Rickiell Hodge
Fifty-three years ago, on May 30, 1967, when Anguilla rebelled against internal rule by the then Central Government in St. Kitts, making headlines around the world, the “rogue island”, as it was called, had no smart telecommunications to tell its intriguing story.
Conversely, the international reporters, who flocked to the island, had no way of dispatching their hot stories about the Revolution. They had to do so by travelling to St. Maarten or as far as Puerto Rico. Today, with the swift growth of telecommunications, via the Internet, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, other social media and the ingenuity of young and enterprising Anguillians, information about events on the island is direct, instant and colourful.
Take for example the excellent work of Pink Mako, an Anguillian digital media company, owned and operated by young Rickiel Hodge, assisted by a number of other young men. They were at the official Anguilla Day celebrations held at the Conference Room of the Ministry of Finance on Friday, May 29, rather than on the Ronald Webster Park, as usual, due to the covid-19 precautions. In a very impressive and colourful setting, they produced the event live and direct thus enabling Anguillians at home and abroad, as well as other persons around the world, to see the proceedings.
Premier Banks and Rickeill Hodge
The Anguillian newspaper, spoke to Rickiell who got a brief chance to comment on his work and that of his team, after a flurry of congratulations from a number of persons at the ceremony.
“The name of my company is Pink Mako ,” he said. “We provide content for our clients. We do social media management, digital advertising and marketing. But for this [Anguilla Day] production we did live-streaming where we had four cameras live-switching – and also a computer which was playing a video, we created, paying homage to the National Heroes [and Heroines] and some footage of Anguilla in the background.
“Pink Mako was formed right after Hurricane Irma. We formed it because we realised that there were companies in Anguilla that needed a digital presence. We are helping companies to create a good virtual digital presence online so that people can know what services they provide.”
Rickiell identified his team at the Anguilla Day celebration as having been Raheem Carty; Brandon Bradshaw and Kerwin Fleming – including himself. “This is part of the team that put on some of our virtual productions,” he stated. “We have just teamed up with Titanium Audio Visual of Gilbert Fleming (Gaff) and son, Garian, where we did the Exodus live-stream. We also did a live-stream for Synergy Band – and we are doing one for Bankie Banx on Saturday [May 30], at the Music Academy.”
Rickiell has a degree in Networking Communications Management and he also studied Telecommunications in Florida. “After graduation I came back to Anguilla and started doing videography and photography. That quickly turned into a lot of digital productions around Anguilla,” he went on. “I did a lot of live-streaming and projection on screen, and we are also providing conferencing services for companies that come to Anguilla, mainly at the hotels. We work for companies like Mercedes Benz, Apple, Edward Jones, Honda and Subaru, just to name a few of them – over the years.”
Noting that in 1967 such communication services were unheard of in Anguilla, Rickiell said: “There have definitely been great strides in the technological scene on the island. I think Anguilla is leading the virtual presentation in the Caribbean right now. Along with Titanium Audio Visual we have done some really nice productions on Anguilla, and I think we are still at the forefront of that.
“The digital revolution has basically been ushered in full force since the covid-19 debacle. It has compelled us to really think digital and how we can present traditional celebrations, like this Anguilla Day event, and bring that into the digital realm, allowing persons to virtually view events from anywhere in the world. We are trying to get people to have a little feel of what it would be like if they were here in Anguilla. That’s why we have images of boat-racing, food and other national events.”
Rickiell is the son of Pastor Gareth Hodge and Mrs. Joan Hodge. “I expect that my parents are very proud of me,” he stated. “Ronald Webster (the late Leader of the Anguilla Revolution) was my uncle and the late Walter Hodge (who chaired the 1967 Anguilla Peacekeeping Committee) was my grandfather. So I came from a strong lineage of the Revolutionary Fathers of Anguilla. Hence, I am very proud to give back a little bit of myself.”
