recently undergone positive changes with new staff.

Additionally BGA is undergoing extensive renovations and has recently launched a new identity.

The company has a long history and one of the most vital leaders was John Gibson Young, JP born on April 22, 1911 in Pembroke. He was the firstborn of William James Young and Frances Aline Young.

He entered the family business, the Phoenix Drug Store, as a pharmacist in the early 1930s and after World War II returned to work to run The Bermuda Drug Company, (now BDC Ltd.). The company at that time consisted of Heyl's Drug Store, The Phoenix Drug Store, The Velvet Ice Cream Factory, The Annex (formerly The Bon Marche) and Bermuda General Agency.

The company grew under his leadership and the results of his efforts are still with us today. Phoenix Stores Limited and BGA Group of Companies stand out as leaders in their fields in Bermuda.

Mr. Young married Elsie Freeland Trott in 1937 and they celebrated 61 years of wedded bliss until Mr. Young's death in 1998. They had three children: Ward, Reid Trott and Carol Mayor.

BGA developed as the wholesale arm of the business in 1933 and set up business in a building on the corner of Church and Parliament Streets.

In 1965 the new BGA building was started on Par la Ville Road with Carr Construction as the contractors.

A few years later, in 1968 Horace Ward retired from the board of directors as general manager of BGA and Ward Young moved in as general manager.

After developing BGA into the largest distributor of health and beauty aids, pharmaceuticals and drug sundries on the Island in the 1980s, Mr. Young became president of Phoenix Stores and vice president of BDC Ltd.

During this era they purchased all the operation of Purvis Distributors Limited including the Mill Creek facility for the value of inventory and a goodwill figure of sales, solidifying its presence in the grocery business with grade A lines such as Procter and Gamble, Clorox, Kelloggs, Hunt-Wesson, Cadburys, and Dole.

Their mission statement of today reads: "BGA is a customer-driven, distribution company committed to delivering consistent, superior service and quality products for its customer at competitive prices, on time with no exceptions.

"Our knowledge of the market, our state-of-the-art facilities and insightful analysis of Bermuda's ever expanding marketplace, are the strengths upon which we are building our future.'' MINI SUPPLEMENT SUP