U.S. Chargé d'Affaires, John Dinkelman took a moment out of his busy schedule on Wednesday, January 23 to meet with excited students who are headed to Denver Colorado and Washington, D.C. for the U.S. Embassy's first Youth Ambassadors exchange program.

Through a partnership with The Bahamas Red Cross, four students with a demonstrated commitment to community service were selected to join youth leaders from Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Grenada for three weeks of hands-on community-based activities designed to develop their conflict resolution and leadership skills.

The Bahamas, and Grand Bahama in particular, did not lack representation or the opportunity to boast the many benefits of investing in our islands. Bahamian actor, producer and retired NBA star, Rick Fox took up the mantle and joined team Bahamas at the American Lodging & Investment Summit (ALIS), held in Los Angeles, CA, last week.

In commenting on his excitement about promoting The Bahamas for international investment, Rick Fox shared, "It's been a tremendous week standing alongside fellow Bahamians who share my passion for The Bahamas and vision for its future."

Join the Right Honourable Perry Christie, Prime Minister of The Bahamas, at the Bahamas International Investment and Business Forum, taking place February 20-21, 2013, Freeport. Held under the theme 'At the Crossroads of 21st Century Trade and Investment,' the forum will be organised by the Government of The Bahamas, the Commonwealth Business Council and the Grand Bahama Port Authority.

The Bahamas International Business & Investment Forum will highlight the key advantages The Bahamas, and Grand Bahama in particular, will have in capitalising on the expansion of the Panama Canal, which is due to be completed in 2014. The event will also showcase The Bahamas as a global investment destination of choice with a wide range of opportunities across a number of key sectors.

Renaj Stuart was born to very young mother, Ms. Kendisha Johnson. When Renaj was born his medical exam indicated a heart murmur. This is scary for a young mother; thankfully Kendisha had her mother, Mrs. Kentrise Lewis-Williamson, along to support and help her. They were referred to the pediatric heart clinic for Renaj's care.

Subsequent medical testing and examination indicated that Renaj had a congenital heart defect called tetralogy of fallot (TOF). Tetralogy of Fallot causes low oxygen levels in the blood. This leads to cyanosis (a bluish-purple color to the skin). The classic form includes four defects of the heart and its major blood vessels. Renaj needed immediate surgery but his parents and guardians did not have the resources to cover the cost of surgery in the United States.

Cable Bahamas kicked off its major REVOICE campaign in November 2012, giving potential new customers many reasons to consider REVOICE as a viable option for their primary home phone service.

The new thrust included removing the installation and equipment cost through January 26, 2013, and provided great incentives for new customers to sign up, including weekly giveaways and a grand prize Honda CR-V from Nassau Motor Company worth more than $42,000.

A new element introduced into Speed Week 2012 was to invite any interested schools and youth groups to build Box Karts for display at the event. Several schools participated and enthusiastically, at short notice, produced some very impressive and well-made Box Karts.

The schools receiving trophies donated by H.G. Christie, were Summit Academy, Government High and St. Andrews. The trophies for the participating teams were recently presented to the schools and their teams of builders by Victoria Sarne, Project Manager Formula One Kart Stars and John Christie.

To culminate the 2012 Kids Only Christmas Sale that was held in December, some of the participating kids finally had their opportunity to present a portion of their earnings to the charities of their choice. The presentation was held this past Saturday at the British Colonial Hilton.

Kids who participated in December's Kids Only Christmas Sale made donations ranging from $10 to $108 to charities such as Hands for Hunger, the Ranfurly Homes and the Bahamas Primary School Student of the Year program.

After three natural disasters and an unfortunate business downturn it is indisputable that Freeport has fallen into the worst recession it has suffered in its 67 year history. But, if we look to our history, it can be seen we already have a business model as to how to get development moving again. The early days of Freeport 1963-1970 demonstrated very clearly that a fairly open policy regarding the immigration of foreign entrepreneurs provided a dynamic 'mix' of commercial and professional businesses that, in their train, brought capital, expertise and jobs.

Incidentally an important element of the original business model was that licensees in new fields were given (undocumented) assurance that their ventures would remain exclusive until their businesses were established. The introduction of opening up Freeport to entrepreneurs worldwide was a seminal example of the working of the Adam Smith's concept of the 'invisible hand' subtly providing the needed diversity to the industrial base.

