The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

THE nation has lost another of its “great sons” in the passing of Sir Albert Miller, the last of three giant pioneers in the development of Freeport.

Sir Albert died on Tuesday, aged 89.

With two Englishmen - Sir Jack Hayward who died in January aged 91, and Edward St George, who died aged 76 in December 2004 - Sir Albert formed the dynamic trio at the helm of the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) that steered Freeport’s economy to great heights into the new millennium.

Sir Albert retired in August, 2005, after 35 years as president and co-chairman of the Port Authority, and was later brought back in 2006 for a short term after former chairman and CEO Julian Francis resigned.

Prime Minister Perry Christie led the tributes yesterday, expressing his sadness at Sir Albert’s passing. Mr Christie said in a statement: “He was an extraordinary Bahamian whose life bore the marks of high distinction, first as a law enforcement officer of legendary courage, intelligence and integrity and then, in the second part of his life, as an iconic indigenous leader of the growth and development of the City of Freeport.”

He added: “As the highest-ranking indigenous Bahamian in the Port Authority, Sir Albert was enormously influential in helping the Port adapt to the changing times and to better understand its larger responsibility for the social and economic development of Grand Bahama. Far more than just the most prominent local face in the hierarchy of the Port, Sir Albert was, together with the late Edward St George and Sir Jack Hayward, an indispensable member of the triumvirate that held sway for decades over the nation’s second city.

“Sir Albert was also a mentor and trusted advisor to successive governments, going all the way back to the government of the late Sir Roland Symonette, continuing under the Pindling and Ingraham regimes successively, and during my own non-consecutive terms as prime minister. He was a man of incredible wisdom and profound insight whose patriotism was never in any doubt.”

Leading figures in Grand Bahama also paid tribute. Attorney David Thompson said: “Today is a day when I believe Grand Bahama should be giving great thanks for the life of Sir Albert Miller. Freeport is entering a new era where these three giants, Sir Albert, Sir Jack and Mr St George have now gone off the scene and we need new creativity and imagination to take the city of Freeport, and the island of Grand Bahama, and indeed the Bahamas forward.

“This is a hallmark occasion and we do say thanks to the three of them for their great contribution to the Bahamas, particularly Freeport,” he said.

The former Free National Movement (FNM) Cabinet minister, who had worked closely with Sir Albert and others at one time to foster economic development in Freeport, extended condolences to Sir Albert’s family.

“While we mourn his passing, we give thanks to God for his great contributions and sacrifice to building the Bahamas,” he added.

Mr Thompson recalled the privilege of working with Sir Albert, along with Neko Grant, a former FNM Cabinet minister, and then FNM Senator Barry Malcolm on a committee charged with producing a national economic development plan for Grand Bahama and the northern region.

He noted that committee, which was appointed to consider the economic, industrial and social development of Grand Bahama, was instrumental in bringing about the Freeport Act of 1993, which gives testimony to the thousands of job opportunities and projects in Freeport, including schools and educational facilities on the island.

“I don’t know that we have ever expressed as we should our great appreciation to Sir Albert, and to other members of the committee for the transformation of Freeport,” Mr Thompson said.

He said that looking around Freeport today, there is evidence of their achievements.

Also extending condolences and paying tribute was Mr Grant, the MP for Central Grand Bahama. He recalled first crossing paths with Sir Albert in 1974 when he was the vice president of Bahamas Amusements, the operators of the El Casino.

“Since that time, both of our lives have changed considerably, but I recall back in 1992 with my late daughter visiting with Sir Albert to seek his support as he lived in the Lucaya constituency, now Central Grand Bahama. And I wish on my behalf, wife and children, and members of Team Central Grand Bahama and the constituency of which he was a member, to extend condolences to Lady Laurie, and their children, Debbie, Tony and Russell, their spouses, their children, on the passing of Sir Albert,” he said.

With the deaths of Mr St George, Sir Jack, and now Sir Albert, Mr Grant said: “There is no question that we are concerned about the state of the Grand Bahama economy. They were the movers and shakers and as they exited the scene we have seen regrettably a decline in the economy and something needs to be done to revive the magic back to Freeport.”

Mr Thompson said that it is also significant to note that “this August as Sir Albert passes we are considering an extension to the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, which is the very committee that Sir Albert would have worked on 22 years earlier, which has now expired as of the fourth of August this year. So we are at that moment in history where we must move forward and see how we can bridge the past to our future by having present some definite plans for the extension of the HCA, for the benefit of Freeport and the Bahamas going forward.”

Sir Albert was a native of Long Island.