By FELICITY DARVILLE

St Augustine’s College Alumni Association (SACAA) named Algernon Cargill as Alumnus of the Year. He is set to receive the award this month, at the Lighthouse Awards and Gala, an annual affair that highlights some of the brightest individuals to have graduated from St Augustine’s College. After a nomination process, a panel of judges deliberate and decide on the honorees. Of 21 award winners this year, Mr Cargill and Daphne Degregory Miaoulis were crowned Alumna and Alumnus of the Year.

Algernon graduated from Saint Augustine College (SAC) in 1978, the school’s second six-year programme class. At SAC, Algernon was active in school life and studied an academic program leading to several University of London GCE passes, highlighted with an unanticipated A grade in history.

While some high school friendships fade, and classmates tend not to keep in touch very often, Algernon’s class have found strength in lifetime friendships and bonds that cover personal, professional and civic advantages. The cohesiveness of the Class of 1978 has produced a class filled with some of the movers and shakers in the nation. While at SAC, Algernon made some of the best friends he has today.

“I have a lot of great memories at SAC,” he said, “And I particularly recall the platonic friendship I developed with Lisa Lafleur-Major.”

“We are the godparents to each other’s eldest children, we stood in each other’s weddings, and are very close friends today. I have been instrumental in being one of the primary organisers for just about all of our class reunions and the last we held was our 40th at the Balmoral Club.”

The Cargill family has a household tradition of attending SAC. He is the seventh of 12 children born to Alton Cargill and Madge Cargill (both deceased), and he was born right in the family home on Farrington Road. They were married for 56 years until Alton died in 2011. Sidney, the eldest brother, attended SAC when it was an all-boys school and Vanria attended Xaviers when it was an all-girls school. Adrian is a member of the SAC Class of 1974; Cloretta, Class of 1975; Algernon, Class of 1978; Troy, Class of 1982; Robertha, Class of 1985; and Rodd, Class of 1986.

Initially, Algernon attended Ms Canaire School, Chippingham Primary, Oakes Field Primary and when the family relocated to Eastern New Providence, he transferred to Claridge Primary in grade five.

“Oakes Field was my favourite school and I really was not happy that I had to leave as the education there was very strong and the principal then was Rev Charles Saunders,” Algernon recalls.

With a strong upbringing in education, Algernon sat the entrance exams for SAC, Aquinas, and St Anne’s, and was successful in all three.

“Of course, I chose SAC, as it was my dream school and I wanted to follow the footsteps of my siblings,” he said.

“I studied the science stream at SAC and was successful in the GCE (London) exams in six subjects. Back then, the maximum was eight subjects. These results earned him a scholarship at the College of The Bahamas, where he enrolled to study in the Spanish education program. “Yes, I wanted to be a Spanish teacher,” he mused. “I had a lot of free time and applied for a job in CIBC.”

“I started during my first semester at COB and later withdrew as the job took up a lot of time. When I returned to COB, part-time, I transferred my major to banking and finance and completed this degree as well as the Bahamas Institute of Bankers Diploma.”

Now somewhat bilingual, Algernon was also bi-vocational as he matriculated at COB and was simultaneously employed with Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) Bahamas Ltd. Algernon’s initial position at CIBC was as a Teller. He quickly progressed through the ranks to leadership roles as branch manager; country manager for St Lucia; manager of strategy for the Caribbean area, based in Barbados; and the general manager of branch banking. While working full-time, Algernon transferred to the University of Miami into a highly competitive executive Master of Business Administration (MBA) programme that he successfully completed as the Class Salutatorian.

At CIBC, Algernon was recruited to join the Junior Achievement (JA) Organisation as an Advisor. He served in this organisation for ten consecutive years as an executive advisor, developing several most distinguished achievers and oratorical contest winners. I was among them. Junior Achievement played an instrumental role in my life. I learned business, marketing and oratorical skills that were valuable in shaping my profession in media today. I recall that although Mr Cargill was a senior officer at the bank, he had the ability to inspire us as students to achieve greatness. With a demure smile, he encouraged fun in the organisation, but always pushed us to have great results in the organisation of our clubs and our product sales. As The Bahamas’ first ten-year advisor, Algernon said benefitted from the programme as much as the high school students did. He learned about service and how he could really shape the lives of young Bahamians.

“I have always been involved in community or civic activities and during employment at CIBC, I was invited to serve as an advisor for our Junior Achievement company during the initial year that Sir Franklyn Wilson introduced JA in The Bahamas,” Algernon said.

“It was quite interesting and although I was quite young at the time, perhaps age 21 or 22, I played a significant role in the development of many young people who are successful today. As an example, Dr Duanda Ash, my ophthalmologist, was a member of our first Junior Achievement company and went on to win the most Distinguished Achiever Award. Yvette Bethel, an HR professional and business owner of her own HR consulting firm, was our president and we maintain a very good professional relationship today. I met Olympian Frank Rutherford during my JA tenure as he too was one of my achievers, along with Lionel Haven, Nicolette Deal and so many other outstanding Bahamians. I was the first person to serve ten consecutive years as a Junior Achievement advisor and received the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture’s Community Affairs Service Award in 1988 as a result of my dedication to Junior Achievement.”

