A highly respected executive with a benevolent spirit

Jul 18, 2010 News

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… Paul Chan-a-Sue is a ‘Special Person’

“I have been involved in many things but I get the greatest satisfaction in helping others fulfill their dreams, be it in the commercial sector or in cricket. I am a very positive person and that has helped me survive in the tough world of business.”

By Sean Devers
Chairman of Food for the Poor (Guyana) Paul Chan-a-Sue’s contributions to society, particularly his dynamic management style and passion for benevolence are qualities that have made him one of the country’s most admired personalities.
Chan-a-Sue, the descendant of Chinese immigrants who settled in the North West district in rural Guyana in the mid-1800s, has dedicated almost his entire life to the business and sporting worlds and says cricket played a major role in his being an effective administrator.
It is difficult keeping up with the number of companies and organizations that were headed by the affable father of one, but one is given the distinct impression that successfully taking the then newly nationalized Guyana Stores Limited (formerly Bookers) through difficult times, when he was appointed Executive Chairman in 1978, and his tenure as Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) President were among his most treasured moments.

Born on August 2, 1943, in Georgetown, to Charles Chan-a-Sue and Eloise Daldeen, Paul grew up in Robb Street and attended the Talbot AME Nursery School before moving on to the Bourda RC, St Mary’s and Saint Stanislaus College.
Chan-a-Sue, who gained a Booker Cadetship (Scholarship) in 1962 to study Chartered Accounting in Liverpool, England, for four years, remembered the ‘good old days’ when his brother would tow him on a tricycle to nursery school and the hours spent fishing in the trench outside Bourda, the world renowned cricket venue.
“In those days we would swim and catch fish in the trench. We would ride up to Hope Beach on bicycles as teenagers. We had two genip trees in our yard and I would climb the highest. Today the youths don’t do enough recreational physical activity. Of course crime was not as it is now, and parents were never scared of a minibus hitting you down or anything of that nature,” Chan-a-Sue reflected.
“When I was studying, sports played a major role in my life. We never had electronic toys. I think too much TV can be a bad thing. But who I am to say…I have to adapt to change.”
Chan-a-Sue opines that youngsters need to balance technology and physical activity. “More sports in schools should produce healthy children with better grades which will help the economy.”
As a 15-year-old, Chan-a-Sue was playing cricket for Saint Stanislaus, who in those days competed in the 2nd and 3rd division competitions.
He feels that cricket helped with his success as an administrator since it allowed him to mix with the ordinary folk and learn what was really happening on the ground. The contacts he made from cricket helped in closing deals since many remembered him from his days as a player.
Chan-a-Sue played in England while he was studying and said once you were prepared to put in the extra hard work in the winter, cricket did not affect your studies.
After he completed his studies in 1967, he returned to take up the position of Chief Accountant of Bookers Stores.
Because of the scholarship he was mandated to work with Bookers for three years, but said he was happy to return and continued working even after the entity was nationalized.
“It was not like now when people leave to study and never come back. Even now I don’t want to go anywhere. I love living in Guyana,” said Chan-a-Sue, whose only child, Ramon, is a Level III Squash Coach in North America.
In 1970 he was promoted to Chief Accountant, and then Finance Director when Bookers was nationalized on May 26th 1976.
“Englishman David Blackman was the Executive Chairman and stayed on for two years after Bookers became Guyana Stores. I was appointed to his position in 1978. Times were touchy for business in the early 1980s and it was a challenge to keep the company running and retain the skilled staff. I am proud of what we achieved during those years when you had to fight for bonus for the workers and inflation crept up.”
Chan-a-Sue was also Chairman of the Guystac Trade 2 Group of Companies (Guyana Stores, Guyana National Shipping, Guyana National Printers, Guyana Oil Company and Demerara Sugar Terminal) and says that during that time he still played first division, and as he got older, second division cricket.
His father was born in Suriname after his grandfather married a Chinese girl from that country, but although there was an all-Chinese cricket club in Guyana where the Cosmos Sports Club is now, Chan-a-Sue never played for them although he practiced with them as a school boy.
“When I returned from England my school friend Stephen Camacho (former West Indies player) encouraged me to join GCC. I actually became an executive member at a very early age and spent a lot of time playing squash after the court was built,” Chan-a-Sue recounted.
He was an opening batsman for many years and played until the early 1990s in the 2nd division team while he was Chairman of the Board at Hand-in-Hand, GCIS, Hand-in-Hand Trust, Guyana Fisheries and Ansa McAl.
A member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Guyana, Chan-a-Sue became GCC President in 1996 and also served a short but turbulent period as President of the Georgetown Cricket Association and Demerara Cricket Board.
“I wanted to be in charge of the relevant Boards to give back for the good I got from cricket. I love creating opportunities for people and since I felt I had a good administrative background I thought I could help revive the cricket, which was not as it was in the 1970s, and 80s. Power never interested me. Being involved with cricket and traveling to the rural areas with teams helped me to understand what was going on in Guyana,” Chan-a-Sue emphasized.

