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Barbara Lyn Missick, Helping Children to Explore the Art & Craft at BTC

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PROVIDENCIALES, Turks & Caicos Islands: Children live what they learn. With this in mind, the Beaches Turks and Caicos Kids Camp department is ensuring that children who visit this award-winning all-inclusive family resort are able to find joy in being creative, all under the guidance of experienced ‘crafters’ such as Senior Crafter, Barbara Lyn Missick.

Within its cadre of offerings, the Kids Camp department provides craft, games, and a myriad of fun activities for children of all ages. Missick, who joined the company 24 years ago in September 199,8 has been fostering a creative environment for children to learn art and craft, or just enjoy the opportunity to express their creativity through their own unique designs.

According to Missick, “I believe that in order to lead the craft area of this resort, one must have a passion for creativity, a high level of patience, and motherly instincts. Being able to experience children, and sometimes their parents too, entering the creative arts centre and at the end of the day they are able to celebrate the finished product of their hard, but fun labour, is always rewarding. Art and craft for me has been a transformation from a mere passion to becoming a career, primarily due to what this resort has been able to offer to families who visit our shores.

“Being a part of the BTC family has allowed me to thrive in a very comfortable environment where I have grown professionally and earned significantly while doing something that I enjoy. This craft centre within the Kids Camp is never seen as work as I am able to create an environment where I can see children smile and have a great time every day and I am rewarded whenever returning families make a specific request for me to teach their children,” the resort veteran continued.

Missick went on to add, “Ideas for craft within the area have been born out of the natural environment inspired by the different islands of the Turks & Caicos, hence the opportunity to teach and share the culture of our island home has positioned me to be an ambassador to our visitors and I love it!”.

“The vast levels of leadership available at BTC present great opportunities to grow as a professional and are just some of the main influencers for my longevity with the resort as I have grown from camp counselor to crafter, then to senior crafter and look forward to even more advancement. In addition, the chance to help in the development of this skilled area, especially with the younger team members has created a symbiotic relationship where we build this department as a team. Sharing with my colleagues while learning new and more modern techniques daily, allows us to evolve into being the best all-inclusive family,” Missick shared.

On building prospective leaders within the organisation, general manager James McAnally highlighted the values needed for a strong leader like Barbara. Said McAnally, “Being able to satisfy the creative needs of our guests and especially the children, is of paramount importance at a family resort such as ours. Barbara’s impact within this area is undoubtedly immeasurable. Her creative prowess has allowed our young guests to be at home with the arts and craft through which they get the chance to express themselves. Barbara has been that champion who has given great effort in building and maintaining this area of the Kids Camp at BTC and we are proud to have her as part of our team.”

Sherly Joseph, counselor at the Kids Camp was quick to highlight her own experiences, learning from Barbara. Joseph said, “As a young professional, being able to work with Barbara is like sitting in a classroom. She is a reservoir of knowledge. She is always willing to share her skills and creativity while teaching those around her the value of working within this industry. She is like a mother to all of us.”

Barbara is never one to shy away from sharing life and professional experiences with those around her as she lives the company’s mandate of succession planning especially within her skilled area. “I’m always willing to encourage our younger employees – follow your dreams and ensure that as you work, seek to learn something new every day. I always say to them, invest your time and skills in what you do as you can only become a better professional with each experience,” Missick concluded.

Bahamas News

UB Art and Music Students to Benefit from a $100K Scholarship Award Established by Cordell Broadus Jr. and the Tezos Foundation

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Nassau, THE BAHAMAS — Nearly one year ago, Cordell Broadus, son of legendary American rapper Snoop Dogg, stood before hundreds of University of The Bahamas (UB) freshmen and declared his interest in financially supporting the talented artists and musicians among them. Some seven months later, Mr. Broadus made good on that promise by generously donating $100,000 to the University to support the creative arts at UB. 

On Thursday, 7th March, UB executed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Mr. Broadus a.k.a “Champ Medici” and the Tezos Foundation in the RBC Auditorium of the Franklyn Wilson Graduate Centre for the establishment of the Champ Medici Arts Fund (CMAF) Scholarship Award. The CMAF is a $1 million philanthropic effort in partnership with the Tezos Foundation to support emerging and legacy musicians and artists across the globe who are seeking to build and create new creative and cultural works on the Tezos blockchain.

A two-part gift, the CMAF Scholarship will donate a monetary prize to be allocated to UB students participating in a competition which will showcase their non-fungible tokens (NFT) projects. The CMAF and the Tezos Foundation will offer educational tutorials, materials and guidance on how to use the Tezos blockchain to mint, market and sell their works. 

