PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – All seven Rotary clubs in our area were represented at the just recently concluded Rotary District 7020 45th PETS Training and District conference and Assembly 2018-2019 in Kingston, Jamaica. The seven clubs were: The Rotary Club of Sint Maarten, The Rotary of St. Maarten-Mid Isle, The Rotary Club of Saint Martin Sunrise, The Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset, The Rotary Club Saint Martin Nord, The Rotary Club of Anguilla and The Rotary Club of St. Barthelemy.
Rotary District 7020 compromises of ten countries, namely:Anguilla, The British Virgin Islands, The Cayman Islands, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Barthelemy, St. Maarten, St. Martin, The Bahamas, Turks & Caicos and the US Virgin Islands, and eighty-three (83) Rotary Clubs.
The purpose of the district conference is to provide opportunities for networking, inspirational addresses, and discussions of Rotary-related matters.The conferences also gives Rotarians and clubs a vision of Rotary beyond theclub level and provide a memorable fellowship experience. The conference is also where the President Elects and Secretary Elects prepare to lead their perspective club in the following year. In addition, training was given for those Rotarians taking up the position of Area Coordinators.
There were four possible awards that each club could have received at the conference this year, which were: the District Governor’s Award, The Public Image Citation – this was for Enhancing the public image and awareness of Rotary to the public in various ways, The Club of the Month (COTM) – this was for reporting consistently each month on what projects the club had done for the Rotary Focus each month, and a certificate of appreciation ‘For Sharing Your Love for Rotary Empowering our Young Generation. All clubs were awarded the certificate of appreciation for their work with the youth in our EarlyAct, Interact and Rotaract Clubs.
Awards received by the clubs in our area were as follow: The Rotary Club of Anguilla was awarded the Platinum Governors Award, the COTM bronze award and the Public Image Citation. The Rotary Club of Sint Maarten also received the Platinum District Governors Award, The Rotary Club of Saint Martin Sunrise also received the Platinum District Governors Award, the COTM gold award and the Public Image citation. The Rotary Club of St. Maarten-Mid Isle received the Platinum District Governors Award, the COTM gold award and the Public Image Citation. The Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset also received the Platinum District Governors award, the COTM gold award and the Public Image Citation.
In addition, Rotarians from our area were honored and recognized at the District Conference. Receiving her first Paul Harris Fellow was President Jaida Nisbett from the Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset. President Denise Antrobus, District Governor Nominee Designate, Louis Wever, Rotary Foundation chair David Antrobus, and President Elect Aernout Kraaijeveld from the Rotary Club of St Maarten-Mid Isle, Past President Angela Gordon from the Rotary Club of Saint Martin Sunrise were all recognized by the district as Paul Harris Society Fellows and awarded the chevron.
Foundation Chair David Antrobus received a District Service Award for promoting the Rotary Foundation and its goal of world understanding and peace. The Foundation in the charitable arm of Rotary. Whilst, Assistant Governor, Marcellia Henry was recognized for outstanding leadership as an Assistant Governor.
It was a proud moment for all the clubs in our area when it was announced that Louis Wever was ratified as District Governor Nominee Designate, and will be The District Governor for District 7020 in the Rotary year 2021-2022. DGND Louis was also given a special award for being an outstanding Rotarian in District 7020.