The downside to this was of course, the feeling that local people were being pushed out by foreigners

Last week 27 St. George's senior high school students (BGCSE and AP Sciences) of the Academic Sciences Department participated in the field excursion to the Sanitation Services Landfill along with Ms. Simms and Mr. Thurston, Chemistry and Physics Teachers at the school.

The student trip is in keeping with the school's and the Ministry of Education's overall goals of affording students varied academic viewpoints of the "real" world. This trip focused on the environmental sciences and protection concerns for our natural environment as an area of research and focus.

The Humane Society of Grand Bahama (HSGB) is a private, non-profit organization founded in 1968 to "protect God's creatures in times of trouble on Grand Bahama." We are one of the oldest charities on this island, and the second oldest animal welfare organization in the entire Bahamas. We are not a government agency and we are not funded by government. Our work has made the entire island safer, healthier, and more pleasant for its human inhabitants and we are pleased to contribute to the well being of our fellow Grand Bahamians. However, our very reason for being involves the protection and well being of animals, and this mission will always take precedence for us.

Animal lover or not, surely every compassionate person would agree that "the righteous care for the needs of their animals" - Proverbs 12:10. We believe that those who are sworn to protect and defend life and property - our police officers -should also have a care and concern for defenseless innocent animals.

Grand Bahama Shipyard (GBS) mandated itself from the very beginning to help educate and promote Bahamians in the shipping industry. Last weekend the shipyard proudly added another 8 new graduates into the industrial field, totaling 46 young Bahamians who have now passed the rigorous training program.

Speaking to the graduates of 2013, Carl Rotkirch, Chairman and CEO of GBS proudly noted, "The company that you are graduating from probably has one of the most comprehensive programs for tradesmen in industrial enterprises in The Bahamas.

The annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is conducted in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and the Bahamas by over 500,000 birding enthusiasts. Birds are counted in the same areas each year for one day from sunrise to sunset during the months of December and January.

By participating in this count Grand Bahama Birders contribute valuable information to the longest running database in ornithology. The primary objective of the annual count is to monitor the status and distribution of bird populations across the Western Hemisphere.

Merriam Webster's dictionary defines Catalyst as "an agent that provokes or speeds significant change or action." Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce President Barry Malcolm and his Board of Directors have chosen for this year's theme "Catalyst" to serve and act on behalf of its members as an agent to effect positive change that will lead to Grand Bahama Island reaching its full economic potential.

Persons are invited to celebrate the Installation Ceremony of The Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce's executive body on Saturday, February 16th, 2013 at Delphine's at the Pelican Bay Hotel.

For the two days, the 6-7th of February, Corporate Trainer and Microsoft Office Master Instructor Keshelle Kerr will be offering a 1 hour Productivity Workshop to organizations. She believes that "once you experience the quality of her training, you will see the value of working with her to help your staff work smarter, faster and better."

"There is no way, your employees will sit in a workshop with me and not learn at least one tip or technique that can give them hours --if not days in time saved," says Keshelle. "There is nothing to lose."

Minister of Financial Services, the Hon. Ryan Pinder, was the special guest speaker at the monthly business meeting of the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce, January 30th, at the Pelican Bay Hotel, Freeport.

Minister Pinder spoke of Copy Right and Intellectual Property Acts that he will be taking to Parliament.

After working with young people over the span of almost 30 years, Whitney Bain (Ronnie's Organic) will launch his first retail venture in The Bahamas as it relates to the funding of youth work and leadership development.

Many years ago Whitney's life was changed for the better by the intervention of a caring high school teacher named Mrs. Mary Nabb (now deceased). Having observed him making wrong decisions and heading in the wrong direction, Mrs. Nabb had confronted him and shown him a picture of himself in the years ahead. He did not like what he saw and found her intervention pivotal in changing his direction. Shortly after that episode Whitney started to work with his classmates, helping them with homework, class assignments and also showing them pictures of themselves in the future.

The Bimini Big Game Club Resort & Marina announced plans Monday for a unique one-day guaranteed shark encounter experience that will also help fund regional shark tagging and conservation efforts through a partnership with the Shark-Free Marinas initiative.

The Bimini Bull Run is a first for the global shark diving industry, providing divers and non-divers with an up-close and personal adrenaline packed thrill of shark encounters from the safety of specially designed cage systems attached directly to the docks at The Big Game Club Marina.

