First, I must apologies for the late posting of this Blog; it’s long overdue, but the visits were great and the fellowship unforgettable!!!
Monday, August 13, 2012– The start of our official visit to Sint. Maarten, St. Martin, St. Barts and Anguilla. PP Monica and I boarded a private Cessna flight at Terrance B. Lettsome Airport, compliments of PP Tom Gerker (Rotary Club of Tortola). Our pilot Neville Braitwaite Jr. gave us a smooth flight over, it was a perfect afternoon for flying, we landed at Princess Juliana International Airport right on schedule.
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| DG Vance heading to Private Plane |
Day 2 - Tuesday, August 14, 2012 – After a good night’s rest we were ready to hit the road, AG Jim picked us up at 6:30am and we headed to the St. Martin Sunrise Meeting at Air Lekkerbek Restaurant, this in itself is a very interesting place.
Pres. Marcellia conducted the meeting; I inducted one new member and gave my official address to the club. PP Monica and I were presented with gifts from the club we had a scrumptious breakfast and then met with the Board.
It is indeed refreshing to learn about all the projects that each of the clubs are involved with as we make our visits around the District. The St. Martin Sunrise spoke about their ongoing projects such as "Readers are Leaders" during Literacy Month; a School Clean-up and Beautification which involved their Interactors and Rotaractors; their World Health Day project among others…..
Next was a visit to the Radio Station for an interview to be aired later in the day.
Then we headed to the Sheer Restaurant to meet with the Chairman of Alzheimer Disease International, Dr. Jacob Roy Kuriakose and the District Governor of Lions International Sub-District 60B, Mr. Claudius Buncamper. This was indeed a historic meeting in more ways than one; but the primary event was the signing of the agreement to embark on awareness and advocacy campaigns until Dementia has become a public health priority throughout the Caribbean region, and this historic agreement will be the start of the “Caribbean Dementia Awareness and Advocacy Alliance”.
AG Jim, PP Monica and I had to leave the signing celebration to head to the Governor’s office for a visit with His Excellency. Rotarian Stephen summed up the meeting perfectly in the e-mail that was circulated, I quote:
“We had a good meeting this afternoon with His Excellency the Governor and Rotarian (of many years) Eugene Holiday and DG Vance Lewis and his wonderful wife Monica.
AG Jim led our delegation - Elie, Jon, Josianne, Marcellia, Louis and myself. The two Governors made quite some serious progress in the discussions.
Evidence attached.”
Stephen
Thank you Stephen, in the photo PP Monica and I were pinning the Governor with the RI Theme pin and the 2013 BVI Conference Pin. I was explaining the elements of the BVI Conference Pin while PP Monica pointed to each.
From this meeting, it was decided to hold a RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) in St. Maarten, AG Jim agreed to head up this initiative; thank you AG Jim.
This was not yet the end of the day; we still had a Board Meeting and the weekly Club meeting of the St. Maarten Mid Isle to attend. Phew…..
Great meetings with the board and the members; it was wonderful to meet some of the Charter members of the club who are still attending meetings whenever they can, thank you all for coming out to hear my official address and to fellowship with PP Monica and I.
Mid Isle many, many thanks for the gifts you presented to Monica & I.
Day 3 –Wednesday, August 15, 2012 – Left the hotel at 9:00am for the St. Maarten Board Meeting, discussed projects of the club and areas the board felt they needed some clarification on. Pres. Eli is doing a great job with his club and they are very involved with the youths on the island; they currently sponsor 3 Interact Clubs.
Right after the Board Meeting we went into the regular club meeting, what a great turn out of members, thank you Pres. Eli and members for the beautiful cake and gift.
After the club meeting we met with Government Officials and then about 20 young adults to discuss various options available to them to remain active in Rotary. My blogger PP Monica got sick and could not attend these meetings, so unfortunately no photos…… J
Wednesday evening the clubs put on an unforgettable fellowship event in our honor; thank you all what an excellent idea to be able to mingle in a social setting with Rotarians and their spouses, partners & significant others, it was a blast.
And funds were donated to Sint Martin Nord Boat Project............ Great job!!!!
