Empowering young Bahamians to succeed…
JA still inspires and empowers young Bahamians….
Nassau, Bahamas — Over 400 junior achievers representing six islands of our archipelago and two countries – The Bahamas and Turks & Caicos (14 delegates) – participated in the JA Bahamas’ BahamaJac 2014 conference under the Theme. ‘Empowered to Succeed’ this past weekend.
“Learn everything you can from JA. The program (JA) prepares you for ‘real life’ scenarios and equips you to be productive citizens and business persons,” said Minister of State for Investment in the Office of the Prime Minister the Hon. Khaalis Rolle at the conference official opening on Saturday February 22.
Director of Youth, K. Darron Turnquest in his explosive keynote address challenged the junior achievers to passionately pursue their purpose and not dreams of others. “Do not allow others to dictate your future. Set your goals, map your course and create your destiny,” said Mr. Turnquest.
Day 1 of the three day conference included tours of John Watling’s Distillery, Caribbean Bottling Company (Coca Cola), Bahama Mar and a courtesy call with the Governor General of the Bahamas, Sir Arthur Foulkes. Additionally, lectures from JA Alumnus Yvette Bethel and Fr. Ethan Ferguson both motivated and educated the students on the art of emotional intelligence and how to keep it real in life.
Day 2 was infused with young professionals who conducted seminars and panel discussions in the areas of medicine, photography, nursing, accounting, law and criminal justice, information technology, culinary arts, public relations, agriculture, marine sciences, banking, education and much more.
The conference culminated with a service of praise at Golden Gates World Outreach Ministries with a powerful sermon by Pastor Trent Davis on “It’s Time to Fight Back!”.
The BahamaJac 2014 conference was the climax of JA Month in the Bahamas. The organization that encourages youth development, education, financial literacy and entrepreneurship also held speech competitions, a sports day, radio interviews and a courtesy call with the Rt. Hon. Perry G. Christie, Bahamian Prime Minister during the course of the month.
This year’s conference attracted the partnerships of Deloitte, KPMG, FirstCaribbean, Scotiabank, BTC, BEC, Arawak Homes, NIB and Commonwealth Bank. Other event sponsors included AID, Bank of The Bahamas, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc., Sky Bahamas, Grant Thornton, NUA, BAF, Marco’s Pizza, Burns House, KFC, JS Johnson, Bahamas Ferries, and Sigma Management.
For more information on the Company Program and how your child can become involved visit facebook.com/jabah242 or www.jabahamas.org.
