Perry Irvin Truman Mason

TRIBUTE FROM M.C.W.T. & P.U.

Perry Mason began his service to the public in July 1990 with the Transport Department in the Ministry of Communication and Works. At that time, they engaged in establishing the traffic light system. He later became a Telecommunications Officer in that ministry. However, his service to country may have started earlier because I can recall that during one of our conversations Perry mentioned, in passing, that he spent time as a teacher. This is an indication of the versatility of this son of the soil.

Our relationship with Perry started in July 1998 when the Public Utilities Department was established in the Ministry. Perry made a sterling contribution to the development of the telecommunications industry in St. Lucia and indeed the region both pre and post liberalization. Before liberalization he was the official face of telecoms wherever and whenever St. Lucia was represented. He single handedly ran the affairs, as Perry’s salary was the only Line Item under the Office of Telecoms in the National Budget’s allocations. It was during the years leading up to telecommunications liberalization that we began to fathom the value of his contribution, for no matter where we traveled, Perry Mason’s name was known and I can assure you that it was not because of the character of the famous television show of the 1960’s. This is not to say that Perry himself wasn’t a detective of sorts, for he was effectively an investigator and his job required that of him. One incident brings to mind his skills as an investigator and his commitment as a law enforcer. Sometime just on the fringe of liberalization, Perry got wind of an illegally operating telecoms business in the American Drywall building. Together with Truscott Augustin, he moved in confiscated the equipment and shutdown the operations. Yes, Perry authentically stamped his name among the players in the telecoms arena worldwide; we know that, for the main officials ask about him everywhere we went. He also worked with his buddy, Donnie Defreitas, and the team at the OECS Telecommunications Liberalization Project during the years 1999 to 2001.

However, Perry endured some moments of uncertainty. For a while after the change of administration in 1997, he was moved back and forth between the Ministries of Information and Public Utilities. There were also moments when he was not on the favorable side of his ministers, but like a stalwart, he stuck to his guns. He may have wavered a little, but he knew that he had in Truscott Augustin a genuine department head; and Soucou provided Perry the necessary support. A far as my memory serves, for the period of time that I worked with him the only hint of dislike for Perry or for his work came from a few of the ministers he worked with. You see, Perry’s work required him to take decisions which were neither always popular nor “politically correct;” but he stood by them and in the end when it was all said and done they came to love and respect him for it.

These did not daunt Perry; he stayed the course and remained true to his passion and made “duty to country” and “professionalism” his motto. Perry was knowledgeable and well-versed with issues at work and was always willing to go the extra mile. In spite of his wealth of knowledge in the utilities sector, he demonstrated the patience during the Department’s formative years when most of its staff was going through the learning process. Yet, he had the humility to adapt to the new dispensation ushered in by advent of the Department; he contributed in discussions even when they related to the water and power sectors.
Post liberation brought along its frustrations, for Perry had his vision of St. Lucia and the OECS bustling with activity in telecoms and when St. Lucia showed sings of stagnating, he displayed his disgust. He envisaged the functioning of a fully liberalized environment and he worked tirelessly to accomplish this. He worked, for a while, with ECTEL, the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority, as a Spectrum Officer assisting to coordinate the Spectrum Plan for the ECTEL States. There were times when Perry displayed impatience with the national telecommunications regulatory system for the slow pace at which the industry was developing. He had a special love for amateur radio and the operators in that field; he felt that their role in telecommunications needed to receive more prominence in this new dispensation.

During Perry’s brief period of illness we witness a different side of the man. He returned to work prematurely after receiving medical treatment in the United States of America. Although we were impressed that he had made such a miraculous recovery we thought, out of concern for him, that it would have been wiser for him to remain at home in the comfort of his family and the expectation of the birth of his new baby. I say miraculous because, from all reports, he was not expected back in the Ministry. This is a testimony of the great courage he exhibited and the care that his brother, Adrian, provided for him. Perry, nevertheless, assured us that he was ok; so, we saw it as therapy for him and accepted his decision. Even then he continued to make his contribution albeit a fraction of his former self. His last act was done the week before he fell ill for the last time. He witnessed the signing of two telecommunications licenses by the minister. These licenses had been outstanding for a while; he came to office on Thursday April 17 specifically to hand me the licenses for he knew that the applicants needed the documents. So Perry played a special roll in the preparation these licenses.

But for anyone who knew Perry, they would know that he was not just all about work. He knew how to play as well and he loved Carnival. He was a member of Lucian Spirits, XS Energy and, most recently, Just for Fun carnival bands. Perry secured his vacation every year during the carnival season in order to work in their mass camps and to play mass. So this affable, well-liked individual had a social side to him and his fellow staff members loved him for that – not to mention his special connection with the Transport Department and to one of our secretaries, this easy-going colleague was known as her “teddy bear.”

Perry, you will surely be missed.

So, on behalf of the management and staff of Ministry Of Communication Works Transport and Public Utilities especially the staff and former staff of the Public Utilities Department, Truscott Augustin, Barrymore Felicien, Vera Daniel and Jan Joseph and on behalf of all the departments Transport, Electrical, Meteorology, Admin, Accounts, Works, and Post Office we bid you farewell with the comfort of knowing that your work on earth is well done and that you are in a better place. So, so long our friend and colleague until we meet again in the great beyond.