Noel Adams is a ‘Special Person’“I gave my life to radio and entertainment, and since retirement, I have still tried to focus on entertainment activities…I would love to see radio inspire and motivate our nation much more than it is doing at present.”By Rabindra RooplallNoel Adams is what I would describe as an iconic figure, who to date, has given 44 years of his life to radio, and has molded and shaped that medium via his dedication. This outstanding 68-year-old son of the soil is arguably one of the most humble giants one will ever meet. In short, you’ll never know if you don’t ask.This week’s ‘Special Person’ was born in 1942 at Alness, on the Corentyne Coast, Berbice, to William and Iris Adams. He is the eldest of five children, followed by two brothers and two sisters. He has been married for 27 years and is the father of one, Joseph Adams.From the inception, the challenges Noel faced probably set the tone for a life of superlatives. He was born with cataract and ‘lived in darkness’ until he was nine years old. He then had corrective surgery which helped to some extent with his vision.Noel AdamsBy his teens, Noel was capable enough to write for himself,Kyrie Irving Jersey, and started to develop a passion for music. At the age of 15 he fell in love with the art form, which helped bridge the gap, since it was recommend by his doctor that after completing his Primary education he should not push into Secondary School since his eyes would be tremendously strained, and if too much reading was done, they would eventually fail him.Noel attended St. Marks Anglican School at Alness and developed that love for music during his early days in the Ancient County.However, he later moved to Georgetown since an opportunity was presented to be a part of a programme called “In search of a star” which he gravitated towards in 1964, aged 22, and where he was one of the only persons who wrote and composed his own songs after being motivated by Ray Charles and Steve Wonder who were rising to stardom.Noel recounted that he had gone to the Guyana Broadcasting Service’s radio station to “try a thing”. He got on the programme and was successful.“I remained in town because the opportunity allowed me to be part of the radio team. I was extremely happy for the employment.”Noel disclosed that he originally wanted to be a Priest, and then he thought of being a Lawyer. A radio announcer is what he became; he unwaveringly devoted his life towards the career.He reflected that he couldn’t have been a priest since he was not fully qualified to enter the university and the same applied to his ambitions to be a lawyer.Consequently, he continued with studies in music and with correspondence courses in English, Economics and various other subjects.Noel started his career in radio on November 1, 1966, when the Guyana Broadcasting Service was located on High Street. He started as a library staff and later eventually produced and presented programmes.From 1966 to 2003, his name was synonymous with soothing entertainment. During that almost four-decade part of his tenure, his duties, beginning in the library, entailed production of musical programmes; formulating concepts for musical programmes and assisting other producers and presenters devise novel ideas for the listeners.Our It was also in this period that he performed as a blues vocalist for the renowned ensemble,Cheap Jerseys, the Harry Whittaker Jazz Sextet, and was also pianist attached to the Pegasus Hotel. He also entertained many at noteworthy establishments the likes of Del Casa restaurant, Hotel Tower and Belvedere.Noel recalled during his years in radio many persons had made a tremendous impact on the local scene. He spoke highly of several of his managers, including his first Ulric Gouveia, as well as Rafiq Khan, Terry Holder, James Sydney, Ave Brewster, and Fazil Azeez, who is now a magistrate, and gave kudos to a number of announcers also, naming among them Margaret Lawrence, Matthew Allen, Ron Robinson, Clive Bacchus, Eslin Chapman, Prudence Lewis-Bhola,? Basil Bradshaw, Rosemary Benjamin-Noble and Ayube Hamid. Bertie Chancellor, who also announced for many years, and Jean Singh, were described as library stalwarts.Reminiscing on his early days in ‘radioland’ he recollected when he was a part of the production team for “In search of a star”, a programme which connected with particularly youth in society,Discount Nike Air Force One Shoes, and where he met Ayube Hamid, who he joined in traversing the country, between 1967 and 1979, in search of talented young individuals.Another production which struck a chord with Noel was ‘Teensville’, a show for talented teens – which was also conducted exclusi