$8M ‘Keith Aaron pavilion’ gifted to Queen’s College

In memory of former national youth cricketer and distinguished Guyana scholar, Keith Aubrey Aaron, Metallica CC Guyana Inc. constructed a pavilion at the Queen’s College ground in his honour.

The new facility, aimed at encouraging more student participation in sports, was handed over on Friday by representatives from the company, many of whom attended the said institution.

Chairman of the Queen’s College Board, Marcel Gaskin, speaking on the magnitude of the donation stated, it is  “unprecedented” from a single donor as it relates to the cost and potential impact it can have on the school.

The new pavilion is valued in excess of G$8 million.

According to Gaskin and many others who spoke at the special assembly, the hope is to spark more students’ involvement in sports and it was most fitting it was named after a man who accomplished feats in both academics and sports.

As such, Andre Archer, Chief Executive Officer of Metallica CC Guyana Inc., expressed, “for us, the million expended into the several months of the project, pales in the significance of the opportunity it presented to us to yet again tangibly expressed our heartfelt gratitude to a college that has played a critical role in shaping our lives.”

Archer hailed Aaron as a “trailblazer” and similar sentiments were echoed by former national cricketer and Queen’s College student, Neil Barry Snr.

Barry encouraged students to participate in sports, noting that some of their colleagues presently have managed to balance both quite admirably.

Aaron, who passed away on  June 20, 2021, in New York at age 72.,  represented the Guyana Colts against England at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) ground, Bourda in March 1968.

He also led the Guyana Under-21 team to victory in the annual regional British American Tobacco youth competition in Trinidad & Tobago in 1969.

After attending Central High School, Aaron moved to Queen’s College from 1965 to 1968, making an immediate impact.

Aaron was the Form Prize Winner in 5RB and also served as captain of the Queen’s College Wight Cup team and later vice-captain of the Northcote side.

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