The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstuybbs@tribunemedia.net

Versatile sportswoman Jenny Isaacs-Dotson is another sporting personality who is making the transition into politics for the General Elections on Thursday, September 16.

The former softball/volleyball/basketball/field hockey/netball player and coach for the University of the Bahamas Mingoes has transferred her leadership skills as a trade unionist to the political arena as she gets set to run for the governing party’s Exuma and Ragged Island constituency in the elections.

“I was always reminded by the people in the union that I was always involved in politics, at every level that you are at, whether you are running for the country or whether it be running for the union or you are working in place, politics exist everywhere,” Dotson-Isaacs said. “I thought about it even in the last election, but I decided not to do it then and this time around, I said this is the time to do it.

“I prayed about it and God told me it was time to run. So when God tells you to do something you run with it. That was really the turning point for me. Whenever I’m faced with a decision, I pray about it and tell God to send me a sign as to what I should do. That’s really how I live my life and make the decisions that I do. God just opens the door and makes those decisions happen.”

Having gotten her feet wet as a member of the Bahamas Union of Teachers and then as their assistant secretary general, Dotson-Isaacs went to UB where she became female president of the Faculty Union for three consecutive terms.

However, she eventually emerged as the first female to hold the positions of the National Congress of Trade Unions Bahamas, the union for the entire Bahamas and the president of the Caribbean Congress of Labour, which has responsibility for the entire Caribbean.

Although she played on numerous women’s national teams in softball, volleyball and field hockey, Isaacs-Dotson also holds the distinction of being on the first women’s national team to represent the Bahamas on netball in 1976.

“I can be considered a lady of first, although I won’t be the first female, if elected, to serve as the Member of Parliament for Exuma and Ragged Island,” said Isaacs-Dotson, of that honor that is bestowed to Ruby Ann Darling. “There’s not a whole lot of women who have held this seat.”

In making the transition from sports to the union to politics, the veteran teacher and nurse by profession, said she’s entering the race with a positive attitude and will do the work that she was called to do.

“Like I always tell people, sports is the key to helping me through all of this,” she insisted. “It’s through sports that you learn to be determined. You understand that there has to be a winner and a loser, but of course I’m determined to be the winner.

“I tell people that sports has prepared me for a lot of things in life because it has given me the determination, dedication and commitment because once you decide to do something, to go after it and to put your all into it. I think that is what sports has done for me. Sports has really given me the foundation for all the things I’ve done in my life.”

As an all-around student-athlete who excelled for the RM Bailey Pacers, Isaacs-Dotson said she’s confident that she will become the next MP for Exuma and Ragged Island when the counts are counted on election day.

“I’ve done the work. I’ve been on the ground since I got the nomination,” she declared. “I’ve been to Exuma and the cays and to Ragged Island, so I’m looking forward to the full support from everyone over here.”

Isaacs-Dotson, however, said she just hopes that persons will be more vigilant about Covid-19 as there have been a number of deaths and she extended her condolences to the families affected, But she’s also looking at the island having to airlift as many persons as they have done. So she’s urging people to get vaccinated.

“There are so many plans for Exuma and Ragged Island,” she proclaimed. “There are a lot of things that I want to do here and sports and recreation are among the list. There’s nothing happening right now because of Covid-19 and the 8 pm curfew that we are under.

“So I’m looking forward to providing the infrastructure and also the opportunities through my experience in being an athlete and being involved in the associations and the various federations that I’ve been involved in for the revitalization of sports and encouraging people to exercise.”

Her plea is not just for the youth, but the elderly as well, as she encourages them to live healthy, clean, productive lives through her education and training as a certified teacher and qualified nurse.

And with a mini hospital in Exuma, once it’s fully operational and staffed, Isaac-Dotson said she would like to see it become the hub for the area and not have to airlift so many people to New Providence for the proper medical care.