The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

“WELL done” was how the Venerable Archdeacon I Ranfurly Brown summed up the life of the late Bernard Livingstone ‘Winky’ Bostwick.

The comments, which he compared to the scripture text of the Parable of the Talents, were made as he delivered the eulogy at the funeral service of Bostwick yesterday before a packed audience at St Agnes Anglican Church where Brown serves as the rector.

Bostwick, 71, was remembered for his stellar service to both the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations as the secretary general and to the Bahamas Olympic Association (as it was referred to then) as the assistant secretary general, two positions he held longer than anybody else.

Having watched Bostwick as he grew up in St Agnes, Brown said he gave of himself because it was a privilege to serve God.

“He endeavoured to do his best with the talent that God had given to him,” Brown said. “He reminded us that whatever we have, we need to use it to the best of our ability.”

Over the years, Brown said Bostwick helped to encourage and inspire the athletes that he came in contact with at the Thomas A Robinson Track and Field Stadium and because of his commitment and dedication to the growth and the development of the sport, he called upon Dr Bernard Nottage, minister of national security, to impress upon the government to ensure that something permanent is done for the unsung heroes like Bostwick at the new stadium.

Nottage, a long time friend of Bostwick, was on hand for the funeral service. He delivered a heart-warming tribute, talking about his close association with Bostwick. He noted how they worked together as the president and the secretary/treasurer of the Central American and Caribbean Athletic Congress to help to usher in a number of positive directions for the sport in the region.

Included among their conquests together was when they went to the International Amateur Athletic Federation in 1982 and agitated for a change in the voting procedure for “one country, one vote.”

During that time, Bostwick was serving as the secretary of the BAAA, a position he held from 1968-1997.

“He was more than a friend,” Nottage said. “We were so close that he had my back and I had his back. When we went into meetings, he could finish a sentence. That was how closely we were connected.”

Alpheus ‘Hawk’ Finlayson, a historian and former public relations officer and president of the BAAA, also spoke during the pre-service. He informed the audience of the many exploits that Bostwick was able to achieve, including serving as the organisational secretary and meet director for just about every international competition held in the Bahamas until the 2015 Senior CAC Championships.

Bostwick, a teacher by profession who participated in softball, cricket, soccer and athletics, was awarded the IAAF Veteran’s Pin at the IAAF Congress in Seville, Spain in 1999 for his dedicated service to the sport. He was also inducted into the CAC Hall of Fame in 2008.

A number of persons attended the funeral, including Pauline Davis-Thompson, who was re-elected as a IAAF Council Member at the IAAF Congress in Beijing, China, two weeks go, along with Sir Arlington Butler, former president of the BOA when Bostwick served and BAAA president Mike Sands, who invited Bostwick to serve as the organiser for the pre-events for the initial IAAF World Relays last year.

Both the BOC and the BAAA were well represented by their members.