TRYALL, Hanover — Hundreds of past students of Hanover’s Rusea’s High School in Hanover recently converged on the greens of the swanky Tryall Club for the 9th International Reunion Awards and Gala Dinner.

The event, which was part of a weekend of activities which began the night before and ended on Monday, saw 10 of the school’s distinguished past students receiving honours.

Organised by the Rusea’s Old Students’ Association (ROSA), this is the third biennial reunion in which such awards were being handed out.

One past student, Professor Wayne McLaughlin, was inducted into the Martin Rusea Hall of Fame, named after the school’s founder. This is ROSA’s highest award which has three other inductees in former Governor General Professor Sir Kenneth Hall; president of the Court of Appeal Justice Seymour Panton and telecommunications specialist, Errald Miller.

Professor McLaughlin was recognised for his work as in the area of DNA analysis.

He is currently the head of the Department of Basic Medical Sciences, deputy dean Preclinical and also Director of Caribbean Genetics (CARIGEN), the independent, commercial forensic DNA laboratory, all at the University of the West Indies, Mona.

Nine other past students received ROSA’s Distinguished Alumni Award for their work in their various fields of endeavour.

The awardees were international jazz musician Eugene Grey, urologist Dr Keith Wedderburn, minister of religion the Reverend Verna Cassells, medical ultrasound technologist and radiologic technologist Lennox Anderson-Jackson, gynaecologist Dr Charles Rockhead and broadcast journalist CVM TV’s Kerlyn Brown. Three of the night’s awardees — businessman Marvin Salabie, retired educator Enid Gonsalves and current principal at Rusea’s June Thompson — were unable to attend the event to accept their awards.

In responding on behalf of their fellow honourees, both Professor McLaughlin and Dr Wedderburn, while reminiscing on their time at Rusea’s, also pledged their devotion to the development of their alma mater.

The event saw past students from all over the world attending the event. ROSA has chapters overseas in Toronto, New York, Florida and Atlanta, efforts are also underway to establish a chapter in the United Kingdom. Here in Jamaica, ROSA is headed by a chapter in Kingston.

Among the projects undertaken by ROSA for its alma mater over the years is the establishment for a number of scholarships for students, the construction of a library and a mentorship centre, and the purchase of a piano and school bus.

In the coming years the association is looking towards the construction of an auditorium at the school’s main campus and providing funding for the development of the sports programme at Rusea’s.

Following the awards ceremony cabaret queen Karen Smith thrilled with a set which had ‘Ruseans’ singing and dancing. Her ole’ time Jamaican favourites and Aretha Franklin medley were particularly well received. The past students and their guests then danced the night away to the sounds of DJ Christuff of Renaissance Disco.

The other activities for the reunion weekend were Friday night’s meet and greet; a church service at the Lucea Methodist Church and football festival on Sunday and the events climaxed on Monday with the successful inaugural staging of the Lucea yam and seafood festival at Watson Taylor Park.