Dear Editor,
With the passing of Winston "Gus" Cooper, the founding leader of the Valley Boys Junkanoo group, The Bahamas has lost another great patriot, nation builder and sports enthusiast.
Gus spent 34 years in the public service of The Bahamas government. He began his career as a physical education teacher. Later, having joined the administrative staff of the ministry responsible for sports, he would serve as director of sports for 23 years and later as a consultant on a number of important matters crucial to the development of sports in The Bahamas.
The Bahamas, the residents of "The Valley" and the wider community of Junkanoo enthusiasts know and will forever remember Gus, the talented, preeminent Junkanoo performer, for the central role he played in the development and promotion of Junkanoo.
Together with friends and rivals, Gus helped to elevate Junkanoo to a fine art form, making it a singular expression of Bahamian culture.
Gus, it seems, was never afraid of change or innovation. So it was a regular occurrence for the Valley Boys to be in the forefront of Junkanoo firsts - adding new musical instruments and donning more cloth, glitter and feathers to their costumes - even when to do so might cost them a victory.
Junkanoo, as developed with Gus' important contributions, has inspired and continues to inspire the paintings, music and dance of many of our more important national cultural personalities.
Some of these, cultural icons in their own right, may never have cut and pasted in a Junkanoo shack or 'rushed' in a Junkanoo parade. Still, virtually all have swayed and danced during the predawn hours on an early Boxing Day or New Year's Day morning, glorying in the dazzling colors and hypnotic sounds and rhythms of Junkanoo.
To remember Gus now, one might simply close one's eyes and hear the chant "Da Valley" that always accompanied Gus' rush down Bay Street leading the Valley Boys.
On the many occasions that I attended our annual Junkanoo parades, I marvelled at Gus Cooper, who with a fixed gaze on the road ahead moved in steady and precise rhythmic motion, each step planted one in front of the other with the assurance and utmost confidence that his presence commanded the attention of all.
On those occasions, victory was Gus' singular quest and only his and the group's best performance would do. It must have been a great honor for the Valley Boys to take top honors in both the Boxing Day and New Year's Day parades just past.
Gus took his passion for Junkanoo into every aspect of his life. He was an avid sportsman, serving as president of the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) in the 1970s. He was a committed civic leader and community builder, and by every account of his children, a loving father and family man.
Those who worked with him in the public service always recall his commitment to discipline. He expected nothing less than a best effort from those who worked under his leadership and he typically received it.
It is claimed that he had a stubborn streak when putting forward a recommendation. He was always determined to make his audience see the full benefit of his recommendation. I suspect he would say that his strong positions reflected his passion and love for the subject at hand, whatever it might be.
In a discussion, he found it difficult to hide the strength of his convictions on a subject. I was told on more than one occasion to observe Gus' changed demeanor when making an important point in argument.
His eyes would fix into a gaze, his hands, moving rhythmically, would sweep across his mouth, cheeks and chin, and he would seek to enlighten with his familiar introductory words, "....you see, ....you know" and then he would issue forth with his point of view. Whether or not you got more than a few words was dependent on how fired up he was at the time!
I always considered it fortunate that the governments which I was honored to lead benefited from Gus' experience and sage advice on any number of sports and cultural matters. Notably, he had a hand in the early drafting of a national sports policy and introduced the Elite Athletes Subvention Programme.
Any review of Gus' tenure at the Department of Sports will record his dedication to the development of sport facilities and the hand which he played in the construction of many, including: The former Churchill Tener Knowles National Softball Stadium, the Kendall G. L. Isaacs Gymnasium and the Betty Kelly Kenning National Swim Complex. He was also involved in the restoration of the South Beach Pools and Blue Hills Sports Complex.
Gus came out of retirement to serve as a sports consultant with the Ministry of Youth and Sports in January, 2007. During the years 2010 to 2012, he, together with Tommy Robinson and Iram Lewis, was intimately involved with the then minister of sport, the late Charles Maynard, in the development, construction and outfitting of the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium.
I join with thousands of Bahamians in expressing sadness at the passing of Winston "Gus" Cooper. In Junkanoo shacks and on countless fields of sport, Gus imparted values and life lessons to countless young Bahamian men and women who are all better for having known him. The Valley Boys, the Junkanoo community and all of us have lost a leader who will be difficult to replace.
On my behalf and that of Delores and our children I extend sincere condolences to Gus' wife Cassandra, his children and grandchildren, his siblings, the wider Cooper family and to the Valley Boys.
-- Hubert Alexander Ingraham

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