Profiles: Heroes, Role Models and Pioneers of Trinidad and Tobago - by Nasser Khan

133 news analyst and anchor of TTT’s “Panorama” in the early days. During his career he has interviewed hundreds of personalities, including, Bishop Desmond Tutu, Mother Teresa, and all our past Presidents. His programme “From the Silver Screen” was a very popular radio program in the 1960s. The Divali Nagar is the product of his vision. In 1966 at age 24, he went into national politics becoming the youngest Member of Parliament in the Commonwealth. He received the Hummingbird Gold Medal in 1990. ALLYSON BRENDA HENNESSY (1948-2011) B elmont-born, Hennessy was a great supporter of our culture and sports. She attended St. Theresa’s Elementary and Secondary schools and later Holy Name Convent. Hennessy (born Hezekiah) has been described as the Oprah Winfrey of T&T, such was her local popularity for many years as one of our most loved television presenters. Trained in the United Kingdom, she joined Trinidad and Tobago Television (TTT) and went on to host the program Community Dateline for several years until 2005 when the station closed. In 2009 she received the Media Excellence award from the Trinidad and Tobago Publishers and Broadcasters Association. In 2010, she began co-hosting The Box, a daily TV talk show on the Gayelle Network and also had her own television program, Allyson 10-12. She was a familiar face as host of Carnival activities and special events. A Cordon-Bleu trained chef, Hennessy was a co-owner with her sister of the Veni Mangé Restaurant in Woodbrook, Port of Spain.