The garrulous executive, who once represented Venezuela in the South American cricket league in Peru and Argentina and who was the Chairman of the Board for the Mercy Hospital for 10 years, admits loving to provide opportunities and create meaningful avenues for people. Thus it was without hesitation that he accepted to Chair the Board when Food for the Poor, which began in Jamaica, was established here in 1991.
“My greatest satisfaction has come from providing opportunities for people. When I was approached I readily accepted. I wanted to do something to help the poor people, who at the time I did not realize there were so any of,” Chan-a-Sue, who has had two hip surgeries, disclosed.
“Food for the Poor has made a positive impact on people’s lives in Guyana and I don’t think people realize how big it is. It’s the 3rd biggest international charity in the USA,” the Chairman informed. He said British aid to the Caribbean is 80 million pounds while Food for the Poor’s contribution to Guyana for last year was US$116 million.
Chan-a-Sue believes that his biggest contribution to Guyana has been in the area of management, and he would like to be remembered as a benevolent boss who gave many people breaks.
“I have been involved in many things but I get the greatest satisfaction in helping others fulfill their dreams, be it in the commercial sector or in cricket. I am a very positive person and that has helped me survive in the tough world of business.”
Life is never perfect and Chan-a-Sue has a few regrets; among them that he and his wife of 40 years (Ann) only had one child and that the merger with the Georgetown Football Club to upgrade Bourda for Cricket World Cup 2007 never materialized.
“GCC lost many members after the Stadium was built. We have to find ways to sustain the club by renting the venue for other activities. Bourda is a historical site and it’s sad to see how it has fallen away, but you must accept change. We still have a good youth programme and I hope the club can continue to produce West Indies cricketers,” Chan-a-Sue said.
He informed that the government held discussions with GCC and GFC to merge the grounds to develop an international size football and athletics venue.
“We (GCC) are not in favour, because they say cricket will no longer be played here. We have lots of plans for GCC, but we have to be careful, since we don’t know the future of Bourda.”
For all his business savvy and cricket connections, Chan-a-Sue has never harboured thoughts of getting involved in politics and says that while he is now basically retired, doing nothing is not an option for him.
“My hip is better I will return to walking in the (National) Park in the mornings and I still do a lot of reading. I am disappointed that many youngsters today are not giving back as they should in all facets of society but also in the field of Accounting. As soon as they are qualified they leave. The brain drain is one of the main reasons Guyana has not progressed as it should,” he opined.
Chan-a-Sue said playing cricket was his way of relaxing and now that his playing days are over he is learning Portuguese at the Brazilian Cultural Centre.
He feels the school system is not as strong as it was and charged the older generation to show more interest in youth, the future of this country.
The publisher of this newspaper, Glenn Lall, often repeats a saying that the beauty of life is not being happy but seeing others happy because of you.
From his early days as unofficial cricket coach at GCC to his present position as Food for the Poor Chairman, Paul Chan-a-Sue is obviously happiest when making others happy.

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