Ambassador Maynard’s book launched at the ECCB

Ambassador Maynard and Mrs Maynard

ZIZ News…February 25, 2010 – The biography entitled ‘Charles Maynard: a life in public service’ by Dr Irving André was launched earlier this week under the auspices of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank.

The book outlines the life of Ambassador Maynard who for over half a century has impacted Dominica’s social, political and economic landscape, taking in the public and private sector and non-governmental local, regional and international organizations.

The Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, Sir K Dwight Venner is a colleague of Ambassador Charles. The Governor spoke of what he believes, might have inspired the Ambassador to ascend to the heights that he has attained.

Sir Venner said: “They have been socialized in communities which have been deeply religious but also undeniably humanitarian, in those days. From Jamaica in the North to the East Caribbean and down to Trinidad & Tobago and Guyana, we can recall vibrant communities of poor but dignified, vibrant, hard-working West Indians, innovative and with their eyes fixed on the education of their children as the path to social mobility.”

The Governor continued that, “The location, the community, the characters in the communities particularly the women folk were the mothers, aunts or grandmothers were the heroines on whose shoulders the modern West Indies, a term used to describe the region after the rise in the 1930’s were built. It is an irony of the colonial system particularly the education in the grammar schools that it produced the very people that would dismantle it and achieve our independence.”

Meanwhile, Ambassador Charles Maynard told the patrons at the book launching ceremony, that he has always had a great deal of regard and respect for their teachers. He spoke of some of the greatest influences in his life, citing: “The main influence in my life is my mother and her commitment was my education and she spent every cent she had on ensuring that I got a sound education. The other influence was the church.”

The Ambassador shared words of advice which encouraged citizens of small island states to refrain from setting goals with a small mind-set. He explained to them: “We have cultivated and developed some extraordinary people. I always think of Phillip Potter, who became the Secretary General of the World Council of Churches. I remember meeting a Canadian in Dominica who said he came to the island to find out how such small countries can produce such great men. It’s an amazing thing!”

Ambassador Charles Maynard has done significant work with the oecs, caricom, the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) and the Organization of American States (OAS).