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FATHER AND SON RETREAT CLOSING CEREMONY

Participants, facilitators and members of staff of the Department of Social Development were recognized at a closing ceremony held at The Anguilla Great House on Tuesday evening, August 12 at 7pm. His Excellency The Governor Mr. Andrew George and Mrs. George, The Honourable Deputy Governor Mr. Stanley Reid and Mrs. Reid and The Honourable Minister of Social Development Mr. McNeil Rogers attended and showed their full support for the eleven fathers and sons who participated in the retreat held at the Anguilla Great House.

The ceremony was chaired by the Commissioner of the Department of Social Development, Mr. Sanford Richardson. Mr. Richardson spoke of the many obstacles but in the end the retreat was highly successful. “Bridging The Gap – A Bonding

The Fathers and Sons

Experience,” was the theme of the event and it was echoed by the first speaker of the night, a young man by the name of Oshane Johnson who in the end said, “we had a lot of fun spending time with our fathers.” Derrick Connor was chosen to speak on behalf of the fathers to which he said, “we are more than grateful for the retreat and words cannot express how overwhelmed we were and how great everyone was.” Mr. Stanley Reid accepted the role as the patron of the event and mentioned that he was honoured to do so. He reiterated that this retreat did not just bridge the gap between fathers and sons, it also helped set the example of how to bridge the gap that exists in the public service in Anguilla as many departments need to take more initiatives. He urged everyone to keep the momentum going and promised to make funds available for next year’s retreat in the government budget.
All the fathers and sons received a certificate and a coffee mug. Certain people were recognized for other accolades: David Smith received an award for overall best participation; Irad Fleming for teaching table etiquette; Best Team went to Derrick and Depaurick Connor; The most active and well behaved child went to Oshane Johnson; and the Most Helpful went to Casey Richardson.

Deputy Governor Stanley Reid Giving a Fishing Rod To Mr. David Smith

The winners received fishing rods with the hopes that it would help the fathers and sons bond even more. Various sponsors were recognized for making the event possible: ANGLEC, The Anguilla Great House, Cap Juluca, JW Proctors, Michael Fleming, Ron Webster, Rudy Webster, Stanley Reid and Wycliffe Richardson.

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