Local sports personalities Ann Browne-John and Alvin Corneal felt "great" and "honoured" respectively at being named for the Hummingbird Silver medal at today's Independence Day National Awards Ceremony at President's House, St Ann's.
Both the former athletes and officials are being bestowed with the honour for their long and devoted service to the nation in the area of sports.
Expectedly, Browne-John, the first female to serve on the Playing and Development Cricket Committee of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), was elated.
"It is a great thing for not only me but for women's cricket," the 54-year old asserted, admitting that it was "quite a surprise" to learn she would be bestowed with a national award. " It's a great recognition of women's cricket and of my whole family and for what my family has done for women's cricket."
For Corneal, the 71-year-old former national cricketer and footballer, felt some pride at the official recognition.
"I have to admit that I am very honoured," he told the Express. "I know that these awards usually go to people who have contributed, so I am really honoured that the people of this country believe I am a contributor, so I am grateful to them and touched that the people of this country are appreciative of what I have done for sport."
The former national senior football coach added that he was not exactly surprised about his selection.
"I don't know that I am surprised. I know that there have been great contributors over the years and I would think the fact that I have represented the country nationally, I would have been considered. I did not know when it would be or if it would have been, but I am pleased nonetheless that it has come at this time," Corneal revealed.
The highlights of Browne-John's cricket playing career included being one of four sisters to be selected on the national team in 1975 and captaining T&T in two stints from 1986-1990 and from 1994-97. She was also the skipper of the West Indies women's team for the period 1988-1997 and led the Windies women to the 1993 World Cup in England and the 1997 edition in India.
As a national hockey player, she was part of the national team that won the gold medal at the CAC Games in Mexico in 1986. She also represented T&T at the CAC games in Mexico in 1990 and the Pan American Games in Indiana in 1987 and Cuba in 1991
She currently serves as the technical advisor to the Trinidad and Tobago women's cricket team and was coach of the Windies women from 2002-2006.
As administrator, she represented women's cricket on the WICB from 2000 to 2006, while serving as vice-president of the West Indies Women's Cricket Federation (WIWCF) from 1996 to 2002.
She was named secretary of the WIWCF from 2002 to 2006 and she is still the vice-president of the T&TWCB, a post she assumed in 1992. She is also currently an executive member of the T&TWCB and has been an executive member of the T&TCB from 200-2007.
Corneal was 17 when he was first selected to the T&T national senior football team and interchanged between left winger and striker as a two-footed threat. He also lined up with the famous Maple team in the early 1960s under the captaincy of Sedley Joseph, a side that experienced tremendous success. In that period, he also was part of the national cricket team and a member of the 1970 and 1971 Shell Shield-winning T&T side skippered by Joey Carew.
Corneal was appointed head coach of the youth team in 1969 before moving on to become head coach of the senior squad in 1980 when they became Caribbean Football Union champions for the first time.
Corneal is now a leading sports analyst and commentator on radio, television and in the press.