One of the most expensive roads, constructed in recent times in Anguilla, complete with sidewalks and drains, has been named after the late Anguillian businessman, Mr Calvin Washington Lake. The road runs parallel to the front of the ABC Supplies Building, and along the back of the Government Secretariat and other public buildings.
Mr Lake, who is survived by his wife, Mrs Janet Lake, and their four children, was the founder of ABC Supplies – a hardware store which he established adjacent to the airport and operated for many years until his passing on April 3, 2006 at the age of 52.
The business was eventually moved to its present location as a result of the expansion of the airport runway. The vastly-upgraded commercial enterprise comprises an ultra-modern and landmark building which, apart from its ground-floor business operations, provides expansive space for a diverse range of office accommodation facilities.
Minister of Infrastructure and Communications, Mr Evan Gumbs, said he was proud of the contribution of the late businessman to Anguilla – and the fact that Lake’s family had undertaken to carry on his legacy and expand the business in his honour. He was happy to be involved in the road-naming event and offered his best wishes to the family on behalf of the Government and people of Anguilla.
Mrs Keesha Fleming Lake, wife of Mr Michelle Lake, who spearheads the family’s business, chaired the ceremony and paid tribute to her father-in-law for the legacy he had left for others to emulate.
Mitchelle Lake described his father as “a man who acted on principle and believed that there was only one way to do anything and that was the right way.” He praised his father for sharing the concerns and problems of others; mentoring and developing other persons as tradesmen and businessmen; for his contribution to Anguilla’s development; and for having been a pioneer in business in his own right.
“The decision by the Government of Anguilla to name this road ‘The Calvin Washington Lake Road’, to my mind, is a fitting way to honour our father and husband, and to say thank you, on behalf of the citizenry of Anguilla, for his contributions to the island’s development,” Lake stated. “Persons like Calvin have helped to shape Anguilla by strengthening the family, the communities and the people. His contribution is a great example of the major impact our local people have made on, and continue to make to, the island’s development.”
