![\"Clayton](\"http:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Clayton-Shillingford.png\")
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Clayton Shillingford at his microscope during his days at the Dominica Grammar School in (Circa 1955). He later earned his Ph.D. at the University of Illinois in plant pathology, became the Technical Director of the Jamaica Banana Board Research & Development Department, and Product Development Manager at Dupont Labs in Delaware. In 2000, Dr. Clayton Shillingford became the first President of the Dominica Academy of Arts & Sciences. Next to him is J. Bernard Yankey who earned his Ph.D. in agriculture from the University of Wisconsin, at Madison. Dr. Yankey later served as the High Commissioner to Canada of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) in Ottawa, Canada and President of the Dominica State College. (Courtesy of the National Archive, UK). Both men are noted as having made worthy contributions to the national and regional development process.<\/strong><\/p>\n My Fellow Dominicans and Friends of Dominica:<\/p>\n I have come to view recent developments in Dominica with grave disappointment: The many reports of the\u00a0unsavory activities of\u00a0Ministers\u00a0of Government and their followers;\u00a0the poor work ethic, lack of\u00a0discipline, systemic dishonesty, and personal aggrandizement; the attraction to\u00a0sewo<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0bon temps<\/em>\u00a0in place of honest work and productive endeavour. These trends in Dominican culture will get us nowhere in this world. Corruption, crude conduct in private and public life, and violation of our laws and constitution will not aid us in building up our nation. We now embrace, for most issues, a fabric of excuses and vacuous explanations, and when that does not divert\u00a0from the societal dysfunction, we descend to lies and propaganda. It was not always so.<\/p>\n In my youth, my mother, as many other parents would say to their children,\u00a0said\u00a0\u201cyou cannot be wrong and strong: you must work hard to achieve your dreams and help others realise their dreams also, as you can\u201d. I sought to use these early lessons as guides in my life and career, always reaching upwards in academics, sport, and charity work.<\/p>\n My father, Hesketh Shillingford, took an early step to motivate me in the area of excellence. This he said when I was twelve in 1948: \u201cif you, son, win the single scholarship to go to the Dominica Grammar School (DGS), I will give you a bicycle\u201d. The following year, I came first in the island scholarship examination and continued to be first in every form\u00a0through my years at the DGS and skipped one form. I received multiple awards for academic performance at each annual DGS Speech Day, was Victor Ludorum at Sports Day, a member of the Cadet Corps, Head Boy and Senior Prefect, Captain of the Cricket Team, 1st Grade Cambridge School Certificate, and Higher School Certificate. Then I went, on British Government Scholarship, to the University of the West Indies (UWI) in Jamaica, where I gained an Upper Second Class BSc in Chemistry, Botany and Mathematics. On my return to Dominica to teach Science in 1962, I bettered the instruction at the DGS and saw my science students on their way to careers of excellence in engineering, agriculture, and medicine. The DGS teams under my guidance also excelled in island cricket and soccer.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, I was also engaged in study of the taxonomy and ecology of Dominica’s Rain Forest, for which, on my return to UWI in 1966, I received an MSc in Botany. My knowledge in plant science propelled me to obtain another scholarship from the Jamaica Banana Board to do a second MSc in Plant Pathology at the Imperial College of Science and Technology, University of London.<\/p>\n My career at the Jamaica Banana Research Department led me to the Presidency of the Association for Cooperation in Banana Research in the Caribbean and Tropical America (ACORBAT). My many research ventures and publications saw me to a research assistanceship in 1975 at the University of Illinois where I completed\u00a0my PhD in Plant Pathology in the scientific fundamentals of banana fruit quality in two years. On my return to Jamaica, I was rewarded with an appointment to Chief Quality Controller and Director of Research and Development at the Jamaica Banana Board until my resignation in 1979.<\/p>\n My family and I migrated to the United States where, through the influence of my University of Illinois supervisor, Dr. James Sinclair, I got a position, first, as Visiting Professor and then as Development Manager for agricultural products of the DuPont Company until my retirement at the end of 1998. During my non-work time in Florida, I led as President, the South Florida Association of Dominicans (SOFAD). SOFAD engaged in support of Dominican culture and music, national coherence, and education for its members. My grant of a violin to a young man, Kevin Sylvester, saw him ultimately form the Black Violins group and play at the inauguration of President Obama.<\/p>\n