“Sport is everybody’s business – the Government, the Private Enterprises and various agencies, including of course, the Guyana Olympic Association – and all must be invested.”By Suraj NarineAll men are created equal and destined for greatness. However, not all men achieve true greatnessIvor Ethelbert O’Brien– and that is a fact. Those that soar to great heights are often those who realise that their true purpose in life is not to merely exist, but rather, to inspire and to reshape the world in a positive light.It is through the eyes of great men that we come to the realisation that life itself can be seen as a canvas and we are the artists of our own destiny.This week, we have decided to feature one such great son of the soil – an astute administrator and truly outstanding Guyanese, who has faced almost unimaginable adversity but yet, has been a beacon and is testimony that hardship does not make us weak but rather, it makes us resilient.Ivor Ethelbert O’Brien, a former Sergeant in the Guyana Police Force, had a brainwave one day and decided to change profession – focusing his energies towards the development of sport, with football being his first choice.His vision and dedication,China Jerseys Wholesale, combined with his love of country, has cemented his name amongst the highest achieving sports managers in Guyana and the Diaspora, in the post-colonial era.To support this, O’Brien has been the deserving recipient of a National Award – the Medal of Service – for his long and dedicated service in the field of sport, especially as an administrator, and in the areas of Social and Community Service. He also possesses a Continental Award – the Pan American Order of Merit – for his sterling contribution to sport in the Pan American Region, and the Commonwealth Order of Merit from the Commonwealth Games Federation.Early LifeBorn on July 18, 1947 to George O’Brien, a police officer, and Veita O’Brien, in Stanleytown,It’s all about the family! With wife June Ann (second from left) and daughters Shivonne (far left), Davana (second from right) and Tasha.West Bank Demerara, Ivor is the third of ten children. He has seven sisters and two brothers.Because his father worked in the City, his family migrated to Georgetown where they resided in East Ruimveldt.Speaking briefly on his childhood, O’Brien said that growing up with such a large family was sometimes confusing. But, complicated as it was, he learnt from a very early age,Cheap Jerseys From China, to value the importance of family and the unbreakable bond that comes along with it.Even to this day, he said, he and his siblings would get together and ‘tantalise’ each other about some of their embarrassing childhood moments.Asked what he remembers most from his childhood, O’Brien said that it was the times he would spend with his father, who was a lover of Cricket.“My father loved Cricket and strange enough, I opted for football, because it was a shorter game. We had a little pasture next to us in Ruimveldt. I think they call it California now, so I would go there and play. I played all kinds of sport, but it’s football that I loved. My father was a member of the Police Force, he would follow the Police cricket team which in those days, was a good team.”O’Brien recalls that during the weekends, his father would take him on his bicycle to look at cricket matches and after the game, they would have to hurry on home so as not to upset his mother.He recalls growing up in a matrifocal home, where his mother was “the boss”. He added that his father would only ‘bring home the bacon’ but his mother would expertly prepare it.Receiving the Pan American Order of Merit from Mario V?zquez Ra?a, President of the Pan American Sports Organization.“Sometimes I would go to my father and I would say, ‘Daddy I want to go somewhere’ and he would say ‘look boy, go ask your mother’. My mother was a housewife and she controlled everything. Whatever she said became rule.” O’Brien said with a chuckle.The Incident that Changed everythingYoung Ivor attended Tutorial High School and upon completion, began working at Auto Supplies,NFL Jerseys Cheap, where he stayed for a couple of months before enlisting into the police force at age 19.Four years later, in December 1970, he got married and some months after, his eldest daughter, Shivonne was born. For O’Brien, life was complete; he was happy. He had a good job, a wife and child that he loved dearly; things were only supposed to get better. However, in early May 1972, nine months after baby Shivonne was born – and a little more than 16 months after he got married – his life changed forever.He and his wife, along with their infant were heading home from his mother-in-law’s, where they had gone to spend the day, when they were involved in a vehicular accident in Durban Street,<