On Thursday 28 April, the lawn at Government House illuminated under the glowing magnificent sunset, as government officials, along with family members and friends, celebrated the success of 21 emerging leaders, who graduated from Cohort III of the Taking The Lead Programme.
Initially developed three years ago with funding from the Governor’s Office, the three-month programme is run by the Comprehensive Learning Centre. It exposes young people to the theoretical and practical processes of effective leadership. This year’s programme covered: Leadership as a collective process; Leadership as a strategic function; Leadership as an ethical process; Leadership as communication; Leadership as an intellectual process; Leadership as an ordered function; Leadership as a political process, Leadership as a developmental process and Leadership as an intellectual exercise.
The facilitators were Pastor Gleason Brooks, Mr. Douglas Wattley, Deputy Governor Stanley Reid, Rev. Dr. Wycherley Gumbs, Mr. Ivan Connor, Dr. Samuel Daniel, Mr. David Carty and Mr. Bren Romney.
The delightful ceremony, chaired by Mr. Andrew Niles, began with the National Anthem sung by Ms. Nekesha Davis and the Invocation by Pastor Gleason Brooks.
Ms. Melissa Hamm, Assistant Programme Coordinator, said the graduates were now equipped with vital information to take the lead. She was confident that all
of them would make valuable contributions to the wider community. She added that a leader’s job is not to solve every problem alone, but to inspire others to solve problems as well.
Governor Christina Scott reflected on the years during which the programme has been running. “It has shown to be a fantastic example of foresight and vision about growing a group of leaders, over successive years, who will take Anguilla forward and continue to grow their expertise and experiences and the economy of Anguilla.” She congratulated the graduates stating that: “it was an absolute delight to support and sponsor the project and to see each Cohort get bigger and just as committed.” She urged the graduates to maintain the networks of people with whom they have built contacts over the last few months and to follow their ambition to do more for Anguilla.
Programme Coordinator, Mrs. Melisse Jennings, spoke about the graduates’ performance throughout the programme and her appreciation to have worked with them. She instructed the graduates to “go forth, take up your roles and lead”.
Other speakers included Mr. David Carty , one the programme facilitators; and graduates, Felicia Hennis, Rohan Forbes and Tavia Nelson- Connor, who spoke about their personal experiences throu
ghout the programme and how it impacted their lives, thus far. They also expressed gratitude to Mrs. Jennings, the Program Coordinator, to whom they made a special presentation to programme coordinator, as well as to the facilitators.
The highlight of the evening was the presentation of certificates to the graduates. They were: Keneka Bailey, Artiya Bruno, Nekesha Davis, Shanise Connor, Rohan Forbes, Adellie Gibbons, Kendran Gumbs, Kenvis Gumbs, Mirie Harris, Felicia Hennis, Shauna-Kae Lake, Tamarie Mitcham, Tavia Nelson-Connor, Roxann Pinnock, Dane Richardson, Janique Richardson, Jonicia Richardson, Jeritza Samuel, Akilah Thompson, Leon Vanterpool and Britnee Williams.
The ceremony ended with Ms. Akilah Thompson delivering the Vote of Thanks.
