Prime Minister Philip Davis’s Remarks Honouring I. Chester Cooper, 2025 JCN Person of the Year

Good afternoon, everyone.

Let me start with something simple.

A country is held together by stories.

Stories tell us who we are when nobody is watching. They tell us what we admire, what we forgive, what we expect, and what we refuse to accept. They tell us what kind of people our islands produce.

And every so often, a person’s story feels like it belongs to all of us. Because it carries something familiar. A Family Island start. A big dream. A hard climb. A few laughs along the way. A few bruises too. Then, in time, a life that turns into service.

That is why we are here tonight.

Because the story of Chester Cooper is a Bahamian story.

It is a story that starts in Forbes Hill, Exuma.

And if you know anything about Family Island people, you know what that means. You grow up learning discipline early. You learn respect. You learn to show up. You learn that you cannot talk your way out of everything. Eventually, you must deliver.

Chester carries that with him, everywhere he goes.

I want to congratulate Jones Communications Network for naming the Honourable I. Chester Cooper as its Person of the Year for 2025. You are recognising the public record, yes. But you are also recognising a man’s character.

And I want to speak to his character.

People see the Deputy Prime Minister. They see the Minister. They see the meetings and the ceremonies and the announcements.

What they do not always see is the heart behind the work.

They do not see the phone calls he makes when he hears somebody is struggling.

They do not see how he carries the weight of decisions that affect people’s livelihoods.

They do not see how often he pushes, how often he worries, how often he asks, “Are we doing right by the people?”

Chester is intense. He is driven. He is demanding. And sometimes that can be misunderstood.

But I have served alongside him close enough to know the truth.

His intensity comes from love.

He loves this country. He loves Exuma. He loves Bahamians. And he takes it personally when people are left behind.

That is why he works the way he works.

Now, there is a part of Chester’s story that always stays with me, because it says so much about him.

Before he ever stood at a podium with a title, he was a young man trying to find his voice.

He joined Toastmasters. Club 1600.

And he will tell you he was 17, but the rule was 18.

So he told them he was 18.

Some people will laugh at that, and yes, we can smile.

But I want you to look deeper.

That was not dishonesty in the ordinary sense.

That was hunger.

That was a young Bahamian deciding, “I am not waiting for permission to grow.”

He was looking for a place where he could be tested.

Where he could be corrected.

Where he could be sharpened.

Because he understood something early: confidence without preparation is noise, but confidence built on work becomes leadership.

Then came the moment that I think many people in this room will remember, because it sounds like the kind of thing we say when we are young and fearless and full of hope.

In his first speech, Chester introduced himself and said he wanted to be the best lawyer and politician that ever graced planet Earth, and he wanted to be prime minister.

People laughed.

And in that room, there was a lawyer who had entered politics named Philip Brave Davis.

And someone heckled him after Chester spoke, saying, “He’s coming for you.”

That is a Bahamian moment if I ever heard one.

We laugh. We test people. We throw little stones to see if you will flinch.

What matters is what you do after the laughter.

Chester did not flinch.

He did not shrink.

He did not trade the dream for something easier.

He kept learning. He kept speaking. He kept building. He kept working.

And time has a way of clearing the room of laughter and replacing it with respect.

Tonight is part of that respect.

But I want to make this even more personal.

Chester and I have travelled together. We have sat in meetings where the stakes were high. We have dealt with pressure. We have dealt with criticism. We have dealt with moments when things could have gone either way.

And I have watched him choose the harder road when it was the right road.

I have watched him push through fatigue because he knew people were waiting on answers.

I have watched him take on problems that have been left on the shelf for too long.

And I have watched him carry his ministry like he understands that behind every statistic is a household.

A mother hoping her son finds a job.

A father trying to hold things together.

A young person praying for a chance.

A small business owner counting the days until the next booking.

That is what tourism is. It is people’s rent. People’s groceries. People’s school fees. People’s dignity.

And Chester understands that in his bones.

So when JCN speaks about his vision, his leadership, his dedication, and his creativity in expanding our tourism product, improving airlift, and strengthening airports across our islands, that is not abstract.

That is real life.

And when you think about what he has represented for The Bahamas internationally, including his election as Vice President of the United Nations World Tourism Organization General Assembly representing the Americas region, it is a sign that The Bahamas can lead in the world, not as spectators, but as contributors.

But even with those achievements, I want you to know what I admire most about Chester Cooper.

It is not the titles.

It is not the suits and the suits are nice. 

It is the way he still speaks like a Family Island man who knows where he comes from.

He does not forget people.

He does not forget communities.

He does not forget who gave him a chance.

He does not forget the feeling of being the young man in the room, trying to prove he belongs.

And that is why young people connect to him.

They can feel that he has not drifted away from them.

They can feel that he still understands the climb.

Chester, tonight I want to say this:

You have earned this honour.

You have earned it by work, yes.

But you have earned it by heart.

On behalf of the Government of The Bahamas, and on behalf of a grateful people who rely on strong leadership in a sector that carries so many families, I congratulate you.

Keep going.

Keep pushing.

Keep demanding that we raise the standard.

Keep lifting Exuma.

Keep lifting The Bahamas.

And to the young people listening, take this part with you.

A dream can start in a small room.

It can sound too big.

It can even make people laugh.

But if you keep working, if you keep learning, if you keep showing up, one day the same people will look at you and say, “You earned it.”

Congratulations again, Deputy Prime Minister.

And thank you, JCN, for reminding the country that service, excellence, and character still deserve to be called out and celebrated.

God bless you all, and God bless the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.