A note of thanks

October 27, 2009

Dear Sir,

The Committee of Management of the Lady Cubitt Compassionate Association (LCCA) extends sincere thanks and gratitude to all members of our community who generously donated to our Annual Tag Day fund-raiser, held on September 18, 2009. We recognise the difficult economic challenges that we are all experiencing at this time and sincerely appreciate all donations received.

We thank our many volunteers who willingly gave their time to facilitate the success of our fund-raising efforts. Special thanks are extended to our volunteers from the service organisations, and to those volunteers who, throughout the day, assisted with the collection of buckets and counting of the proceeds. We also thank the businesses and establishments who gave us permission to sell our tags on their premises.

The total amount of $14,192.00 raised from this event will be utilised in our General Assistance Program for the benefit of the elderly, children and the less fortunate members of our community. These proceeds allow the LCCA to continue to carry out the ideals and philosophy of our founder. Once again, thank you to everyone for your support.

VERONICA HARVEY (MS)

Executive Director

LCCA

Put heads in beds

November 7, 2009

Dear Sir,

We read an article about tourism here in Kelowna, British Columbia that we share with you – and this is not to say they do it better in Kelowna but gives an idea what they are experiencing and how they plan to tackle some of the problems. This area had about a ten percent fall-off during the summer "lower than the 20 percent to 25 percent expected and experienced elsewhere". They feel their "biggest challenge is getting an effective message out, one that will stand out from the clutter". That's not new – Bermuda has come up with various strategies, even going to the ballgame where they sell peanuts and crackerjacks, and hasn't worked.

"Competition for tourism is fierce." "The Internet is giving tourists access to more information about potential vacation stops." Didn't Bermuda go in that direction by closing all the North American offices but one and put people behind computers? Did it work? We don't think so! But that is not to say that the Internet is not a valuable tool – we use it all the time. "Where once print advertising was king, now there is a heavy reliance on the web, particularly social media sites."

Probably true to some degree but look at the Jamaica and Sandals ads that are still putting heads in beds during this recession. In any case, we still think Bermuda lost its way by tapering off dealing directly with those who sell the destination. "Sites like Twitter and Facebook now allow complete strangers to talk directly with one another about travel experiences – what they liked and what they didn't like."

There is an old saying about how bad news travels fast – tell one and they will tell ten others. Could this be what is happening to Bermuda? Still expensive, rampant crime, madness on our narrow roads, constant reminders of racial indifference and a government which is thought to be scaring potential investors from our shores. Interestingly "they" blame The Royal Gazette for all the things that have been allowed to get out of hand. "One down"... no wonder we are in trouble.

By the way Kelowna encourages the community to get involved in promoting this destination as they believe, "telling the world we are here and this is what we look like is not enough". "It's a moving target and one that requires, continual attention." Bermuda on the other hand discourages outside involvement. One gets the impression,""they" – the elected officials – know better than those involved in the industry and woe betide those who think differently.

There is a new word here for those that held back from a vacation this year. "Staycation" — meaning staying close to home. Later this week, "To help move tourism along, more than 150 industry representatives are expected to attend a Travel Summit". Bermuda had a think tank several months ago but not all the key players were invited. Was this another political strategy that demonstrated government was listening? You be the judge. It will be interesting to see what they do with the latest examination and recommendations put together by leading community leaders that have determined government lost its way.

Kelowna – "In recent months, new hotels have been built and plans for more are in the works. Large additions were made to the Sandman Hotel. Comfort Suites opened a hotel along with Best Western on the West Side. The Fairfield Inn hotel has plans to add more rooms and construction is underway at the Best Western and Holiday Inn." And more hotels are expected to be constructed. A little different in Bermuda where there is just talk about building. Hotel room tax here is two percent – Bermuda perhaps six to seven percent. "The money is used to attract more people to this area, which in turn raises more money for advertising. Now get this and this is very important... They only raised $1.3 million and this accounts for 60 percent of the revenue raised for Kelowna Tourism. In 2005 about 1.2 million visitors converged on Kelowna. So, for a few million dollars, they more than doubled the amount of visitors to Bermuda and none of us know if the statistics are true on the island anymore but it was probably around 500,000. For the record, Bermuda spends about $35 million per year and promises to spend more next year. Where is the winning strategy?

TOPPY AND SAUNDRA COWEN

British Columbia

It doesn't compute

November 8, 2009

Dear Sir,

I have to admit that I'm not one who watches the news religiously. But I do have my reasons for this. Every time I find myself watching the news (particularly in New York City where I'm going to university) someone else has been brutally murdered, or a trusted figure in the community has stolen more money from the public, or yet another mother wasted or drugged up has crashed a car of children off the road.

With elections seemingly happening on a weekly basis, I get bombarded with advertisements slandering opposing candidates at all times of the day too. All of this adds up to me hating the news and switching channels.

There's just downright negativity everywhere you look – especially on TV. And what does this have to do with Bermuda? Everything. We have our differences from the states and the good ol' Big Apple, but the similarities are just uncanny. Brutality, confusion with funding and where our money is going, road fatalities and accidents (even if it is on a bike instead of in a car) and candidates vying for positions in the new political party – does it sound like I'm repeating myself yet?

I realised I was out of touch with what was happening in Bermuda, my little island in the sun. So I went onto The Royal Gazette's website to catch myself up. Immediately I was hit with the story of the stabbing at Berkeley and the follow up article saying two 16 year-olds have been arrested in direct relation to the stabbing. I simply cannot understand it. What is going on does not compute.

What happened to the world I grew up in? I feel as though I must have been sheltered because it seems all of this violence and chaos has grown exponentially in just the past five to ten years. A proud former member of The Hot Peppers, I was accepted despite being one of the first and few "white girls" to be a majorette.

I played interschool netball for years, and as long as the home team had the slices of oranges, the games were always friendly. The list of activities I willingly entered myself into stretches far beyond my primary and middle school years marching and playing netball – so I will spare readers that.

But it boils down to this: I've met, know, competed against, made friends and hung out with people from all different backgrounds. Sheltered I am not. Rivalries were always there and will always be, but people willing to stab or even shoot others over them was not.

A person unable to cross invisible borders because of where they live was something we only knew of happening in the states, with gangs like the Bloods and the Crips. Why is there this influx of violent rivalry, road fatalities, unclear and suspicious governmental procedure, teenage pregnancy, underage drinking, hush-hush date rapes and overall negativity on my tiny island?

As a senior in university now, I have a lot of people asking me what I'm going to do once I graduate. They ask me if I'll come back to the Island. My answer has always been: "I'd love to raise a family in Bermuda. There were so many opportunities I was able to take advantage of growing up in Bermuda and I'd love for my kids to have those same opportunities" (when that time comes). These days, however, I have to pepper the statement with "if the island stays on the same path it's heading down, I don't know".

TORN UNIVERSITY SENIOR

New York City