For the past five years the country’s leading home builder, Arawak Homes, has been naming its various subdivisions after notable Bahamians.
The late Deacon Leviticus Adderley is the latest Bahamian to be recognised. The latest named community will be commissioned on July 5th, 2006.
The residential community, “Lou Adderley Estate” is located in the western district of New Providence, just off Bacardi Road.
As part of the recognition, Arawak Homes has commissioned “renowned artist, Antonious Roberts to create a bust of Lou Adderley to grace a monument”, a release from the company stated.
According to the release, the Arawak Homes Board of Directors hopes that by naming the residential community in honour of Deacon Lou that it will “serve as a constant reminder of the contributions made by Mr. Adderley to The Bahamas”.
Apart from his outstanding career and contributions as teacher, mentor and coach at Saint Augustine College (SAC) Deacon Lou is remembered more for his humility and his ability to inspire in others a desire to pursue and realise their dreams.
“Though small in stature, he was a giant among men,” the release stated. “Humble by nature and by birth, he was exalted to high positions; a follower of dreams, he led thousands to follow theirs; coach in many sports, he was a champion to all his athletes.”
Stating that Lou Adderley’s contributions to his church, to his SAC family and to the culture of The Bahamas would be more than sufficient to cause him to receive the respect and admiration of many generations of Bahamians, Arawak Homes noted his outstanding contribution in the late 60s when SAC became co-educational.
“Mr. Adderley made it his special project to encourage and bring out the best in female athletes who he thought were being over-shadowed by the males,” according to the release. “From then on, he coached females in virtually every sport leading them to many championships over the years.
He also coached National teams in basketball and volleyball to the Pan American, the Central American and Caribbean Games,” the release added.
In addition to his coaching at SAC and with national teams, Lou Adderley also left his mark on amateur sports creating an organisation for game officials without which amateur sports could not have progressed as it did.
According to the Arawak Homes release he was the “founding president of The Bahamas Association of the certified officials (BACO) for track and field”. And not only did his career include what the release termed “myriad of awards and honours from various organisations”, “Lou was [also] inducted into the Bahamas Amateur Basketball Association Hall of Fame in 1982.
In January of 1992, the Government named the park that is presently situated on Claridge Road in his honour.
Following his graduation from St. John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration, Mr. Adderley began his career at St. Augustine’s College as a Physical Education (P.E.) teacher in 1955.
In January of the following year, he became a full-time Mathematics teacher, a post he thoroughly enjoyed.
In 1971 Lou became Deputy Headmaster to Fr. Theophile Brown, O.S.B., whom he followed as Headmaster in 1973.
Nor did his devotion to his community end there. As a husband to Floridell Adderley and father to two daughters, Clare Sands and Daria Adderley, one son Gervase (deceased), he is fondly remembered by his family which also includes son-in-law Roger Sands and grand-daughter, Francesca Sands. Deacon Lou joins an illustrious group of Bahamians who have had their contributions recognised and remembered by the Arawak Homes “tradition of naming new residential communities in honour of outstanding Bahamians”.
In August of 2000, Arawak commissioned Sir Lynden Pindling Estates, in honour of the late Prime Minister and Gerald Bartlett Estates in October of that same year.
The Opening of Doris Johnson Estates followed in 2001. Freddie Munnings Manor in 2002; the R.E. Cooper Estates followed in 2003, with the E. Clement Bethel Estates in 2004. The most recent the Canon John Pugh Estates was commissioned in 2005.
The Nassau Guardian
