David Renwick, the veteran Trinidadian journalist who died yesterday, was a longtime and much valued friend and business partner of MEP Publishers, and we will miss him greatly.
He was a regular contributor to Caribbean Beat in the early days of the magazine, and his articles on business and energy appeared in several other MEP publications over the years, from the Trinidad & Tobago Chamber of Commerce magazine Contact to MEP’s own Trinidad & Tobago Business Guide.
But his biggest project with MEP was the newsletter Energy Caribbean — energy being his most special expertise — which we produced together from 2002 to 2014. It covered the energy industry not only in Trinidad & Tobago but across the entire region. David wrote all the material, while MEP raised the funding and produced and distributed it. From 2006 it was joined by an annual review of the regional energy industry, the Energy Caribbean Yearbook, which he also wrote (he was always prolific, and always reliable with deadlines).
It was surely significant that public appreciation for David’s work in energy came from both the present PNM energy minister and the previous UNC energy minister. His professionalism, his investigative skills, and his objective understanding of the subject were recognised by both parties. He was honoured with a Hummingbird Medal Gold for outstanding contribution to journalism in 2008.
Jeremy Taylor, co-founder and chairman of MEP Publishers, said: “David was a real friend as well as a business partner. When I first arrived in Trinidad in 1971 as a rather reluctant teacher, he was editor of the Express, and gave me my first break into opinion journalism, writing reviews and a television column. For the first few years, and especially when I made the switch from teaching to freelancing, he was my mentor, always supportive and helpful, encouraging and appreciative. He gave me the confidence to write for an audience, and taught me how to try and amuse and entertain as well as inform and comment. I shall always be indebted to him. Without his influence, MEP might never have existed.”
Rest in peace, dear David. Thank-you for all that you did, and all that you were. Our deepest condolences to all those who knew and loved him, and especially to his children, Olivia and Gavin. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
Photos courtesy the Trinidad Express/One Caribbean Media
