#Providenciales, August 7, 2019 – Turks and Caicos – The four year term limit of the outgoing Executives of the Commonwealth Games Association (CGA) – TCI came to a close recently and a new slate of Executive Board members was elected. The successful turnout of 75% of the registered Sports Federations in Country at the recent Annual General Meeting resulted the election of a group of experienced and committed persons who are resolved to champion the enhancement of Athletics in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

The CGA is pleased to announce the appointment of its new slate of officers for the next four years. Making up the new Executive Board are Godfrey Been (President), Trevor Cooke (Vice President), Rosalie Ingham (Secretary), Edith Skippings (Assistant Secretary), Edith Cox (Treasurer), Arthur Forbes (Assistant Treasurer), Ezekiel Hall (Public Relations), Levard Missick (Athletes representative) and Dorn Fulford (Coaches Representative).

The newly elected president, Mr. Godfrey Been remarked “I would like to thank all the Presidents of the sporting bodies for nominating and voting for me as the President. I count a privilege and deem it an honour to be a servant to this group and also to the entire communities of the Turks & Caicos Islands. In sports I am no stranger from my high school years it has been my dream to see Turks & Caicos taking part in every sporting event globally and internationally. I want to say a big thank you to Ms. Rita Gardiner and her hard working team for their hard work and dedication over the many years. I must give thanks to almighty God who has kept me and will continue to strengthen me for the task ahead. This Role is not an easy one but with the new executive behind me I will do my endeavor best to move sports to the next level.

The CGA is responsible for all sports federations in the Turks & Caicos Islands and one of the first order of business is to begin the rebranding of the Turks & Caicos Commonwealth Games Association, to show all federations, athletes, corporate community and Government Sports Department that the CGA is very serious about the development of sports, developing our athletes working with the sports department and corporate community to move the sports forward in this new era.

In my acceptance speech I stated that “Our athletes are first and foremost the most important thing to me. We have great athletes out here and the supporting role for them is us.”

I would like to express gratitude to my predecessors, President Vanessa Gardiner for representing the CGA in her short time there, Mrs. Rita Gardiner, who lead the Turks & Caicos CGA for a decades of continued service to sports development in the Turks & Caicos Islands. I also noted that under my watch I aim to move this association to the next level and hold the CGA accountable for its actions. With the help of the sports department and the executive body, I would endeavour to make sure that they (the athletes) climb that ladder and make sure that the CGA does the right thing by all NGBs.

I want to thank all federations who attended the meeting: TCI Football Association, the TCI Rugby Football Union, the TCI Basketball Federation, the TCI Softball Federation, the TCI Amateur Athletic Association, the TCI Tennis Federation, the TCI Swim Federation, the TCI Volleyball Federation, the TCI Cricket Association, the TCI National Darts Association, the TCI Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation and the Turks and Caicos Cycling Federation.

I want to also thank the Director of Sports, Mr. Jarrett Forbes for attending and his kind words, Mr. Drexwell Seymour and Mr. Hawkins for making sure the elections were fair. I also congratulated the new executive and proposed that we will work together for the growth of sports in the Turks & Caicos Islands.”

Mr. Trevor Cooke (Vice President) Commented, “ I joined in with the President in thanking the outgoing President and her team for the work they have done in carrying out the mission and sharing the vision of this great organization. I look forward to working with the newly elected executives as we strive to meet the strategic objectives of the Commonwealth Games Association and embracing its core values that would guide us as we seek to meet the needs of our partners and end users. Last but not least I want to personally and on behalf of the executives, thank Mrs. Rita Gardiner for her stellar service over the years to the CGA and by extension the Turks and Caicos Islands.”

The Board members embody the spirit of community, competition, commitment and bring outstanding talent, expertise, accountability, and energy to the table. The Board is keen to facilitate the recognition and establishment of the Turks and Caicos Islands as a competing nation at the Central American and Caribbean Sporting Organization (CACSO) and the Pan American Sporting Organization (Pan AM Games) during its term in office. The pathway toward this goal is clear and the Board in collaboration with the TCIG Sports Department, TCIG Sports Commission and Member Federations stands ready to make this goal a reality.

Release: Commonwealth Games Association-TCI

Photo Caption: Picture L-R: Jarrett Forbes (Director of Sorts – TCIG), Arthur Forbes (Asst. Treasurer, Ezekiel Hall (Public Relations), Trevor Cooke (Vice President), Edith Skippings (Asst. Secretary), Godfrey Been (President), Rosalie Ingham (Secretary), Edith Cox (Treasurer) and Levard Missick (Athletes Representative. Not pictured is Dorn Fulford (Coaches Representative)