As the 14th annual Junior Junkanoo parade prepares to hit the streets of downtown Freeport on February 2nd, we take a look at the life of a Junkanoo icon - Charles Michael Wright.

Mr. Charles Michael Wright a.k.a "Mickey "was born on September 27th, 1952 in the capital city of Nassau, New Providence - Bahamas. He is married to his beloved wife Parell J. Wright Nee Clarke in 1978, and they are blessed with one daughter, Vantona K. Townes Nee Wright, Five sons, Yeovil, Tavarz, Keron, Malik and Michael Wright.

Heart disease is the number one killer of persons in The Bahamas and around the world. According to statistics from The Department of Statistics over 24% of all deaths in the Bahamas are directly related to heart disease. February is celebrated annually as Heart Month. The Sir Victor Sassoon (Bahamas) Heart Foundation and The Bahamas Heart Association want you to get involved.

The Bahamas Heart Association and The Heart Foundation, with the aid of the Heart Ball Committee, have jointly scheduled several events during heart month to create awareness of heart disease, to help persons live heart healthy lifestyles and to help raise funds to repair children's hearts. Additionally, Doctor's Hospital will host their monthly health talk.

Congratulations to Miss Universe Bahamas 2012 Celeste Marshall who made the top 20 at the recent Miss Universe pageant. Candidates competing for the title of Miss Universe are entered to become the next Miss CHI.

The winner will become Miss CHI 2013, representing CHI as an official spokesmodel at events and photo shoots throughout the year.

Fan voting is now open and ends on Thursday, January 31, 2013 at 6pm ET.

Bahamian artist Jamaal Rolle known as "The Celebrity Artist" because of his list of celebrity clientele has added another high profile figure to his roster. He recently made a portrait presentation, this time to the Prime Minister of The Bahamas.

Presenting his large portrait to the Right Honourable Perry G. Christie, during a courtesy call, The Celebrity Artist said that it was an honour to draw another high profile individual. The presentation was also in celebration of the country's 40th anniversary of Independence that will take place in July 2013.

The Bahamian Brewery and Beverage Company (BBB) kicked off their 2013 sculling season at the "All for One" Regatta at Montagu Bay, Nassau this weekend. As one of the sponsors who came to the rescue of the event, the Bahamian Brewery's national sculling races were a fun highlight to the weekend's races.

With over 16 entries and 4 heats, final results placed David Rolle, third, Stephen Rolle second, and champion of the Montagu sculling races was Donnie Bastian. Bastian won 10 cases of beer, t-shirts, and the coveted trophy and honour of being the first sculling winner for 2013.

The Bimini Big Game Club Resort & Marina has announced that there will be a Hemingway fishing in their Wahoo Smackdown II tournament scheduled for February 21-23rd.

John Hemingway, grandson of the world-renowned author Ernest Hemingway, will be trolling the same Gulf Stream waters next month as his famous grandfather, whose fishing exploits aboard his beloved "Pilar" helped put this tiny Bahamas out island on the global map in the 1930s.

Triathletes are getting excited about the upcoming Great Abaco Family Fitness Weekend March 22-24th. But it isn't just for triathletes. Featuring an open water swim, Sprint and Olympic distance triathlons, a 5 and 10K fun run/walk, plus a 1-mile race for the kids, the weekend is full of events for everyone!

As an added incentive an early registration discount and great prizes are being offered. However, the early registration discounts end January 31st, 2013, at midnight EST! Be sure to get your registration in early to save money and to be entered to win fantastic prizes including a stay at Treasure Cay. Online registration will continue until March 20th.

Dear Editor:

When a government spends a reported $1 million in taxpayer money on an exercise that included the passage of brand new legislation to unjustifiably tamper with the Constitutional Referendum Act, as well as consistent public statements about the national importance and implications of a vote at the polls - and it cannot get voters to come out to the polls, it is a clear demonstration that the public at large does not trust the word of the government of the day or the system of the poll that the government is presenting - and therefore did not see the need to go to the polls.

What the day's relatively low voter turnout shows is that the Bahamian people clearly believe that the government had a horse in the race and that horse was the "yes vote" and therefore they do not trust the government or its poll to make a difference one way or the other on the issue of legalising webshop gaming.