Elections were held last week Saturday at the Belize City Center conference room to elect a new executive for the Belize Basketball Federation (BBF). Elected to serve were President Paul Thompson; re-elected as Vice-President was Brads Neal, who served under the previous executive body, and who this time around will be joined by Charles Ellis. The prominent post of Secretary General was filled by newcomer on the scene Julian Murillo, while Luigi Zaldivar managed to retain his post as Treasurer. Meanwhile, Frank Lord, Eugene Jex, and Enid Dakers will serve as Executive Committee members.
According to the Federation’s press release, the elections had representation from Corozal, Orange Walk, Cayo, Stann Creek, and from the Association of Tertiary Level Institutions of Belize (ATLIB). The release went on to state the Federation’s mission, which is to “grow, and develop all aspects of basketball in the country through collaboration, inclusion and proper organization”. The new executive committee, according to the release, went on to promise a revitalization of the sport at all levels throughout the country, particularly in the area of youth and female basketball.
The new executive certainly has a daunting task ahead of them, and will require full participation and commitment from all its members if they are to be successful. The group at the outset displays diversity, with heavy St. John’s College alumni representation in the persons of Paul Thompson, Charles Ellis, Luigi Zaldivar and Julian Murillo. All four of them, with the exception of Luigi Zaldivar, played competitive basketball at the Primary, High School, Junior, Senior, Semipro, and Interoffice levels, which, in the scheme of things, should bode well for basketball. They will be joined by St. Michael’s College/Anglican Cathedral College alumni Brads Neal and Frank Lord, and Gwen Lizarraga graduate and arguably Belize’s most decorated female ‘baller Enid Dakers.
The group, while fairly new however, has strong leadership in Paul Thompson. He has been known to be able to organize and strategize with the best of them, having worked under the master strategist Mark Espat. Charles Ellis, on the other hand, will bring much needed experience and a cool head when problems present themselves, but, more importantly, Charles may just be the right guy to control the often unpredictable Brads Neal. In the meantime, Julian Murillo, a former banker who once resided in Bahamas, is considered well known in the Caribbean, and will bring much needed organizational and communication skills to the post of Secretary General, which is a very demanding post. Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see what roles will Frank Lord and Enid Dakers play on this new executive; both have been known to have low-keyed type personalities.
From the desk, we wish the executive much success.