Day 4 – Thursday, August 16, 2012 – Early start as we headed to St. Barts to meet with the club. AG Jim, Gloria Ferris, PP Monica & I boarded Win Air for Saint Barthelemy; we were met at the airport by Pres. Francois and a delegation from his club. We had a tour of the island and some of their projects, and then met with the Board of Directors who outlined their plans for the year.
At noon we had a meeting with the club members and I inducted one member, then we had a tour of the Government Building and headed to the airport to take Win Air back to St. Martin for an evening meeting with St. Martin Nord Club. Thank you St. Barts for the gifts!!!
Collection box at the airport by St. Barts Rotary Club for Polio
AG Jim picked us up at 6:00pm and we headed for the French side to meet with the Board of St. Martin Nord and then the regular club meeting. Pres. Josianne Fleming was well prepared as was Sec. Thierry Desplanches and the other members of the Board. It was wonderful to see PDG Victor Gibbs and Marie-Claude.
PDG Victor shares a joke with PP Monica
Board Meeting with Pres. Josieanne
Other Members of St. Martin Nord Board
St. Martin Nord welcomed a new member who transferred from a club outside St. Martin; it was a wonderful evening, great fellowship with the members!!!
DG Vance gives his official address to the club
Gifts for DG & PP Monica
Explanation of the gifts by the Rotarian who made them
Thank you for the wonderful gifts by PP Monica
An exhausted bunch left the meeting venue and headed back to the Dutch side to get ready for an early departure to Anguilla.
Day 5 – Friday, August 17, 2012 – Anguilla, here we come! – It has been a great trip so far, busy, but we have learnt a lot about the work that the Rotary Clubs are doing in their communities… Well done Rotarians….
AG Jim, PP Monica and I headed to the Dutch side once more to take the ferry to Anguilla; we were met at the ferry dock in Anguilla by Pres. Vernon Buffong, PP Seymour Hodge & other Rotarians.
We were taken on a tour of some of their projects; we stopped at the dental clinic which had recently been painted as a joint project between the Rotary Club of Anguilla and St. Martin Sunrise. We paid a courtesy call on the Governor of Anguilla and on the Minister of Education, both very interesting meetings.
School has been painted by the Rotary Club of Anguilla
Waiting to see the Governor of Anguilla
Rotary delegation with HE Mr. William Harrison CMG, CVO
Next stop was the meeting with the Board of Directors; what a treat, at this beautiful property, I doubt that there’s any other District in the world where the clubs meet at such amazing locations, kudos to the clubs in District 7020! Not to mention the amazing work that our Rotarians are doing; thank you all for your unselfish“Service Above Self”.
DGbVance being interviewed by radio & newspapers
Interviews continue
We were joined by the members of the club for their weekly meeting and some of the students who took part in the Premier’s Cup in the BVI; the Anguilla team actually took home the first place trophy for their outstanding sailing skills.
After my address to the club and an update from the sailing team PP Monica and I were presented with a gift to mark the occasion, thank you Rotary Club of Anguilla; a special thanks to PP Seymour for the autographed copy of the book the Anguilla Revolution and the bottles of the Special Reserve Pyrat; those are extra special gifts!!!!
Next, it was on to visit “Blossom Centre” Arijah Children’s Foundation, which has been given some assistance from the Rotary Club of Anguilla over time, this is assistance that’s well worth it and is needed. It was time to say good bye to AG Jim as he headed back to St. Martin, PP Monica and I spent the night in Anguilla; what an interesting part of the trip……
First Lady PP Monica says farewell to AG Jim
We were hosted at the most beautiful hotel in Anguilla; you will have to visit to really appreciate! Wonderful treats were in the room for us to enjoy...... heavenly!!!
Some Rotarians joined us during the evening to fellowship this was wonderful, we had a great time! Thank you all for making this official visit a most memorable occasion, thank you, thank you!!!!
PP Tom Gerker flew over to pick us in his Cessna to fly us back to Tortola on Saturday. We are eternally grateful, PP Tom. The end of another successful official visit!!!!!
Thanks to all the Rotarians for taking time out to look after us during our visits, we thank you and look forward to seeing all of you in the BVI in May 2013!!!!
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