What a great article! This brings back so many memories for me. I lived in Trinidad for several years up until I was about to turn twenty. I had migrated to Trinidad in 1959 with and attended school there. I was part of the “Canaries”, on of the three member singing group that appeared on the first segment of Scouting for Talent with Holly Bataudier. What an experience that was. The competition spanned eight weeks and we were the winners of the first round. We sang “Via Con Dios” popularized by the Drighters; the come the final round of eight winners, we faced off for the finals in the grand finale. We sang “Little Jimmy Brown” by The Bells. We won! What a joyful experience that night. I had convinced the other boys that we could do this and we practiced and practiced and it paid off. Those were of course the pioneering days of television in Trinidad, and the TTT logo. That night my mother wanted to drive from Malick to pick us up, but we had no choice but to first visit lower Barataria and perform in the street in the middle of the night for all the fellas and folks on the street where Lloyd Dillon, the group leader lived, and Clayton the guitar player who also lived nearby. Needless to say, we didn’t get one million dollars in prize money then. The prizes were a watch; a fridge and a trip for to Crown Point Hotel in Tobago. The press the day after wondered how the prizes would be distributed by us and if this would bring division among us (smile). We solved the problem by giving Lloyd the watch (he wanted and needed it) and Clayton took the fridge, I took the trip. I offered it to my parents but they sent me and my cousins instead. I negotiated a trip for three instead of for two! What a bargain back then. Holly Bataudier was way ahead of his time compared to American Idol, just a different time and different opportunities. We sang and danced on Hazel Ward’s “Teen Dance Party” and loved it. There are so many fond memories of Trinidad, and living in Toronto for the last forty years, and although Jamaican by birth, I spent my formative years in Trinidad and it’s a part of me. It is sad to see TTT and the Pioneers disbanded. Those were fond times that still bring back memories to be cherished always. My hat goes off to you and all the crew back then; the “Trilblazers”. You may check out my debut CD below. All the best to you and everyone.

Best Regards,
Pat Reid
http://cdbaby.com/cd/patreid

http://www.myspace.com/httpwwwmyspacecompatreidgospelsinger

I hope this message finds you well! My name is Corina Chevalier and I am the daughter of your an old coworker and friend of yours, Errol Chevalier. I came across this site and was able to connect you with my father. Anyhow, if for any reason you are unable to connect with my dad in the future, please do not hesitate to get in contact with me so that I can direct you to him. My dad was very pleased that he was able to connect with you. My email address is corinachevalier@hotmail.com. Thank you and best wishes!
Corina

We became part of ttt on the same date and that was the start of a life long friendship. Some of my most pleasant memories are working together with you and Louis Sorzano with the Auricon covering sports and special events.

Your career bloomed with your talent in tv production and you gained exceptional achiements in your role at UNICEF. Well done!