NEW GENERATIONS CHAIR MOTIVATES ROTARACT CLUB OF MOBAY COM COLLEGE

New Gen Chair Andrea Hamilton gives words of encouragement

New Generations Chair Andrea Hamilton gave a motivational speech to the newly installed executive committee of The Rotaract Club of Montego Bay Community College at a short and sweet installation ceremony held by The Rotaract Club of Montego Bay at Pier One on Wed 25 Aug 2010.

Newly elected President Brett Lee promised a change in the way people look at the club ; an increase in active members and more island wide inter-clubbing as well as a mentorship programme with their sponsoring club the Rotary Club of Montego Bay East.

A truly encouraging gathering of 40+ young professionals , together on a damp evening in ‘service above self’ !

Left - right: Rotaract Club of MBCC Pres. Brett , Rotaract Club of Mobay Pres. Leon , Rotary Club of Mobay New Gen Chair Andrea , Rotary Club of Mobay East member Kurt . Rotaract Club of MBCC Staff Advisor Oneil 

All members of the executive committee of the Rotaract Club of Mobay Com Coll

plus Rtn Andrea and Rotaract Club of Mobay Pres. Leon (far left)

CORNWALL COLLEGE INTERACTORS CELEBRATE C.A.P.E GRADES

CORNWALL COLLEGE INTERACTORS

CELEBRATE C.A.P.E GRADES

AT ROTARY CLUB OF MONTEGO BAY LUNCHEON

- 17 Aug 2010 -

Rotary Club of Montego Bay’s President Mexine Bisasor [3rd right]and a beaming co-chair of New Generations, Rotarian Natasha Parchment-Clarke [3rd left] congratulate Cornwall College students who received their grades on Tuesday 17 August and were feted at a luncheon at The Pelican moments after their slips were collected.

The service oriented students amassed a total of 10 credits & passes for level one and 10 distinctions for final results in their C.A.P.E subjects. Past President of the Interact Club Norman Malcom with 4 distinctions [2nd left]and Director of Fundraising Malke Kellier with 6 distinctions [far right] are both heading to the UWI Mona campus and will be moving into the Rotaract Club there for young professionals aged 18 – 35 yrs; they leave the Interact Club of Cornwall College in the capable hands of President Ivan Godfrey [2nd right], Vice President Deon Mitchel [far left] and Fundraising Director Romaine Miller [centre].

Left to right: Deon Mitchell, Norman Malcolm, Rtn. Natasha Parchment-Clarke,

Romaine Miller, Pres. Mexine Bisasor, Ivan Godfrey, Malike Kellier.

GUEST SPEAKER - MBJ Airport CEO Fernando Bosque

GUEST SPEAKER AT ROTARY CLUB OF MONTEGO BAY’S

WEEKLY LUNCHEON

MBJ Airport CEO Fernando Bosque

- 3 August 2010 -

Under the motto “Bigger, Better, Bolder”, Mexine Bisasor, the new President of The Rotary Club of Montego Bay has indeed lived up to those 3 words.

At the second meeting of the 2010 – 2011 administration, the guest speaker arranged for the club’s weekly luncheon housed temporarily at the Pelican, was Fernando Bosque, CEO of MBJ. His presentation highlighted details from the Master Plan for the airport and Mr. Bosque spoke candidly about the challenges being faced and solutions being put in place for the multi-million dollar operation in the heart of Montego Bay.The audience of Rotarians, Rotaractors and guests were positively impacted by the facts, figures and assured confidence Mr. Bosque has in the airport’s present and future prospects. There was a hearty and informative debate during the question and answer segment.

ROTARIANS GET PINNED

ROTARIANS GET PINNED BY PRESIDENT MEXINE

AS DIRECTORS OF THE 2010 – 2011 ADMINISTRATION

Rotarians unable to make the lavish installation brunch at Secrets at the end of June were ceremoniously pinned at The Rotary Club of Montego Bay’s weekly luncheon 2 weeks ago.
In the serene Waterfall room of the popular Pelican restaurant, President Mexine Bisasor presented committee directorship positions to:
Andrea Hamilton – New Generations (not pictured)

Kay Rueben – Director of Membership

Maria Ho-Sue – Director of Fellowship

Vernella Fuller – Secretary

PHOTOS OF INSTALLATION

Rotary Club of Montego Bay 2010 - 2011 Installation

‘Twas a delightful brunch held at the beautiful Secrets hotel in Montego Bay where the Rotary Club of Montego Bay held its installation ceremony for their new president and committee members. With over one hundred Rotarians, friends and dignitaries in attendance, outgoing president Michelle Daswani dutifully handed the gavel and presidential medallion to Mexine Bisasor who in turn adorned her new administration with Rotary pins.

