All Gary Lambert wanted when he went to work in the maintenance department at Port Royal Golf Course on day release as a student was the chance to prove he was worthy of a job.

Fourteen years later he is still there and his bosses paid him the ultimate compliment last year when they chose him as Employee of the Year for his department.

No mean feat, maybe, except that Gary, now 32, has lived his whole life with Down Syndrome, a congenital disorder with mental retardation and physical adnormalities.

"He's very good, he makes his time, is here every day, seldom sick and he does everything you ask him to do," said Port Royal's head groundsman James Downey.

One of Gary's daily tasks is to rake the larger bunkers around the 18 greens using a Sandpro machine.

"We have guys out there to hand rake the smaller bunkers around the greens and we will send Gary out to do the larger bunkers," explained Downey.

"There are over 100 bunkers. We have another machine similar to that which is a spiker and we'll send him out on the whole 18 holes to spike the fairways, from tee to green.

"That will take him about a day and he looks forward to it. He will come in and ask us `am I going to spike again'? Sometimes he will do that two or three times a week. It's good for the fairways because if there are any hard spots or worn areas, it helps it."

There is a crew of 14 groundsman at the Government-owned golf course. They start their day at 6.30 a.m., doing what work needs to be done on the course before the golfers begin playing.

"We do our morning duty from 6.30 and by 10 o'clock normally everything is done," said the head groundsman.

"Then we'll do projects like trimming hedges and we will send Gary with the guys to help rake and pick up. We also have a machine that will cut the tees and we will send Gary out ahead of the machine to pick the markers up and put them to the side so that the guy in the machine doesn't have to get out of the machine."

Gary has a good working relationship with his colleagues.

"He's very well liked by everybody, everybody watches out for him," said Downey.

"He's very helpful, no doubt about it."

Downey first met Gary when he was volunteering with the Special Olympics. Gary has been away to compete in a few Special Olympics and was Downey's teammate in golf at the 1998 Games in Connecticut.

"We had a format where it had to be coach and player and we played together," explained Downey.

"We got a medal for fourth place out of 156 teams worldwide. President Kennedy's brother Ted was the one who presented us with a silver coin minted for the Bermuda team. His (Ted's) mother was a founder of the Special Olympics.

"Gary plays in the tournaments when we have tournaments involving the three Government courses against each other twice a year. Then, we have our own tournament at Port Royal and he and I played with our two bosses and one of the ladies and we came first. He can putt and drive, he's pretty consistent."

Added Downey: "When my wife and I started working with the Special Olympics, Gary had to be about six or seven years old, I think. I met Gary at the old National Stadium when we used to have the Games up there.

"I met him after he hit me in the back with a softball. I had a tape measure to measure the distance of the softball throw and he didn't realise it wasn't his turn to throw and the ball hit me in the back. I turned around and it was Gary."

Gary is very sportsminded, having represented Bermuda in tennis and also competed in bowling at the Special Olympics.

Gary got the opportunity to work at the golf course while being involved in a day release work programme while still in school at Devon Lane. Two years later he became full time.

"Trevor Madeiros, the former superintendent, did a lot for him and was one of those who got him up here full time," explained Downey. Having a job has certainly helped Gary's confidence and self esteem.

"I think it's fantastic, it helps them a lot, especially if they have a speech impediment," said Downey.

"They tend to get a lot out of it because they are talking more. They are relating to us and understand what we are saying. I think it is 100 percent good. I would like to see more kids like him in jobs like this.

"They love doing something and having the responsibility. They look forward to doing the next thing. It makes them feel like they belong, which they do.

"We feel very confident that we can leave him out on (holes) 15 or 16 to do a job out there. But there are only certain machines we will let him use. He will take the blower and do the whole road from the main gate right up to the clubhouse."

Gary has met a number of celebrities at the course including NBA basketball players like Charles Barclay and Michael Jordan.

Actors Samuel L. Jackson and Alfonso Ribeiro have also met Gary who is something of a star himself.

"He was a big star with Hootie and the Blowfish at the Special Olympics," his boss revealed.

"They took him up on the stage and he was singing and dancing with them. There was 90,000 people in the arena for the opening. He also met Arnold Schwarzenegger who also has a lot to do with the Special Olympics.

"Gary's met a lot of celebrities. We have basketball players who come to Bermuda every year to play and they will come up here looking for Gary before they go out and play golf. He also met actress Cheryl Ladd."

Said Gary: "I like basketball and baseball and I'm a New York Yankees fan. I also like wrestling and The Rock is my favourite wrestler."

Gary has had a good source of support from his family who make sure he gets to work on time every day. The job has been a godsend for him, says his sister, Marsha Daniels.

"In the last year (of day release) they tried him out doing one day a week and then they increased him to two to three days a week. They said, at the end of his probation period when he was ready to leave school, that if they were satisfied with his performance at that point that they would take him on full time, which they did.

"Two years was day release and the other 12 years he has been fully employed there as a groundsman. I'm sure when he first went there he didn't know anything, but he has certainly come a long way since then.

"It's been a great opportunity for Gary and this may help to encourage other kids who don't have such high self esteem that it can work for people with challenges and disabilities. He's treated like one of the guys up there, he attends the meetings, and it lets employers know that these types of people can function in a normal workplace just as we do."

Added Mrs. Daniels: "They tried him out at a supermarket packing groceries, but I don't think that was challenging enough for him. Even that many years ago he was smart enough to realise that was not what he would enjoy doing long term.

"The entire family has seen the improvement in Gary...his vocabulary, his communication level and way of thinking. The job has taught him a lot of ordinary skills that we may take for granted.

"It has helped him understand money and bank accounts. He does thoroughly enjoy going to work. The job has helped him greatly."