November 11, 2022

True friendship knows no bounds

Those of you who have followed my pronouncements over time know that I am passionate about the talent residing within our Caribbean communities at home and abroad.

It was with tremendous pride that I connected with a distinguished member of the Caribbean Diaspora, a West Indian childhood friend who was visiting Dallas for a conference over the weekend, and who I hadn’t seen for well over a decade.

I have known this accomplished lady for close to four decades, having chased down many tennis balls together, competing in Caribbean-wide tournaments as junior nationals of our respective countries, hers Trinidad and Tobago and mine Barbados.

As we made it out of our teenage years, a number of my childhood mates followed a similar travel path and we would visit one another on occasion up and down the eastern seaboard of the United States. In her case, she pursued higher education, while I worked as a United Nations foreign correspondent, reporter and communications consultant.

Through the years, we drifted out of contact but resolved recently that we would reunite since she had moved to the Lone Star State with her family, and we were now just a few hours apart.

It’s incredible how you can remain out of touch with someone for decades, but when you reconnect, as we did last Sunday afternoon, it was like the days of old. We reflected on life, and remembered friends and family … and even discovered we were both wed by the same priest … but of course on separate occasions!

I am incredibly proud of my childhood friend Dr. Marianne Ward-Peradoza, a distinguished economist, who now serves as provost for St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas.

As I reflect on that meet-up with Marianne and my brother Kevin – who also was in town for a visit with Dad and my family – I am reminded that nothing warms the heart like a cup of coffee and reconnecting with an old friend.

Cheers to lifelong friendships!

Have a great weekend, everybody, and make an effort to reach out to someone dear to your heart, no matter how long it’s been. I promise you, it will be good for the soul.

Bevan Springer is the President and CEO of Marketplace Excellence, a global public relations, marketing and media company.