Three awardees who were unable to attend the National Awards ceremony on September 24, 2024 were presented with their medals by Her Excellency Christine Carla Kangaloo ORTT, President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in a ceremony at The President’s House on Tuesday, November 26, 2024.
Mr. Sydney Russell Martineau, S.C., CMTT received the Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago for his contributions to law; Mr. Nazir Khan was awarded the Chaconia Medal (Silver) in recognition of his work in the sphere of business; and Ms Stephanie Lewis received the Public Service Medal of Merit (Gold) for her contributions to public service.
Also present to congratulate the awardees were His Excellency Kerwyn Garcia S.C., First Gentleman, The Honourable the Chief Justice Mr Justice Ivor Archie ORTT and Mrs Denise Rodriguez-Archie. Senator the Honourable Reginald Armour S.C., Attorney General was also in attendance.
The biographies of the awardees were read by Mr. Johnathon Dickson of St. Francis Boys’ College, Belmont. The Office of the President extends its sincere congratulates the three newest members of the Distinguished Society of Trinidad and Tobago.
Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
Mr. Russell Martineau S.C. in the sphere of Law
Mr. Russell Martineau S.C. was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1972 and later that year, was admitted to practice law as a barrister in Trinidad and Tobago. In 1981, he was appointed Senator and Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs of Trinidad and Tobago until 1986.
He is a member of the Bar of several CARICOM countries including Barbados, Grenada, Dominica, St. Vincent and St. Lucia. In 1993 he was elevated to the rank of Senior Counsel and was President of the Law Association for four years. In 2012, he was awarded The Chaconia Medal (Gold) for long and meritorious service in the sphere of law.
Mr. Martineau was a member of the Dispute Resolution Commission established under the Tobago House of Assembly Act and he served as a director of many companies such as BWIA, First Citizens Bank Limited, Republic Bank Limited and Republic Financial Holdings Limited. He is a long-standing Director of the Pointe-a-Pierre Wild Fowl Trust and has been a member of the Queen’s Park Cricket Club for many years. In 2023, he was honoured by the Law Association for his fifty years as a member of the Bar.
The Chaconia Medal (Silver)
Mr. Nazir Khan in the sphere of Business
Mr. Nazir Khan graduated with an Honours Degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1967. This was followed by completing the Program for Management Development at Harvard Business School in 1988. He began his career at W.R. Grace in 1967. He then moved to Fertilizers of Trinidad and Tobago as Assistant Project Manager eventually progressing to become Managing Director in 1991, a position he retained through changes in ownership in 1993 and 1997.
Mr. Khan’s leadership extended beyond his professional roles, serving on various boards including the Water and Sewerage Authority as Chairman and as a Founding Director on the Environmental Management Authority of Trinidad and Tobago and the American Chamber of Trinidad and Tobago. He also contributed to the Board of Governors of the National Energy Skills Centre as Founding Chairman and the Trinidad and Tobago Institute of Technology (now UTT) as Founding Deputy Chairman.
Currently, Mr. Khan serves on the boards of ANSA Chemicals Limited, ANSA Polymer Limited, Carib Glass Limited, ANSA Technologies Limited, and ANSA Coatings Limited.
The Public Service Medal of Merit (Gold)
Ms Stephanie Lewis in the sphere of Public Service
Ms Stephanie Lewis joined the Public Service after graduating from university and retired after thirty-eight years of service, in 2016. She served as Chief Personnel Officer (CPO) in the Personnel Department (Office of the Chief Personnel Officer), Government of Trinidad and Tobago for a period of eight years before her retirement. In this capacity, she was the leader of the organisation and was deemed to be the Employer of all public officers and daily-paid workers employed by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, the Tobago House of Assembly and Municipal Corporations. She was responsible for negotiating salaries, wages and terms and conditions of employment with some 13 Associations and Unions representing approximately 85,000 employees. She also served as Secretary to the Salaries Review Commission and the Cabinet-appointed Committee responsible for public sector negotiations, providing advice and support in the deliberations of those bodies.
During her career, she acquired wide knowledge in the area of Human Resource Management and in particular, Industrial Relations and Public Service pension benefits. This allowed her to provide invaluable input and technical advice for the successful implementation of significant initiatives such as, the Voluntary Termination of Employment Plan for the Civil and Teaching Services and similar transformation initiatives in other public sector organisations, for example, the Regional Health Authorities and TTPost.
Ms. Lewis’s greatest achievements as CPO was successfully negotiating revised salaries, wages and allowances for officers of the entire Public Service for the periods 2008 to 2010 and 2011 to 2013 – periods of significant economic and fiscal challenges.
