This was the theme of an afternoon Gala held at the Bethesda Moravian Church Hall in Cayon on Sunday June 12, 2011, in honour of our community's treasures; our seniors.
In a display of respect, appreciation and love, dozens of senior citizens in the Green Valley area were treated to a delectable luncheon and an afternoon of good cheer, laughter, entertainment, and moments of reminiscing.
Renowned Pastor Benjamin Brown invoked God's presence and blessed the meal while 9 year old Ms. Shadia McKoy read the scripture reading from Psalms 126.
Heather Archibald, educator and former teacher at the Cayon High School, displayed her charm and wit as the chair lady for the event.
In the absence of the Honorable Marcella Liburd, Minister of Culture and Gender Affairs, (who at the time was off island), Ms. Sharon Rattan, acting Permanent Secretary in the aforementioned ministry, brought warm greetings and words of encouragement to the seniors.
Ms. Rattan expressed her delight in seeing an event staged for the enjoyment and entertainment of the elderly and encouraged such endeavours in the future. Ms. Rattan further pledged her ministry's commitment to supporting initiatives that encourage the advancement of our seniors.
Also present and clearly in touch with his humorous side was parliamentary representative for the area, Mr. Eugene Hamilton. Of the few things he spoke on, he stopped to recap the stages of the human life, from infancy to elderly. Hamilton reminded the seniors that although a great focus of their days is on being thankful for just one more day of life, they should be proud of their accomplishments and enjoy every waking moment of their lives as they know it today.
92 year old song bird, Mrs. Pearl Liburd offered her soulful rendition. It must have brought back precious memories to many of the seniors as several of them took the mike to speak, sing, and play a musical instrument.
Former headmaster Leroy Pemberton spoke to the audience and expressed his gratitude for such an event to remember our community’s stalwarts. Mr. Amos Pemberton played lustily on his harmonica and other seniors shared with each other in song and the spoken word. Ms. Vaple Burt highly commended the Green Valley Global for its efforts in hosting the Gala and encouraged the seniors to enjoy and bask in the moment.
A fiery group of boys who make up Zack's Cultural Group strummed on their triangle, shack shacks and other musical gadgets to create a flavour of rhythmic string band music. The boys danced and moved carefree and certainly kept the seniors entertained.
Poinciana Productions, a drama group led by Mr. Laughlin Tatem, performed a skit called "60's Discipline", showcasing the efforts of a mother to discipline her children with her style of discipline and the outcome of her approach to discipline several years later. It was certainly a masterpiece dramatization put on by our nation's youth.
Lennox Liburd, a member of the Green Valley Global organization in New York, gave the Vote of Thanks and extended sincere appreciation to “all” who made the event a success, including the event's special guests; the seniors.
The audience joined their melodious voices in singing the old hymn "Bringing In The Sheaves"; a fitting end to the afternoon's recognition of the seeds sowed by our seniors and the Harvest we are now reaping as a result of their contribution to our communities.
Several seniors who could not attend Sunday’s Gala received meals delivered on wheels by Andy Otto.
Green Valley Global Senior Citizens Gala was a success as a result of the collaborative efforts of citizens at home and abroad. The organizers are sincerely thankful for everyone who helped to make the event a success.
It was truly a pleasure to bring over three hours of enjoyment to our community's senior citizens.
