The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

HE was once listed as the fastest male sprinter in the country, albeit with a wind-aided time, but now two-time Olympian Iram Lewis will be racing down the halls of Parliament as the 17th Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture.

On Monday, the Grand Bahamian native received his instruments of appointment as the third Minister of the triple headed ministry under the Free National Movement (FNM) government led by Prime Minister Hubert Minnis.

A day later, Lewis met with some of his staff before he took his seat in Cabinet. The engineer by profession said he’s humbled by his transition as the State Minister of Disaster Preparedness.

“I consider it an honour that God has ordained this for me even before I was in my mother’s womb,” said Lewis, who intends to officially head into his new office today.

“He has crafted this moment for me and I’m happy that I was able to overcome the challenges and tragedies that I experienced in life to get to this point.”

Considered a late bloomer, Lewis didn’t make his first Olympic team until he was 31 years old in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia and four years later, he returned for his second appearance in 2000 in Sydney, Australia.

The 55-year-old, who once ran a wind-aided 9.95 in Florida, the fastest ever by a Bahamian at the time, also holds the distinction of being the champion of the 100m at the inaugural Bahamas Games in 1989.

He also teamed up with Renward Wells, Sylvanus Hepburn and Dominic Demeritte as they broke the Bahamas national record that was set by Tommy Robinson, Bernard Nottage, Norris Stubbs and Kevin Johnson.

Through all that he had to endure, Lewis said it has helped to mould and fashion him for the position he holds today, blending youth, sports and culture into the one melting pot.

“When I lost my son, who was only 23 years old with a stellar career as a high school football player and I lost my father, I thought and asked why I am being punished, but it was more preparation than punishment for me,” he said.

“Instead of me looking at it from the negative side and not the positive side, I got sidetracked. But having experienced these dramatic times in my life, I feel I can now take on any challenge, including this one as the new Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture.”

Iram Taveras Lewis died in 2015 in Alabama. Ironically on June 25, 2015, Lewis and his son were preparing to take the stage to model a t-shirt line. Instead, at 2pm on that day, Lewis attended the funeral service for his son.

“I know he would want me to go on and continue with what we started together,” Lewis said. “He always wanted to start a youth camp for boys in Alabama and he was hoping to do the same thing in Water Cay and in Grand Bahama to empower young men as he preaches that powerful message.”

His father, Reverend Aram Lewis, passed away in 2008. But unfortunately, the younger Lewis was unable to attend because he followed in his father’s footsteps as a member of the USA’s Youth Olympics on their 4 x 100m relay team that won the bronze.

“I’m building from those experiences and encouraging people to know that even though you may have your challenges, just stay focused and let God take you through it,” said Lewis, who ironically was 27 when his son was born, the same age that his father was when he was born.

During his tenure on the track, Lewis ran a personal best of 10.20 and 20.64 in the 200m and around 48 in the 400m. He officially retired in 2001 at the World Championships in Edmonton, Canada where he handed the baton to Dominic Demeritte from the third to anchor legs.

Prior to that, Lewis excelled at Freeport High School and the University of the Bahamas before he enrolled at Tuskegee University on two academic scholarships where he earned an A-grade in engineering while running as a member of their inter-mural track team.

Now back at Cabinet with a broader portfolio as a full-fledged minister compared to a minister of state, Lewis said Minnis has already given him his mandate, including the reintroduction of the Bahamas Games.

“I don’t take his charge lightly,” Lewis said.

“I pledge to do my best to see how I can build a better Bahamas in partnership with all relevant stakeholders.”

Replacing the resigned Lanisha Rolle, the first female ever appointed as the Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Lewis said he’s excited to continue to carry the baton as they accelerate and manoeuvre through.

“I’m very positive and encouraged to take on this awesome responsibility,” said Lewis, who was a past president of the Grand Bahama Amateur Athletic Association and a vice president of the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations and the Bahamas Olympic Committee.

“I want to meet with all of the heads of the various departments in the ministry - youth, sports and culture - and then have a general staff meeting before I meet with the National Sports Authority and then the stakeholders in the various sporting bodies.”

The long-term focus, according to Lewis, is the reintroduction of the Bahamas Games, a mini version of the Olympics, which brought the islands together in competition in various sporting disciplines in six previous editions.

“It will probably take us about two years to plan it properly,” Lewis.

“By then, the country will be 50 years old, so it would be a good time for us to put on a big celebration for the country.”

Minnis, in the House of Assembly on Monday, stated that they have already commenced work on the gymnasium in Andros where they intend to hold the preliminaries of basketball and will stage baseball on Grand Bahama, Bimini and Eleuthera.

All finals are expected to be completed in New Providence.

It’s an undertaking that Lewis said is high on his agenda, but he will take it in stride as he works with all relevant parties.

To all the stakeholders in sports, Lewis indicated that he’s here as a “part of the big team. I realised that when I competed for the Bahamas, I did it as a part of a team on the relay.

“So I realise what it is to be a team player and to develop good chemistry. So I want to hear what their programmes are all about and moving them forward. It’s all about engaging our youth from the sporting to the cultural arenas.

“We will look at the lower fruits hanging and try to get them up to speed and then we will look at our short and long term goals to ensure that all of the components are on the same page so that we can have one cohesive unit and so we can support each other to build a stronger community.”

The work is just beginning, but Lewis said he has his sprints to get through this season that God has blessed him with as the new Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture.