Veteran broadcaster Terry Holder inducted into Caribbean Broadcasting Union’s Hall of Fame

Last Updated on Tuesday, 18 August 2015, 11:49 by GxMedia

Veteran Guyanese broadcaster and former Secretary General of the Caribbean Broadcasting (CBU), Terrence “Terry” Holder was Monday inducted into the CBU’s Hall of Fame.

In part, the citation read by another veteran regional broadcaster, Jones P. Madeira states: “The television audiences of the Caribbean also have Terry Holder to thank for another programme, which is still fondly-remembered as demonstrating the ability of the region to produce superior programming.  During his tenure with the Union Terry Holder presided over the birth of the television news exchange “Caribvision” realizing the dream of a vehicle for news and information flow between broadcasters across the region.  The Caribvision programme exchange gave birth to Caribscope – the region’s best known television magazine programme.”

In the response delivered by his eldest child, Dawn Adriane Holder at the Grenada National Stadium, she recalled his passion for regional broadcasting and the deployment of his administrative skills to make the CBU a success.

“Broadcasting and regional integration were his life, apart from the passion he had for cricket. I am not sure that he could have survived with the performance of his beloved West Indies and Guyana teams with his composure intact.  Daddy believed in regional integration the way Christians believe in the Second Coming. Regional broadcasting was one of the ways( CaribVision etc) of realising this objective,” she said.

Holder, who was also a former General Manager of the now defunct Guyana Broadcasting Corporation and Deputy General Manager of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GT&T), passed away on January 8, 2014 after a long battle with cancer. “He certainly achieved that in his fine innings of 73, played with some stylish shots, bat and pad close together, even against some hostile bowling he would’ve faced in his time at the crease,” she said.

Saying that it was with great humility that she and her brother accepted the invitation to witness Holder’s induction the CBU’s Hall of Fame,  his daughter she described her father as a “genuinely humble man” who promoted high standards.

“Daddy instilled in his children and those who encountered him the value of high standards.  We have strived to live up to his expectations and be citizens of the region and surely we will honour that legacy in due course,” she said.

Dawn Holder recalled that when asked in a special feature in the Kaieteur News how he would like to be remembered, he humbly replied, “I would like to be remembered as someone who has tried to put community first.  I have been in organisations that have helped me to see how to work with people in communities and make a difference in their lives.”

Reacting directly to the citation, she said, “We are proud to call him our father and now this award makes us beam with pride, our only regret is that he is not here to hear his friend Jones P. read that citation.  His response would’ve been more personal and filled with humour as only he couldve done it.”

Dawn quipped that her father and two of his late colleague broadcasters are savouring the moment of his induction. “I have tried to fill those mighty shoes as best as I could.My brother Duane who is here with me and our sisters Shireen and Beverley who reside in the US accept this honour on his behalf.   My father, along with his friends the late Rafiq Khan and Hugh Cholmondeley, must be celebrating this achievement in the great beyond.”