The ceremonious affair was punctuated with exciting numbers from Montego Bay’s newest dance troupe “Hah-r-mony” who enthralled the audience with ballroom, contemporary and African style numbers. Then the guest speaker Jesus Silva (ambassador of Spain) intrigued attendees with economics, tales of life in Jamaica and of course world cup football.

By early afternoon, awards had been bestowed a-plenty including a Paul Harris award to Veena Chandiram, wife of Past President Denny for her support and on-going work with Rotary ; The Service above Self award to Bhagwan Chugani for his dedication to international projects and Rotarian of the Year to T. Roxanne Smith for her tireless duties as secretary for the club.

A super event that heralded the beginning of a ‘bigger, better bolder year of service above self’ – the mantra of the incoming president Mexine Bisasor.

Shaniek Parks : Jamaican Ambassadorial Scholar in Leeds, UK

To further international understanding and goodwill is one reason Shaniek Parks will travel to Leeds in September. She will be doing an MA in International Communications at the University of Leeds, this will allow her to become more informed about the impact of communication on global affairs, people and their reactions towards societal issues. She is intrigued by the area of Communications as a developmental tool and its impact on the ways people analyze and relate to situations.

Shaniek graduated from the University of the West Indies, Mona in 2008. While at UWI, she majored in Media and Communication and minored in International Relations. She was a member of the UWI Honour Roll and the received the JN/CARIMAC Media Award for excellence in Radio Production. She had the opportunity of interning with two influential development organizations namely; the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Office for the Caribbean and the Roving Caregivers Programme in St. Vincent in 2007 and 2008 respectively. These organizations introduced her to a plethora of opportunities for societal development and strengthened her passion of making the world a better place through service.

Volunteerism has always been an important part of Shaniek’s life. This appreciation for volunteerism dates back to her time at the Mount Alvernia High School where students had to complete a quota for community service. She was later given the opportunity to be instrumental in the planning and execution of the Protect. Stop. Seek. Talk (P.S.S.T) Campaign Against Physical Abuse in the inner- city community of Torrington Park, Kingston while attending the UWI. The campaign ran from February-April 2008 and featured various workshops and follow- up sessions culminating in a Blue Ribbon Drive at Crossroads, Kingston.

At present, Shaniek is member of the Rotaract Club of Montego Bay and a member of the United Nations Online Volunteers (UNV). In her capacity as an online volunteer she has assisted with the formulation of proposals for organizations in various parts of the world. However, her focus has been on assisting organizations in Cameroon, Africa namely the Rural Development Corporation (RUDEC) and the Goodness and Mercy Mission.

Shaniek is excited to be representing District 7020 and the Rotary Club of Montego Bay in Leeds. She is honoured to be joining Rotary’s International Family as an Ambassadorial Scholar and will do well in representing Rotary and its values while in the United Kingdom.

The Rotary Club of Montego Bay wishes her all the best while in the United Kingdom.

Shaniek plans to blog about this new and exciting chapter of her life in Leeds. Go visit her blog at http://adventuresofajamaicanrotaryscholar.blogspot.com/ and leave her a note of encouragement or two!

GSE Team : From Virginia to Jamaica

VIRGINIA IS FOR Lovers of Jamaica! How else can you possibly sum up a five week experience that equates to a crash course in a country’s cultural essence, and enables total strangers to bond like family within a three day period of living under the same roof?

The Rotary International Group Study Exchange (GSE) Program provides a comprehensive view of a country, its culture and its people, and is by far the best kept secret of Rotary. Jamaica is possibly the friendliest country on earth, and in the words of its tourist board, “Once you go, you [truly] know Jamaica, so it is impossible not to fall in love with the country and its people! Just ask Rotarian Mary Turpin (President-elect, Rotary Club of Rosslyn-Ft. Myers), Brian Ours (sponsored by the Rotary Club of Stafford), Brian Shea (sponsored by the Rotary Club of McLean), Demond Pollard (sponsored by the Rotary Club of Herndon), and Loán (Lo-An) Sewer (sponsored by the Rotary Club of Falls Church).

FORGING FRIENDSHIPS

From December 2009 to April 2010, GSE Team Virginia—which also originally included Anuj Phull (sponsored by the Rotary Club of McLean)— forged friendships that have evolved into lifetime relationships and prepared us for the adventure of a lifetime.

