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Six nationals were awarded at the 8 th National Honours and Awards Ceremony on
March 12, 2024, at the Montserrat Cultural Centre. The Order of Merit was
awarded to the following persons- Mr. Reginald Blake, Mr. Charles Emmanuel
White and Mr. Kelvin H. Duberry. The Order of Distinction awarded to Mr.
Bruce Farara and the Order of Excellence Awarded Dr. Yvonne Weekes and Mrs.
Sarita Francis OBE.

The Hon Premier Mr. Joseph E. Farrell in his brief opening remarks recognized
each of the awardee’s contribution to Montserrat’s development and congratulated
them on their achievements.

Entertainment during the evening included a vocal performance by Miss Claricia
Rodriguez Chambers, an instrumental by Mr. Lael Bradly Farrell, a dance by the
Next Level dancers, a dance performance by the Emerald Shamioles, one of the
local cultural masquerade dance groups on island. The final entertainment piece
was presented by Earl Hustler Browne who performed one of his local calypso
songs.

The vote of thanks was offered by Mrs. Daphne Cassell, the Permanent Secretary
for the Office of the Premier.

Four teenagers participated in the Miss Teen Pageant 2023 hosted by Fenyx Creations at the Montserrat Cultural Centre on December 22, 2023. The pageant participants were – Jahniqueca Wilkins, Narissa Farrell Bramble, China Marjoelle Thomas and Claricia Rodriquez Chambers.

Miss Claricia Rodriquez Chambers was crowned Miss Teen 2023. First runner up went to Jahniqueca Wilkins. Best performing talent went to Miss Claricia Rodriquez Chambers, best casual wear went to Miss Jahniqueca Wilkins and the best evening wear went to Miss China M. Thomas. Congratulations to Fenyx Creations for the staging of another successful Teen Pageant.

The Montserrat Community College (MCC) had their Graduation and Awards Ceremony on December 20, 2023 at the Sir George Martin Auditorium at the Montserrat Cultural Centre under the theme ‘Celebrating success – the stepping stone to progress’.

The Class of 2023 included the following twelve students: – Dominick Archer, Carisa Brudy, Shania Bryan, Shay-Reese Chambers, Sonive Clarke, Diesha Greenaway, Trevor Howe Jr., Emeka Jailall, Tashawna Nelson, Jovorne Oliver, Davaine Richards, and Mohit Sadhwani.

The Principals remarks was delivered by Mrs. Geraldine Cabey – Principal. The valedictorian’s remarks by Ms. Shay-Reese Chambers, graduation address by Ms. Kadine Cabey and the vote of thanks given by Ms. Khayla West from the student’s council. Entertainment was provided by the MCC students. Congratulations to the graduates – Class of 2023.

The Montserrat Tourism Division held an appreciation dinner for tourism stakeholders as part of their week of activities on September 30, 2023 at the Montserrat Cultural Centre Auditorium. The appreciation dinner recognized stakeholders from different areas in the industry to include tour guides, the restaurant sector, spa and wellness sectors, boat tour operators, hotel and villa rental etc. The Tourism Unit used the opportunity to recognize the longest tourism stakeholder. This award was given to Mr. and Mrs. Cedric Osborne, owners of the Vue Pointe Hotel who started operations in 1961 in Olveston, Montserrat. All other stakeholders were given appreciation plaques.

The Bank of Montserrat embarked on a new drive with the hosting of its first
homeowners showcase which was held on Saturday August 12, 2023 at the Montserrat
Cultural Centre. This initiative is geared towards encouraging local residents in
becoming homeowners.

The event included presentations in areas such as – applying for a mortgage, the legal
aspects of homeownership, understanding valuation, choosing a contractor and green
energy.

Exhibitors included those from service providers in the industry and from local
architects. The closing remarks for the days’ event were given by Mr. Baldwin Spencer,
Bank of Montserrat’s General Manager.

The just completed PRIME 2023 – Produced in Montserrat Expo – which ran from July
22 to July 23, 2023 was a success according to feedback received from both vendors
and shoppers alike.

PRIME 2023 is the Government of Montserrat third such event. This event has been
led by the Trade and Infrastructure Division in the Office of the Premier. Ms. Adena
Johnson, the former head of that division has been the ‘driver’ of this initiative for the
last three years.

PRIME 2023 saw some 38 business names registered with displays over 9 industry
areas to include – agro-processed foods; arts, crafts, souvenirs; beverages; candle
manufacturing; health, beauty and wellness; horticulture; clothing/accessories/jewelry;
literary arts and business services.

The PRIME 2023 committee was initially led by Ms. Adena Johnson who saw through
75% of its preparations before leaving to pursue other initiatives. The final committee
included Ms. Venaire Bass who replaced Ms. Johnson, Mrs. Cynthia Dyett, Mrs.
Rosetta West Gerrald, Ms. Sharlene Lindsay, Ms. Cherise Aymer, Ms. Ritchlyn Hackett,
Ms. Sharyn White and Mr. Kenneth ‘Rabo” Silcott.

Winners of PRIME 2023 special awards were: Ms. Juana Osborne of Woven Wick and
Ms. Serina Laird of Ser-Essence Candles for the best packaged and labled products.
Mr. Christopher Gerald of Jaxxxonz Winery won best booth layout and Mr. Ian Gerald of
Island momentos won the Best customer service. Best social engagement was won by
Ms. Kerry Ann Shaw of Sculpt MNI. She won a gift bag from one of our sponsors –
FLOW. Mr. David Lee also won a price from Digicel – another sponsors of PRIME.
Mrs. Sheree Jemmotte Rodney won a 4 night stay at the Chez Mango Villa in Olveston,
sponsored by Dr. Gary Morton of the Chez Mango Villa.

