PEOPLE & EVENTS
Rotary Central InstallsNew Officers
The Rotary Club of Grand Cayman Centralrecently held its annual changeover dinner at the Westin CasuarinaResort. The event was attended by His Excellency the GovernorMr. Peter Smith, CBE and his wife, Suzanne, Financial Secretarythe Hon. George McCarthy, OBE, JP, Magistrate Mrs. Margaret RamseyHale and Past Rotary District Governor Mr. Bobby Bodden and hiswife, Tessa, and Assistant District Governor Mr. Jeremy Hurstand his wife, Sheridan.
A new Board of Directors was installed.They include: Mr. David Phipps (President), Mr. Al Thompson Jr.(President-elect), Mr. Peter Schmid (Vice President), Mr. FredSpeirs (Secretary), Mrs. Desiree Charles (Treasurer), Mr. DonaldMcLean (Sergeant-at-Arms) and Mr. Alistair Ayres, Mr. Sam Bulgin,Mr. Gary Callan, Mr. Len Layman, Mr. Hendrik-Jan Van Genderen,(Directors).
Outgoing Rotary Central President Mr. RichardLewis recapped the main accomplishments during his tenure. TheClub continued to support past projects such as the Junior Achievementprogramme, Take-A-Kid Fishing, Interschool Debating Contest, HandicappedPicnic, Vocational Service Awards and Merit Scholarships and continuedto provide financial support (CI$5,000) to the NCVO Pines RetirementHome.
The Club exposed Caymanian youth to internationalcommunities by sending delegates to RYLA, a Rotary training programmefor a community youth leaders, as well as to the World AffairsSeminar.
A rewarding and beneficial community serviceproject was undertaken during the year which involved re-roofingand refurbishing of the home of well-known, retired, school teacherMs. Annistine Bodden of West Bay. Ms. Annistine unselfishly contributedsignificantly to Cayman's educational system and was very deservingof this assistance. Rotarians performed the major portion of thework under the supervision of a local contractor. Mr. Lewis thankedClub Secretary Mr. Peter Schmid for bringing this worthy projectto the club's attention as well as supervising its completion.
On the international scene, the Club participatedas a major sponsor of the District project of the Kay Kon TonHappy Houses in Haiti. The Club contributed US$10,000 to the project,which alone has enabled the construction of 20 homes in Haiti.Mr. Lewis thanked Past District governor Mr. Bodden for givingthe Club the opportunity to participate in this worthwhile project.
Overall, the Club witnessed a 10% increasein membership and awarded bursars to trade students and grantedscholarships for CI$3,000. The club also contributed to the ReadingAids programme. The Club assisted other organisations and individualsin need including the Special Olympics, Cayman Islands AmateurAthletic Association, Junior Netball and the John Gray High Schoolband by contributing in excess of CI$20,000. CI $10,000 has alsobeen earmarked to provide assistance to the Mesquite Indians inNicaragua who continue to suffer from the destruction caused byHurricane Mitch two years ago.
The Club contributed a total of US$22,738to the Rotary Foundation and contributed US$7,500 towards a matchinggrant for the Children Health Organisation Relief Education Services(CHORES) for health and educational needs to deserving childrenin Grenda.
Incoming President Mr. David Phipps promisedto continue all of the successful projects outlined by Past PresidentMr. Lewis. The new Board, however, plans to focus on activitieswhich reflect the new international Rotary theme, "CreateAwareness - Take Action in our Club, in our community, in ourworld."
In fulfilling the Create Awarness part ofthe theme, Mr. Phipps said the public will be seeing more of RotaryCentral in the coming year, as there are plans to be highly visibleat many community functions. He plans to introduce a "QuickClick Seatbelt Challenge" at school fairs; a "DesignatedDriver" programme at local festivals and participation inthe Taste of Cayman, Pirates Week and carefully selected sportingevents.
In closing, Mr. Phipps defined Rotary asan organisation of business and professional persons united worldwideto provide humanitarian service, encourage highethical standardsin all vocations and help build goodwill and peace. Rotary Centralcan be proud of its achievements to date and he encouraged allmembers to continue their efforts to a difference in the communitythrough the spirit of cooperation and volunteerism.