The Tribune

By DIANE PHILLIPS

IN MY column of March 20, I confessed to shamelessly borrowing a concept from Sunday Today Show host Willie Geist, whose insightful and often humorous look at the highs and lows of the week is one of the most highly anticipated segments of the popular NBC show.

It turns out that what works for Willie Geist worked for Tribune readers. Both in phone calls and messages, your response was surprisingly positive. You enjoyed it and asked for more.

So here goes – but this time with a seasonal caveat. Despite temptation, I steered clear of any high or low having to do with the upcoming national elections (though I admit, frankly, that it took the kind of will power I can imagine it would take for a lifelong smoker to give up puffing on an object that delivers some type of satisfaction while it protrudes from his or her mouth.)

The first high: art in a public place

The first high of the week goes to whoever decided it was time to paint one side of a two storey building on Shirley Street. Art in public places is always a joy to behold, especially if the art is something that brings a nod of respect or a feeling of joy. The image of an officer of the Royal Bahamas Police Force against a deep blue background took a nondescript building from something to be ignored at best to a level of passing pleasure for hundreds of motorists a day.

It was not lost on this viewer that the positive image of a smiling officer of the law was very close to one of the challenging neighbourhoods in the country for law enforcement, the Kemp Road area. Kudos to whoever conceived of the idea and to the artist who climbed the ladder at all hours of the day and evening, solo, as we saw, to get the job done.

We can’t help but wonder whether it will re-instil some of the community pride that the Kemp Road area was once known for.

The first low: Dallas Knowles signs off

The resignation of Dallas Knowles as Chairman of the National Family Island Regatta is a blow to the national sport of sailing. The energy he brought to sailing as a whole – boosting junior sailing in Exuma, increasing the size of the fleet of E-class sloops, ensuring that sailing would be passed down from generation to generation, supporting native sloop regattas in Nassau and elsewhere -- gave the sport and the culture of sailing the shot in the arm it so desperately needed when it needed it.

Dallas grew up in a sailing family. His late grandfather, Sir Durward Knowles, along with his crew, Cecil Cooke, brought home the first Olympic gold medal The Bahamas ever won. And when Sir Durward competed in his last Olympics, he was the oldest athlete in the entire competition.

When Dallas moved to Exuma as a young man, married, had a family, no one could have predicted the influence on the sport he would have. But while he credits long-time Exuma resident Bob Coughlin and Friends of Exuma for helping to grow sailing in the Exumas and particularly the junior fleet, Dallas’ personal contributions to sailing helped sustain and infuse the culture.

Thank you for all you gave, Dallas. You made a difference and we appreciate you. May you enjoy smooth sailing in your years ahead.

A low we cannot even begin to express: the loss of Lisa

The Bahamas has lost one of its greatest volunteers, Lisa Pugh, who passed away suddenly last week. For 13 years, she gave of herself daily, never once complaining or wavering in her support of the Bahamas Feeding Network. Lisa worked at LW Young Jr High on Bernard Road, trekking on foot between there and the Feeding Network on Fox Hill Road, every day, sometimes twice a day.

Her presence was large and kind and for all those years, as the Feeding Network served more than five million meals, she was the wind beneath the wings of Regina ‘Scully’ Ferguson, the woman we all call the heart and soul of the Feeding Network.

It’s impossible to overstate the role she played, that steady drumbeat of volunteerism that so many organizations depend upon in a society where so many basic social needs remain unmet. Lisa never asked for anything for herself, but I will speak now that she cannot.

Please, help keep hunger from the doors of those who have little and need more.

Do it for Lisa Pugh.

A triumphant high: Lenox Lockhart’s big win

Don’t let his age or size fool you – 10-year-old Lenox Lockhart is a rising star in the fast-paced world of competitive karting, the training ground for a future in F1 magic. The Bahamian speed sensation who took to the course like he was born to race from the time he first slid into a kart at age six just won another title, this time coming in at the top pf the leaderboard at the MicroSwift Championship Series on the famed Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina. Young Lockhart is racking up the numbers – 19 wins, 39 podiums, 41 top five finishes in karting races across the continents. He skyrocketed from locals to nationals to internationals long before he was old enough to worry about shaving for the photo opp.

Lenox’s raw talent first caught the eye of FIA Bahamas and Caribbean development’s David McLaughlin, a veteran race driver, road safety advocate and event planner who has spent years re-awakening the sport of karting in Nassau. Finding a youngster with star power like Lenox was a come-full-circle moment, says McLaughlin. Karting got its official start in Nassau more than half a century before.

McLaughlin touts the celeb-in-training. “Lenox Lockhart,” he says, “has that once-in-a-lifetime innate talent that you can’t teach, you just have to born with.” In the four years since his first spin around a course at the Bahamas Motor track near the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex, his parents and supporter, Susan Schauff, Vice President of the Motorsports Federation of The Bahamas, have dedicated themselves to his progress. His travel itinerary reads like a Taylor Swift concert tour – hopping planes, crossing continents, dashing between karting events in Europe and the U.S. Between January and April this year, he’s competed in races in Spain, Orlando, Italy, Tampa, the Carolinas. In 2025, he took top place in the Micro Swift Class at the Superkarts! USA Pro Tours. This weekend, he’s driving at the Speedsportz Racing Park in New Caney, Texas.

In a recent race, the 100-lb star of speed clocked 48.018 miles per hour during one lap of the 18-lap course. “I love bringing another win for The Bahamas. It is fun always having people to race against and it is also fun to drive against very professional people and beat them,” he told a reporter.

You go, Lenox! We think there is an F1 race in your future. Maybe one day we’ll be reporting a high of the year when Lenox is behind the wheel of a mean racing machine, looking a lot like the new Sir Lewis Hamilton.