BARBADOS CHAPTER

He was one of the youngest church elders at that time being only about 24 when he became the First Elder of the Ephesus Church and had the privilege of preaching in most of the churches in the island at the time. As a teenager he was well sought after in many of our local churches for his piano and organ playing. He believed in teaching himself many things as a challenge seemed to invigorate him. He taught himself to play in a year and within a year was the church organist. He also subsequently taught himself to play the guitar and the trumpet. Fitzgerald was very active in the youth work, serving on the Central Association Committee and the inaugural Barbados SDA National Youth Council, being the chief drafter of its constitution. Challenges seemed to motivate him to accomplish, clearly realised from these early days, thus he was able to accomplish many difficult tasks in a very short period. It is this quest for a challenge that saw him still looking further in Barbados for more to do in the religious field as well as in the corporate world as he sought to assist in the development of new churches on one hand while seeking out new job opportunities on the other.

In 1981 when his family wanted him to go to the United States he did not have any interest, at the time, as he was doing quite well in Barbados. He made many excuses not to go however, putting God first and believing that He would lead him as He always had in the past. He found himself wrestling with God, but every stumbling block he would point  to, God kept moving it out of the way.  He said that space in this column would not permit him to tell of some of the griping stories of this struggle, including his permanent residence visa, how God just went before him on every occasion. In the end, he felt he had to obey God's leading, so he migrated to the USA on Nov. 30 1981.

Bro. Reid found that the Americans did not think or know much if anything of the qualification that he had gained in Barbados under the British educational system, so he decided to "Americanize" his qualification. First putting himself through grad school in one year by doubling up on the work. He successfully completed his Bachelors in Science in Economics (B.Sc., Summa Cum Laude) from Boston University; his Master in Business Administration (MBA) from Babson College, (the #1 college/university in the USA for Entrepreneurship studies).  He also received his (CMA) (Certified Management Accountant) and CIA (American Certified Internal Auditor) which help to prepared him for the American world of banking.

God continued to bless him in his work. He worked for major banks in the USA, including the present #2 bank. He quickly moved through the ranks to become the deputy head of one of the divisions with 100+ employees located around the USA and internationally. In this position, he had managers reporting to him and was vice president. He subsequently became the division head,. His success being recognized he became one of the recipients of the Black Achievers Award in 1990 (This coveted national award is given out across the country to those considered successful Blacks and role models by the YMCA).

Then there were times when banks were merging, big banks being taken over by larger ones and they too in turn being taking over; times when many persons jobs would become redundant or they be just laid off in the restructuring. These times were just like other times for Bro. Reid, God took care of him. Not only did he not lose his job but going on to work at two of the successor Bank, through acquisition he eventually move on up to become a Senior Vice President.

I asked him about his church work in Boston and it seem that he has been just as busy for the Lord there, if not more, than he was at home in Barbados. He first joined Berea, the major Boston SDA church with over a thousand members, and shortly the afterwards became a Sabbath School teacher, elder and the Chairperson of the Finance Committee. He also got involved with two other area churches, where he was sometimes asked to preach. In 1987, Bro. Reid, along with three other elders of Berea, where asked to start a church in another area of Boston. They were joined by 46 other members of Berea. Elder Reid served as its first Elder for the first 10 years. Today this church has well over 300 members and is known as the  Hyde Park SDA Church. {You may read more on the role of Bro. Reid and his wife in the development of this church by going to (www.hydeparksdachurch.org.) } When I asked about his music in these days his response was that he is church organist but he does not do as much playing as he once did, he still has his guitar and trumpet and at times he will fool around with them at home. Bro. Reid has also served as the chairperson of the Berea SDA Academy. He presently serves on the Finance Review Committee of the Northeastern Conference of SDA and on the Executive Committee of the Atlantic Union Conference.

My understanding is that from Bim to Boston Mr. Reid has always demonstrated his sincerity in living a Christian life on or off the job and as such God has always blessed him by placing him at the right place at the right time to be in the right job. He told me that he has always declared upfront where he stands with his Christian principles. He mentioned some times when he was back in Barbados he had to demonstrate that he meant what he said when it came to not working late on Fridays or on Sabbath. He has always been respected for his Christian standards and holds the Bible character Daniel as his role model.  The principal three texts that have guided his life are Proverbs 22:29, Philippians 4:13 and Proverbs 3:1-6

 "You can still be a successful business person in this world today without compromising your Christianity" he said.

This interview was conducted

 by Osmond Brathwaite