Click HERE to read the rest of the article written by Loán Sewer, GSE team member, sponsored by Rotary Club of Falls Church

EarlyAct Club featured in The Rotarian magazine!

The EarlyAct Clubs of Montego Bay, working with the Rotaractors of Montego Bay in October of last year raised over JA$200,000 with their Coin Collection Drive. The funds were raised for the Norwood Basic School in Norwood, Montego Bay. The Rotarian Magazine featured this success in its April 2010 issue of World Round Up.

Congratulations again to the EarlyActors and Rotaractors on this fantastic fundraiser!

HAITI UPDATE: June 7, 2010

Extraordinary Day
Extraordinary Trip
Extra ordinary Meeting
Extraordinary Achievements

I wanted to provide a very brief synopsis of our Extraordinary Day today spent in Port au Prince Haiti with our Haiti Task Force. I needed to do so because you have not heard from me in some time and in addition this was one of the most successful Rotary Days I believe I have ever experienced and want to share it.

The primary purpose of the trip was to have the Donor Advised Fund Account Holders go to Haiti to meet the Task Force, The Account Holders are made up of the following Rotarians, Rotary Vice President and current Board member Eric Adamson, PRID Bob Stuart, PRID Barry Rassin and RIDE John Smarge. They wanted to listen to and understand the needs as defined and expressed by the Rotary Clubs of Haiti and the Haiti leadership Team, They also wanted to understand from the senior people in the Haitian Government responsible for Education in Haiti what their plans were and what recommendations they had. The Account Holders also wanted to reach a consensus on our direction forward based on these discussions. In addition it was an opportunity for them to establish the criteria and procedural requirements that will need to be met to receive funding. There was a VERY productive meeting on that and PRID Barry Rassin will elaborate in much more detail on that. A Special Thank you again to Barry for his commitment to our great District.

In addition to that we were dealing with 3 other major issues, Firstly the current status of the Rotary NGO in Haiti, ROTAH, Secondly The Jaipur Limb Project, and Thirdly the status and release information on the containers we shipped.

On the First item I must say I am absolutely ecstatic about the news on ROTAH. I was presented with a copy of the signed document signed by the Prime Minister etc. as proof that the process has been completed and within days the official published certificate will be in hand, and published in Haiti.

This was an enormous undertaking that has taken us three years and through some of the most difficult challenges and obstacles you can imagine, but we believed in it and it is a reality today. I want to recognize and thank, DGN Guy Theodore, Dr. Claude Surena, and PDG Amos Durosier for everything they have done. This approval was in the true sense of the word “raised from the rubble” after the earthquake and it would not have been possible without the persistence of these fine Rotarians. THANK YOU!!!!

The second item was the Jaipur Limb project. We have agreed that we would undertake this as one of our primary earthquake relief responses and are now moving forward with the consensus of all the Haitian clubs and leaders to proceed. We believe a modified version which includes a mobile clinic will be the best one and we will immediately begin to define the scope of the project with the new conditions applied. It is likely that the DAF would provide some seed funding for this as well if it is required although we do not believe that to be the case.

The third item was the status of the relief containers and the release of them. Again we have very good news here. PDG Amos Durosier for those that do not know heads up the Anti-Corruption unit of the Haitian government. His involvement with the top levels of the Haitian government is daily so he knows them all personally and well. The release documents have been signed off by the Ministry of Interior and Planning Department (I think I have that right), and will be delivered to the Minister of Finance today as we fly back to Nassau or tomorrow. Amos has already presented this to the Minister of Finance and he assured Amos that he will sign off on it as soon as it touches his desk. He also said he would be sure to ask for it so it reached his desk immediately.

For those of you who know Haiti we have done the equivalent of moving a mountain here. We went the legitimate process all above board and got it done. A very special congratulations to all the fellow Haitian Rotarians that made this possible, and there were many. Going forward our NGO status with ROTAH takes all of the challenges we have had with this shipment off the table as it goes Directly to Customs with our Status Certificate.

When we left we felt the Task Force was untied and organized and fully up to the challenges ahead. We are in flight on the way back to Nassau, (31/2 hours each way) and I think I can say that I speak for everyone on the plane. It was a GREAT DAY !!!!

Many , more details to follow but as always our Supreme Rotarian PRID Barry Rassin will be putting out a comprehensive summary covering everything.

Thanks to Vance Johnson our pilot and Odyssey for their great support.

PDG Dick