MANDEVILLE, Manchester:

There were outpourings of unbridled joy at the Seventh-day Adventist-owned Northern Caribbean University (NCU) where new Governor General Patrick Allen once served.

Allen was the board chairman and adjunct professor at NCU.

At a small food joint located north of the university's entrance in Mandeville, workers, as well as customers, noticeably paused for the duration of Allen's acceptance speech. Quite naturally, the reactions were favourable.

Orville Lewis, a past student, who now serves as one of NCU's accountants, greeted Allen's official instalment as a victory for Adventism.

Exciting moment

"It's an exciting moment to be an Adventist," he said.

"As someone who shares his faith, I feel proud he could have achieved the highest position in the land. More people will learn a lot of positives about being an Adventist," he added.

Gary Smythe, manager of Wood Products, the manufacturing arm of the 90-year-old institution, saw the moment as a triumph for good traditional values.

"Personally, as someone who has done business with him, I am glad for him," Smythe proudly told The Gleaner.

"It shows you can be humble, honest and decent and make it to the very top."

Still, Courtney James, a final-year business administration student, saw it as inspiring and the kind of atmosphere needed in the country.

"I've never met him, but from all accounts he has qualities that will make people feel that the governor general is reachable; someone the common man can talk to."