The name and service of the late Educator and Elected Representative of Valley South, Mrs. Albena Lake Hodge, came up in the Anguilla House of Assembly on July 17.
That was when her great niece, the Honourable Dee-Ann Kentish Rogers, who won the constituency seat in the June 29 elections, paid homage to her. She was at the time joining other Members of the House in thanking the people in District 4 who voted for her. She polled a total of 861 votes, defeating former Premier, Mr. Victor Banks, who received 755 votes.
Ms. Kentish Rogers told the Assembly in part: “For this moment, and the moments to come, over the next five years, I have prayed that the spirit, ambitions and lasting legacy of my late great aunt, Albena Lake-Hodge, which have stood the test of time, and endured past her death in 1985, seven years, two months and 22 days, before my birth, will take hold of me and keep me through this journey.”
The young parliamentarian and former Miss Universe (Great Britain) praised Mrs. Lake-Hodge for her selflessness and service to the people of District 4.
In turn, she said that while there were titles and accolades to her own name, the title that she in fact embodied was that of a servant to the people in Valley South.
She added that the next five years would be a humbling experience for her, while balancing the pressures of administrative authority and serving the people in these difficult times facing Anguilla.
Ms. Kentish Rogers has Ministerial responsibility for Education and Social Development. The late Mrs. Albena Lake-Hodge, a former Headmistress, Chief Education Officer and Minister of Education, is formally remembered by the renaming of The Valley Secondary School, the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School, in her honour.