This interest in Junior Achievement led to additional service positions that included: The Bankers’ Athletic Association; Parish Council positions at St Thomas Moore Roman Catholic Church; chairman of the Mary Star of the Sea Bazaar; president of the Mary Star of the Sea and Xavier’s Lower School PTA Associations; vice president of The Bahamas Olympic Committee; president of Bahamas Aquatics Federation; vice president of the Central American and Caribbean Aquatics Confederation; and a two-term member of the World Aquatics Bureau, where he represents the Central America and Caribbean regions as a member of this global governing body for Aquatic Sports. During Algernon’s 21-year tenure as president of Bahamas Aquatics, he has led the Bahamas Aquatics Federation to six consecutive Carifta Aquatics titles and eight of the last nine championships.

Education has always been a hallmark of excellence in Agernon’s life. As an adjunct college professor, Algernon has lectured a range of business courses that include Caribbean economics, HR management and industrial relations, and marketing management at the University of the West Indies. He is a current adjunct faculty member of the University of The Bahamas in the School of Business, where he lectures courses in the Banking Economics and Finance and Marketing and Management Departments. He was selected by the College of The Bahamas as its Baccalaureate speaker in 2007, and in 2009, he was the commencement speaker, delivering the keynote address on the topic: “Prepared Minds! Determined Hearts: Ready for Excellence”.

Algernon is currently the area director for Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, an international brotherhood dedicated to uplifting and advancing the black community. He is a lifetime member of the fraternity, and he currently serves on the National Grievance and Discipline Committee He also chairs the Fraternity’s Southern Region’s Caribbean Brothers Affairs Committee, in addition to serving as the Director of Educational Activities for his Chapter, Iota Epsilon Lambda. Algernon is also a former two-term vice president of his Chapter. In his role as the director of educational activities, Algernon co-chairs the Chapter’s annual Honours Day Programme and the Think College – Think HBCU College Fair Programme. Through these fraternity programs, Algernon has been able to develop relationships with several university presidents and executives. These relationships and partnership have benefitted Bahamian students to the extent where Bahamian students have received more than $20m in university scholarships over the past six years, primarily to HBCUs in the US.

With a professional career that has included executive positions in Banking; Algernon was recognised by CIBC as one of the most outstanding 22 employees from a pool of more than 30,000 people. This recognition culminated in Algernon receiving the President’s Award in 2000.

Algernon has also served as the director and CEO of the National Insurance Board, the Director of Aviation, and currently serves as the chairman of Progressive Pharmaceuticals Ltd, and PAS Pharmaceuticals Ltd, an organisation that includes the Friendly Pharmacy group of companies. Algernon has also served as a director on several corporate boards that include Cable Bahamas Ltd, Commonwealth Brewery Ltd, the Bank of the Bahamas, the Disaster Reconstruction Authority and the Insurance Commission of The Bahamas. His successful career path also includes tenure at Chevron Bahamas, Ltd, where he also won a leadership award.

He recalls his professional path: “I worked for a few years as the financial planning and pricing manager for the Caribbean and Central America and was one of 20 people to receive an award for outstanding leadership. I later transitioned to the National Insurance Board where I was successful in implementing, without hiccups, the National Prescription Drug Plan, the Unemployment Benefit, and for transforming the board then to an efficient and customer service driven agency of the government of The Bahamas. During my tenure, NIB was fully transformed to a customer service driven agency, that was operationally efficient, and employees were challenged to contribute to the board’s success and were evaluated based on their contributions. When I meet NIB employees, I am often reminded of the successes we shared, and often asked when I am returning. My common response is that my work there is done and I do not want to get involved in the political high-stake games that seemed destined to try to destroy character and individuals. I enjoyed my short tenure at the Department of Aviation where I managed the aviation portfolio of the Minister of Tourism and Aviation and left a positive legacy that I am often reminded about.”

He is married to Lamar Cargill (nee Bain). This couple has been blessed to celebrate the sacrament of marriage for 40 years. Algernon and Lamar co-parent four children, Dr Algernon Cargill Jr, a pediatric emergency room physician in Atlanta Georgia; Aldyn Cargill, a lawyer and banker with ScotiaBank in Ottawa Canada; Alvan Cargill, a banker with Morgan Stanley in Alexandria, Virginia; and Dr Alaina Cargill, a veterinarian and medical director of an animal hospital in Silver Springs, Maryland. Algernon and Lamar are also the proud grandparents of five grandchildren, Logan, Aubrey, Elle, Alvan-Alexander and Grace Cargill. He worships at St Thomas Moore Roman Catholic Church where he is a lay reader and a Eucharistic minister.