PRIME platinum sponsor was from the Bank of Montserrat Ltd. Gold sponsors were the
Ministry of Finance and from MS Osborne Ltd. Other sponsors from the private sector
included that from BBC Hardware, and LHNet Services

Entertainment for PRIME 2023 included steel pan music from the Local Volpanics Band
led by Mr. Herman ‘Cupid” Francis, dances from the Matrix dance group and from the
Next level dance group. Local music was played throughout both days by Javier
Adams.

Two fun filled days of colour and fun filled shopping. PRIME 2023.

As the Montserrat Cultural Centre (MCC) transitions to new ownership and management by the Government of Montserrat, it is a good time to pay tribute to the unsung heroes of its development, growth and charter as the focal point of togetherness, celebrations and cultural observations on the island.

It will be recalled that the MCC was the brainchild of the late Sir George Martin of Beetles fame. Sir George was conscious of the need to afford the people of Montserrat a place of pride for local gatherings. The development of our MCC was a very bold initiative taken by Sir George in conjunction with the Government of the day in 2003 and with inspired and practical support from our own Sir Howard Fergus. The building started while the Soufriere Hills Volcano was still in its eruptive phase and when abandoning the island was not a budding thought. Sir George Martin – a famous English music producer, composer, songwriter and founder of our famous Air Studious led on the initiative involving the Stars of Air Studios as fundraisers, through to its completion. He was also present when Sir Howard was installed as the centre’s first Chairperson.

Sir Howard Fergus served as the Chairman of the Board of the MCC from its inception in 2006 until its hand over to the Government of Montserrat in 2023. He was one of the two persons who held the shares as owners of the legal entity, the Montserrat Cultural Centre Incorporated. The late Sir Howard Fergus led in the oversight and guidance of operations at the MCC with six other nationals namely : Attorney at Law Mr. Kenneth Allen, Q.C.; Mrs. Sarita Francis; Mr. D. R. V. Edwards; Mr. Levons Watts; Mr. Dwain Lovett and Mr. John E. Whyke.

The development of the Centre was critical to the people of the island who saw the building as a place to bring friends and relatives together for, inter alia, weddings, re-unions, school events and birthday parties. The venue also showcased theatrical, musicals, calypso shows, lecture and government events. The MCC embraced local culture fully and prospered with pride in the development of local talents. This was especially important to the memory of Sir Howard and Sir George given the traumatic experiences with the eruptions of the Soufriere Hills Volcano in Montserrat especially from 1995 to 2003.

The late Sir Howard Fergus is especially memorialized at this juncture for using his experience, knowledge and skill to guide the Committee and the MCC over the years up to this year 2023. He is greatly missed by all especially the staff at the Centre who came to know and respect his kind words and encouragements so lavishly given for the Montserrat Cultural Centre Project.

The CARICOM Regional Organization for Standards and Quality (CROSQ) is an entity created by CARICOM whose mandate is to harmonize and implement standards to facilitate international competitiveness as part of the EDF – TBT PROJECT. Members from the CROSQ Team are on Montserrat to conduct a training on the Introduction to quality management systems.

The opening ceremony was held on Monday 12 th June, 2023. Opening remarks were given by Ms. Adena Johnson the Principal Trade and Quality Infrastructure Officer in the Trade Unit for the Government of Montserrat. There were also remarks by the Acting Premier, Dr. Samuel Joseph, followed by an overview of the training by the Project Co-coordinator Mr. Terry Hutchinson and Ms. Sheryl Anderson, of QSSI Global.

The training will be conducted over a week from June 12 to June 16, 2023 at the Montserrat Cultural Centre. Participants are expected to utilize the opportunity to gain an understanding of quality and regional standards that are expected in the production of goods and services.

The 2022 Alliouguana Festival of the Word (AFW) hosted by the Montserrat Arts
Council in collaboration with Golden Media held two of its activities at the Montserrat
Cultural Centre during its week of activities in November 2022. On November 17 th the
AFW held a movie night which introduced a special advanced screening featuring a
Howard Allen film from out of Antigua named Deep Blue. They also presented a
comedy series from out of St. Maarten called the Fab 4 & the Silent Retreat.

The events on November 19 saw the launch of several books. The first was by our
well-known local Arthur Sir Howard Fergus titled ‘Intriguing story’, Deonne Whisky John
discussed her “UMPH-writing stories using box paragraphing’, and Ian Gerald – ‘The
Professionals’ Journals Series’. Royden Silcott from Montserrat launched his first book
from his Cassava Kids Collective called ‘Responsible Rosie’ and Coryn Anaya Clark
from Trinidad also launched her new publication from her Chronicles of Coryn series.
The evening ended with a book party and fun day for the children which included face
painting and book swaps.

The 72nd Meeting of the OECS Authority was held in Montserrat on the 19th and 20th October, 2022. The meeting was hosted by the Chairman Hon. Easton Taylor-Farrell, Premier of Montserrat. The meeting saw representation from Government leaders from across the OECS Region to include Antigua, Anguilla, The British Virgin Islands, Grenada, St. Kitts, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, including representations from the French Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique. The meeting was supported by the Director General of the OECS Dr. Didacus Jules. The Chief Justice of the Eastern Supreme Court Dame Janice M. Pereina also made representation.

The meeting concluded on the 20 th of October, 2022 with a Town Hall meeting and press conference in the Auditorium at the Montserrat Cultural Centre.