Pat
Patricia Sammy
Director
Pat believes that a clear and compelling vision is an essential ingredient that underpins and volunteer initiatives.
Patricia Sammy was born in Trinidad and had the pleasant ‘misfortune’ of hooking up with Grant Morris where she soon found herself in a volunteer capacity dealing with a significant number of Barbadian functions.
Pat was educated at ASJA Girls’ College in San Fernando, Trinidad and emigrated to Canada in 1973. For 31 years she was employed by Bell Canada where she held many important positions including Senor Clerk in the Construction Department where shesometimes acted as Manager in the absence of her boss and Senior Associate in the Engineering Department.
Her engineering background provided her with the communication, leadership and organizational skills which have served her well in executing the various volunteer community tasks which she has carried out with professional dexterity. When she is not doing community work, she provides valuable management and administrative support for Grant Morris Associates Ltd., a Planning and Development Consultant firm in Pickering where she lives.
Over the years Pat has been the Unsung Hero who has played a major role behind the scenes in the organizing and administration of functions and seating plans held by the Harrison/Queen’s College Alumni, the Barbados Charity Ball and the annual Barbados Independence Gala. These skills are critical to create an exceptional guest experience which contributes to those organizations ability to generate the key funding for their charitable objectives.
Pat’s real passion lies with her role as a Director of The Grant Morris Foundation/The Caribbean Event. This Event has been in existence for 26 years and raises money for t he Event’s charitable objectives, including seventeen (17) yearly scholarships valued at $65,000.00, providing some $75,000.00 to the Event’s Endowment Scholarship at the Ontario tech University. More recently she has assisted with the setting up of computer labs, mainly in rural schools throughout the Caribbean to assist financially challenged students in developing computer skills and experience. She also plays a key role in the Christmas Toy Drive which contributes toys to financially challenged children.
Up until last year, the Caribbean Event was held in the backyard of her home in Pickering with some 450 in attendance each year by personal invitation. The Event is now being held at Sts. Peter & Paul Banquet Hall, 241 Milner Avenue, Scarborough.
In 2002, Pat Sammy was recognized for her community service through a plaque presented by the Caribbean Event. In 2004, upon her retirement from Bell Canada after 31 years of service, was given the Bell Canada Service Award. In 2019 she received the Community Service Award at the Barbados Charity Ball, presented by the Consul General for Barbados at Toronto.
Pat Sammy was a member of the working committee for “Bey9nd Rum and Saltfish” commemorating Barbados’ 50th Anniversary Year of Independence in 2016; the Caribbean Event’s 20th Anniversary booklet and the Harrison/Queen’s College Commemorative Publication 2022.