The second part of the gift will be used to purchase the technology and relevant equipment and supplies for the students so that they can further pursue digital art and music initiatives within the University’s curriculum and in the future.

“This just really came from the bottom of my heart,” said Mr. Broadus. “My first time outside of America was to The Bahamas with my grandma and my great-grandma, who are both no longer here. So, just coming down here has always been inspiring, obviously beautiful, as the country has a very rich culture. You guys have intelligent students, and I just wanted to be representative and show that you don’t have to play sports and make music to become successful, but you can have ownership and your own narrative and do things you want to do. So, that’s what I’m trying to strive to do.”

UB President Janyne Hodder said the University is extremely grateful for the kind gesture, which came at a time when UB is seeking to better itself and foster a culture of continuous improvement in academia via the pursuit of local and international accreditation, as well as celebrate 50 years of continuous operations in service to the nation. The $100K gift by CMAF and the Tezos Foundation will only augment those pursuits. 

“We are grateful for the vision of those at Champ Medici Arts Fund and the Tezos Foundation, Mr. Cordell Broadus and others, for making this investment in students of University of The Bahamas and for recognizing the potential of our talented students,” said President Hodder in her remarks. 

Mr. Broadus had an opportunity to speak to students at UB’s 2023 Fall Freshman Orientation, where he indicated: “We also have a fund where we give back money to minority artists who create music, who create art, and at some point, I would like to pick one of you guys to donate that money to in this room, whoever is a talented artist and a talented musician, let me know.”

Fast-forward to Thursday’s MOU signing, Dr. Douglas Barkey, Dean of UB’s College of Liberal and Fine Arts, praised Mr. Broadus for being a man of his word in partnering with the University. 

“We get a lot of visitors here, we see quite a few because of who we are and where we are, and we’re happy to receive them,” said Dr. Barkey. “They are all inspired by the creativity they see among our students and faculty, our young musicians, emerging artists, and they leave with the intention to help out in some way. We’re used to not hearing back. But that is not the case today. The Champ Medici Foundation for the Arts and the Tezos Foundation have come together to truly give back to the Bahamian community of emerging creative professionals in a very innovative manner through this gift.” 

Mr. Dino Hernandez, UB’s Vice President of Institutional Advancement and Alumni Affairs, praised the new partnership for granting talented artists at UB the opportunity unlock their creative musical and artistic talents. 

“We truly appreciate the partnership with CMAF and Tezos Foundation for the establishment of this $100,000 award, which I’m sure Dean of Liberal and Fine Arts Douglas Barkey and the exceptional music faculty are deeply appreciative of,” said VP Hernandez. “Providing our students with access to state-of-the-art digital equipment, educational tutorials, and mentorship, also will go a long way in teaching and training our students, many of whom are fantastic musicians and artists.” 

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Caribbean News

UWI partners with InterCaribbean airways

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Rashaed Esson

Staff Writer

 

#TurksandCaicos, March 9, 2024 – The aviation industry is in dire need of fresh talent and two regional entities are now partnered to ensure there is not only a world class educational program, but scholarships for future aviators.

The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus scored big, partnering with regional airline company InterCaribbean Airways securing a Memorandum of Understanding, one of duality benefiting significantly both entities.

Signed on Thursday February 29th, the MOU will allow UWI to further advance its aviation studies.  Also, according to the University in a statement, the partnership aims to cater to the development of the regional air transport sector.

This is crucial as InterCaribbean Airways, as are many other airlines, is struggling with staff shortages which are impacting customer satisfaction levels.

In fact, according to the airframe manufacturer, Airbus has gone on record to say the entire industry will need to hire 585,000 new pilots by 2042 to keep up with the levels of demand. And, its competitor, Boeing, informs that the need is now even higher at 649,000.

Additionally under the MOU, are five annual scholarships that will be offered to deserving students.

“The Scholarships are in honour of Manville “Donnie” Gardiner, the late brother of the founder and chairman of the airline, Lyndon Gardiner,” the University said.

The scholarships will support aviation undergraduate students from the Caribbean, enrolled in programmes like the newly approved Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Aviation Management and BBA in Aviation Management with Pilot Licence.

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Education

TCI Minister Rachel Taylor – Message on Teachers’ Appreciation Day  

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#TurksandCaicos, March 8, 2024 – Happy Teachers’ Appreciation Day to our most valuable players within the Education Sector. You are all loved, valued and will be continuously celebrated, supported and rewarded for your significant contributions toward the Human Capital Development initiatives across these beautiful by nature Turks & Caicos Islands.

 I trust you enjoy the video message that was developed to honor and celebrate you on this auspicious occasion. Please watch a special message on Turks and Caicos Islands Government Facebook Page.

Once again Happy Teacher’s Day, 2024!

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