Bahamas Press Club. - Members of The Bahamas Press Club 2014 paid a courtesy call on Her Excellency Dame Marguerite Pindling, Governor General, August 18, 2016, in the Drawing Room of Government House.
Dame Marguerite was updated on plans for the upcoming Press Club Awards Banquet, November 19, at the British Colonial Hilton that will honour a number of media professionals. Dame Marguerite encouraged the club to keep telling the Bahamian stories, and hoped more journalists would join the organisation. President Anthony Newbold noted that The College of the Bahamas is integral to growing the membership, as several students are club members.
Toastmasters Club 1600. - The grand ballroom of Government House was the venue on July 28, 2016 for the installation of officer’s ceremony of the First Bahamas Branch of Toastmasters Club 1600 for the 2016 - 2017 administrative year. The term commenced on July 1 and will run until June 30. The event was held under the patronage of Her Excellency Dame Marguerite Pindling, Governor General of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
The Master of Ceremony for the occasion was Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) Charles Newbold III. The installation charge and pinning were conducted by DTM Vanessa Scott, Division I Director and DTM Anthony Longley, Past District 47 Governor. The keynote speaker was Bank of The Bahamas Chairman, Richard Demeritte. Mr Demeritte served as Charter President of Toastmasters Club 1425 in Freeport GB during its start up in 1973. He credited much of his success to the training he received in Toastmasters. He said: “I still see Toastmasters as a vehicle that can persuade today’s youth to strive for success.”
Founded in 1924 in Santa Ana, California, Toastmasters is the world’s leading international organisation for communication and leadership training. In 1969, Club 1600 became the first branch of Toastmasters to be officially established in The Bahamas. Since then, it has been the cornerstone of the organisation’s growth in the country by contributing to the establishment of new clubs on New Providence and throughout the family islands.
Club 1600’s newly elected President, Toastmaster Chervez Brown has chosen as his theme: “The Circle of Influence”. During his acceptance speech, Brown outlined how Club 1600 intends to use its influence to inspire the nation’s youth by continuing its Youth Leadership Programme (YLP) at the Simpson Penn Centre for Boys. The eight-week YLP is a workshop style practical experience for teenagers which teaches public speaking and leadership skills.
“We are living in perilous times, and we are slowly losing our young people and our nation. To counter this trend, we must create a circle of influence. Club 1600 is in a unique position to reach our communities and create a circle of influence that will help young persons to realize their purpose and become positive leaders and effective communicators,” said Mr Brown.
He highlighted some of the club’s marketing and membership building programs that will be continued this year such as: The Neil Percentie Back-to-School event held in Union Village, the JC Sweeting Table Tennis Tournament, the Ed Carey Boil Fish Run/Walk, Ladies Night and Club 1600 Leadership Tour. The club will continue its work with Junior Achievement and The Kingdor Parkinsons Foundation in promoting their respective speech contests and training young leaders.
Toastmasters Club 1600 meets every Thursday at 8pm at Superclub Breezes. The meetings are open to the public.
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