3 to be awarded BVI Badge of Honour

Governor John Duncan has announced that three persons will soon be awarded the BVI Badge of Honour.

They are teacher and cultural scholar Dr Patricia Turnbull, philanthropist Rubena Matthias-Fraser, and sports enthusiast Terrance ‘Chino’ Chinnery.

A media release from the Government Information Service this afternoon (February 21) said Governor Duncan announced the trio after consultation with Premier Dr D Orlando Smith, and Julian Fraser while he served as Leader of the Opposition.

The three awardees were first recommended to the governor by the Virgin Islands Honours Committee.

Rubena Matthias-Fraser

Matthias-Fraser is a dedicated Virgin Islander who lives her life by the Bible verse – ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’.

She devoted her life to the Sea Cow’s Bay Methodist Church and, through that avenue, she gave freely of her time and talent to the British Virgin Islands community.

As a result of her propensity to care and show appreciation, Matthias-Fraser recognized the need for assistance with meals in the community, and she began a ‘soup kitchen’ that became an outreach ministry for the church.

She initially took on the sole responsibility for the purchasing, preparing and delivering of soup to the elderly and less fortunate persons in the community.

She also worked hard with numerous fundraisers for the church.

Matthias-Fraser is highly valued in the community of Sea Cow’s Bay and throughout the British Virgin Islands for her willingness to give and to serve the needy and the less fortunate.

Dr Patricia Turnbull

Dr Turnbull is a long-standing stalwart of the Virgin Islands literary landscape.

She is a dynamic teacher and an energetic cultural scholar committed to encouraging creative work in Virgin Islands history, language, and literature.

Her contributions to BVI society extend beyond the classroom.

In 2012, Dr Turnbull published Can These Stones Talk? That was the culmination of a five-year public memory research project to investigate the history of the ruins of St Philip’s Church and the African settlement at Kingstown, while making her own response to that history.

Dr Turnbull strongly believes that, as the Virgin Islands look towards a promising future, it must hold in collective remembrance the lessons of the past.

She held numerous voluntary public lectures on the new findings about the church and the settlement, which gave the Virgin Islands community a greater interest and understanding of the lives lived by the freed or liberated Africans in the Virgin Islands in the nineteenth and early twentieth century.

Terrence ‘Chino’ Chinnery

Chinnery is a dedicated BVIslander, who devoted his life to fostering and mentoring the youths through sports leadership.

He volunteered his time teaching and coaching, and could be seen daily in the afternoons on the field training students until early evenings.

Through his willingness to give back to his country, he nurtured a network of coaches and recruiters to create opportunities for the promising players.

Many young men and women have benefited from his efforts, which include personally financing the travel and accommodation expenses of sports scouts, coaches and players.

Chinnery was also instrumental in recommending scholarships from the USA for persons to further their career in sports while obtaining a college degree.

In 2012, Chinnery was named CIBC First Caribbean Bank Unsung Hero of the Virgin Islands for his selfless drive and vision.

In 2014, he also was awarded the Unsung Hero Award from the New Life Baptist Church.

Meanwhile, the government said the Badges of Honour will be presented to the recipients at an Investiture Ceremony at Government House, and the names of the recipients will be published in the Virgin Islands Gazette.