Heroes Day will focus on agriculture
National Heroes Day committee (L-R): Eziethamae Bodden, Sheila Alvarez, Brian Crichlow, Delmira Bodden, Adrian Estwick, Nancy Barnard, Tanya Vasquez-Ebanks, Tristan Hydes, Roy McTaggart, Errol Watler, Neils Godfrey and Jennifer Ahearn. (Not pictured: Leyda Nicholson-Coe, Charles Gilman, Kimlon Lawrence, Meloney Syms, Ellen Eden, Mark Tibbetts, Hamlin Stephenson and George Smith).
(CNS): A committee comprising public and private sector representatives is in the early stages of planning the search for recipients of next year’s National Heroes Day (NHD) awards, which will honour contributions to the development of local farming.
The agricultural theme will encompass the growing of fruit and vegetable crops, as well as the rearing of poultry and animals in order to produce food and other products.
National Heroes Day is set for 25 January 2016.
Agriculture Minister Kurt Tibbetts said, “I am pleased that agriculture has been chosen for NHD 2016, and I am looking forward to the public getting involved to help recognise those men and women who have contributed to this increasingly important sector; indeed, a sector that has been the historical basis of the development of Cayman Islands.”
Tibbetts added his ministry is working on the development of the Food & Nutrition Security Policy with the support of the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute. Participating agencies include the Cayman Islands Agricultural Society, the Department of Agriculture and officials from the ministries responsible for agriculture and culture. Other committee members include the National Archives, the Protocol Office, Government Information Services, and representatives from each district, as well as vendor representatives from the Market at the Grounds and the Camana Bay Market.
Welcoming the National Heroes Day team to its first meeting recently, Councillor Roy McTaggart said, “I am pleased with the interest and enthusiasm of this committee, and Government eagerly anticipates the results of your endeavors in this area, which is vital to the sustenance and well-being of our Islands.”
Agriculture’s traditionally prominent role in the Cayman Islands is reflected by the fact that, over the past 48 years, the annual Agricultural Show has remained one of the largest and best-attended one-day events in the Cayman Islands.
The Heroes Day nominations period will begin in early September 2015. Members of the public may nominate outstanding persons who have made significant contributions to agriculture over the decades.
Government’s Protocol Office organises the National Heroes Day ceremony, assisted by the Ministry of Culture.
For more information on this event, email Meloney Syms or call her at 244-3612.
Category: Agriculture
