Clement Dehaney was among 12 people honoured on Sunday evening in the centre of Linstead town, St. Catherine, for their solid contributions to communities in and around Linstead.
“Doing good for people is a pleasure to me,” he told The Beacon.
“I feel really happy being awarded with so many great individuals – and to add to that, it was in the middle of the town of Linstead – in Rose Duncan Park.”
The locomotive operator, employed to the West Indies Alumina Company, is seemingly never too busy to immerse himself especially in sports leadership that augurs well for his community.
He is Vice-President of the North West St. Catherine Welfare and Sports Committee; he is founder of the Hope View Football Club that played in the Super League; and he is founder of Northern Queens Football Club that plays in the National Women’s Premier League.
Dehaney, in the meantime, helps to organize the Linstead summer camp for some 300 children on an annual basis.
He is also on the management team for the Sound Di Alarm stage show that donates annually towards Linstead Public Hospital.
Dehaney’s community involvement is mainly aimed at transforming young lives.
“If we want to have a good community, we must get the youths active,” he reasoned. “That is why I am involved in sporting activities that bring young people together… They will keep away from crime so we will have a crime-free community and a crime-free country.”
Dehaney underscored the importance of guidance to young people, adding that his parents Enid Dehaney and Talmon Dehaney played a pivotal role in his upbringing.
He is among seven children for his parents.
“We grew up very poor, but we were brought up by the best parents in the world,” posited Dehaney, who was born and raised in Linstead.
He attended the Salvation Army Basic School, Linstead All Age school (now Linstead Primary), and McGrath High.
Dehaney told The Beacon that, when he became an adult, his love for management propelled him into sports leadership and eventually into community service.
“I started getting involved in sporting activities – mostly football. I was not a great player, but I always like to be a leader,” Dehaney said. “I always want to be the manager, and that is how I really started giving back to my community.”
The award Dehaney received on Sunday, February 23, was presented as part of Black History Month celebration by Gi-Di Entertainment and One Life, in association with the Linstead Community Development Committee.
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