribution to the development of cricket in Malgretoute, Mon Repos, Saint Lucia and the Windwards.
Thank you, Mon Repos Credit Union, for the support of community activities.