One is a politician and diplomat, another is a veteran public servant, and another has spent the last four decades preserving everything Belizean. The diplomat is Assad Shoman, the career public servant is Gladys Bernard, and the collector is Meg Craig. All three now have one thing in common, they are Belizean patriots in the truest sense. Thirty-two patriots were honored at last night's Tribute to Belizean Patriots. Seven of the thirty-two were awarded Belize's highest honors by Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Said Musa. Tonight we highlight those 7 starting with Gladys Bernard from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She received the meritorious award. She was introduced by her current boss, Foreign Affairs Minister Eamon Courtenay.

Hon. Eamon Courtenay, Minister of Foreign Affairs
"She was by training and experience in the public service a stenographer. In reality she turned out to be more than a stenographer, much more. Gladys Bernard was special. How special? Well as they say the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Today 25 years later after successive Ministers of Foreign Affairs and revolving list of senior staff, Gladys Bernard still serves the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belize. She is the longest serving member of staff of the Ministry. It is the quality and dedication of her service which makes her special. Tonight we proudly salute and give thanks to this good and faithful officer."

Gladys Bernard, Meritorious Award Recipient
"It is with humility and a measure of pride that I stand before you overwhelmed by the honor bestowed upon me. Just to be considered along with the outstanding men and women also honored here tonight, is sufficient reward. In life gifts are more fully appreciated when they come from unexpected sources and when they relate to one's everyday professional responsibilities. Any reward or award beyond one's emoluments is generosity with compound interest."

Lourdes Pinto, Daughter of Severo Pinto
"If there is one word to describe Severo Pinto's life, it must be commitment. Commitment to his dreams, commitment to his family, and above all, commitment to God and country. While my dad is here today to receive the Order of Distinction for his unwavering commitment to the people of Belize, he deserves recognition for his duty as father and husband, brother and friend to all. So I thank you as your child and a child of Belize. Severo Pinto's with its joy and tragedies, with its successes and failures, with its blessings and setbacks, has been about love. Love of his dream, love of his family, and above love of God and country."

Allan Usher, Presenting Award to Rudolph Castillo
"His Excellency Rudolph Castillo is today being honored for his loyalty, dedication to duty, for a distinguished civil service and diplomatic career. In his early 20s he left St. John's College and the teaching profession to join the Colonial Civil Service, touched by the dream of an independent Belize, then so long and so far away.

He served at several journalism posts including various at Radio Belize. For a long time he was the Chief Information Officer and later on Permanent Secretary for several Ministries. He concluded his civil service career as the first Cabinet secretary for the newly independent nation of Belize.

He transitioned to a fledging diplomatic corps setting up our first mission in London and was accredited to Germany, France, and the Holy Sea. Some years later he headed our first mission to Ottawa.

Yes his resume reads like many others who have served nearly forty years but there is a difference. He was the difference. Nationalism alone could not have carried Belize to its rightful place of self-determination. It needed people like Mr. Rudy to run the backroom machinery."

Charles B. Hyde, Presenting to Sir Edney Cain
"I will not list all the special services he performed during his career in the civil service and after his retirement and the awards received for these services except to say that they were also many and varied. All of which taken together makes Henry Edwin Conrad Cain eminently deserving of recognition by our nation and the awarding to him of the Order of Distinguished Service."

Atley Noralez, Presenting to Robert Leslie
"What can I or should I say about my very good friend and colleague Bobby Leslie. He is a well known person in government, diplomatic, consular, and business circles in the country of Belize. His career has spanned the fields of journalism, public service, private sector, and diplomacy. He has held the posts of Secretary to the Cabinet for the past eight years. So tonight I believe that we are all in agreement that Belize is proud to honor one of our most talented sons, Ambassador Robert Anthony Leslie."

Robert Leslie, Awarded Order of Distinguished Service
"I thank the committee or whoever in the committee decided to put my name on this list. This award is something I will cherish for the rest of my life."

Yasser Musa, Presenting to Meg Craig
"Alice Margaret Craig is a humble housewife who has spent her life in service to her God, her family, and her country. Over the many years she has shun and rejected all forms of recognitions and all forms of praise. But tonight she has no choice but to accept the thanks of a grateful nation.

For over forty years she has been collecting all things Belizeans. Her vast collection includes books, rare photographs, historic documents, stamps, currency, natural history specimen, and other antiques that have been preserved to the service of Belize. Archaeologists, anthropologists, researchers, historians, artists, and students have gained invaluable insights to the collections of Meg Craig."

Khader Shoman, Accept for his father Assad Shoman
"I would just like to take probably the only chance I'll ever have to say how proud I am of my father and on behalf of my entire family to say how proud we are of his accomplishments and his dedication to the country and with that I will start his speech.

'In accepting this honor I recognize that such an honor can never be claimed for one's self. Whatever I did to deserve it could only have been done because of great many people who supported and collaborated with me.

The ability to decide for ourselves the course of our own development, to make our own laws and decide our future without seeking the permission of any foreign government, yes that independence was a necessary pre-condition for attaining our greater goal but it could never have been an end in itself, otherwise our work would have been completed on the 21st of December 1981...

...you may record another slogan of 1981, 'our independencia manana liberacion.' That manana has not come and I am not just saying that we have not achieved the goals that we set for ourselves because we know that they can never be completely and finally achieved.'"

Shoman and Craig received the Order of Belize. Sir Edney Cain, Robert Leslie, Severo Pinto, and Rudolph Castillo received the Order of Distinguished Service.

The 25 other honorees are Santiago Coc, Godwin Buckley, Helen Jones, Carlos Orio, Florene Goff Ogaldez, Walter Goff, Concepcion Domingo, Steven Evans, John Mariano, Edsel Sterling Gabb, Seferina Banner, Flora Ancona, Alexandrina Coleman, Luciola West, Margaret Edwards, Lolita Orellana, Iceni Arnold, Andrea Zuniga Gabriel, Edward "Ned" Pitts, Omar Carrias, Carles McCoon, Arcadia Carillo, Zephenia Ramclam, Eduardo Reyes, and Marcus Coy.