1 President Bridgette RCSEN July 4 2018
|
Nassau, Bahamas – For the first time in their 42 year history, the Rotary Club of South East Nassau (RCSEN) is being led by a President who has returned for a second term. Dr. Bridgette Rolle has embraced the opportunity and is supported by a talented Board of Directors. They are enthusiastic about growing the membership and strengthening the club’s many projects. August in membership month for Rotary International, a service and humanitarian-based organization. Along with the Rotary Foundation, it is rated among the top charities in the world. As part of membership month, the RCSEN introduces their Board Members.
Dr. Bridgette Rolle, J.P., Past President (2015-2016) and President (2018-2019)
President Bridgette has been a member of the RCSEN since 2004 and is a multiple Paul Harris Fellow and member of the Bequest Society decided to serve again as President because it exemplifies this year’s Rotary Theme, “To Be The Inspiration,” a signature motto created by The Bahamas’ own Rotarian International President, Barry Rassin, who leads the 1.2 million member Rotary International organization for 2018-2019.
“I try to live by Rotary International’s mantra, “Service Above Self, hence my decision to offer myself for a second time as president,” said Rolle. “I am also proud of my many accomplishments in my Club and in the organization of Rotary. For the past 15 years, I have held perfect attendance and served as director in all positions on the board, except treasurer.”
One of President Bridgette’s favourite projects included leading the club’s first group study exchange (GSE) with Rotary clubs in Arizona where she and six Bahamian professionals visited various clubs to share the work of Rotary in The Bahamas as well as learn from those clubs. President Bridgette has attended many local and international Rotary conferences, the latest one in Toronto, Canada to witness the installation of the newest Rotary President, Barry Rassin. She is proud of her club’s accomplishments and awards and the important role that the Club plays in District 7020 in the Caribbean.
Outside of Rotary, this experienced professional educator works with the Ministry of Health as a Deputy Permanent Secretary but also holds Certificates in Public Policy Analysis and Project Cycle Management. She is a Certified Drug Prevention Expert; Certified Addiction Specialist and holds a Certificate in Brief Motivational Interviewing. Dr. Rolle is also a Justice of the Peace. In her spare time, you will find her writing more of her children's books, gardening or dabbling in arts and crafts. She has one son, Sy Bradford.
Jamaal Davis - Fundraising and President-Elect (2019-2020)
|
Jamaal Davis - Fundraising and President-Elect (2019-2020)
Jamaal Davis became a member of The Rotary Club of South East Nassau in February 2011 and has served as Director of Fundraising, Club Administration, Fellowship and Attendance Chair. Fundraising is one of the most important portfolios to hold because through the assistance of corporate and private entities and individual donations, funds are raised to support the various charitable events and community service projects of the RCSEN. Jamaal’s Rotary highlight involved working on the committee for a Conference that was hosted in The Bahamas for District 7020 a few years ago where he said he was proud to be part of a project that was impactful for both locals and visitors. Two of the Club’s major fundraising activities include their annual Fun/ Run Walk and the Annual Smiley Bastian Steak Out. The latter will be held at the Bahamas National Trust on August 18th form 12 pm to 6 pm.
Jamaal joined Bahamas First in 2007 as a Network Administrator and over the past ten years, he has worked in successive leadership roles including Project Manager for various IT related projects and currently holds the role of Group Information Technology Manager. He is also the co-founder of Payworks, a payment processor in the Caribbean. He is married and the proud father of two.
Lionel E. Haven, Secretary
|
Lionel E. Haven, Secretary
Lionel E. Haven became a Rotarian with the RCSEN in October 2015 and has been heavily involved in the Club’s activities including serving for a second time as Secretary. Since 2011, Lionel is CEO of Computitle Limited, a land title research company. Prior to this, Lionel was the Executive Director and General Secretary of The Bahamas Football Association and has served on boards and committees in a national and international capacity. He was a Director of The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation and also a member on the Board for the National Sports Authority and also a Member of the Executive Committee for the Caribbean Football Union; sitting on various committees with the CFU, CONCACAF and FIFA. Lionel was a FIFA instructor for many years and has traveled to many countries around the world for sports. In 2014 and again in 2015, Lionel was the Managing Director for the IAAF World Relays Local Organizing Committee and as Deputy CEO in 2017.
Bruno Pletscher - Past President (2006-2007) and Treasurer
|
Bruno Pletscher - Past President (2006-2007) and Treasurer
Bruno Pletscher is a Rotarian for 30 year’s membership with 20 of those being with perfect attendance. He enjoys being the club’s Treasurer and has held the post for many consecutive terms, as well as serving in most of the board’s portfolios. Bruno first joined the Rotary Club of Nassau in 1980 and was a member there for 5 years until he moved to the Rotary Club of South East Nassau where he was President in 2006-2007. He has attended many international and district Rotary conferences, won numerous awards, received a presidential citation, is an 8 plus Paul Harris Fellow and a founding member of the Paul Harris Society in The Bahamas. Bruno said that he lives by the principles of Rotary’s Four Way Test.
Bruno is from Switzerland and is a Swiss CPA and a former certified Commercial Banker. He now enjoys a fruitful career in The Bahamas in IT and private consulting. He has been married to Glenda for 25 years and together they are semi-retired, living between Miami and Nassau.
Amanda Knowles – Assistant Treasurer
|
Amanda Knowles – Assistant Treasurer
Amanda Knowles is one of the newest Rotarians of the Rotary Club of South East Nassau and is apprenticing as Treasurer under PP Bruno Pletscher. Amanda said that her interest in Rotary stemmed from her charitable nature and the desire to be able to help others on a larger scale. She also wanted to be connected with a family that is like-minded, professional, mature and community-minded. Amanda has been employed in the financial services sector for the past 20 years and for the past 9 years, has been an MFA (master financial advisor) at Colina Insurance. Her hobbies include watersports, traveling, beaching, and dancing.
Kent Forbes - Club Administrator Director
|
Kent Forbes - Club Administrator Director
Kent joined The Rotary Club of South East Nassau in May 2017 and immediately began his service journey as a member of the community service committee. A year later, he has taken on the role of Club Administrator Director. Kent said that it is always good to be a part of something that is bigger than yourself and that Rotary gives him that opportunity. He also said that he finds it enjoyable and rewarding to see a smile on a child’s face and those impacted by the work Rotary does in the community.
Currently Kent is employed with Colgate-Palmolive as a customer development executive. He sings with the Highgrove Singers, likes to travel and spend time in the gym.
Timothy Ingraham, Past President 2007 – 2008
|
Timothy Ingraham, Past President 2007 – 2008, Past Assistant Governor and Membership, Club Trainer & Attendance Chair
Timothy (Tim) Ingraham joined The Rotary Club of South East Nassau 15 years ago and served as Club President in 2007-2008. His portfolios included Assistant Governor and District Membership Chair. He is a multiple Paul Harris Fellow and a member of Rotary's Bequest Society as well as a member of the Rotary Clubs of The Bahamas Action Group for Peace and the Rotary Whiskey DRAM Fellowship. He has 14 years of Perfect Attendance and truly enjoys being a Rotarian. Tim has 34-years of experience in the general insurance industry and is Managing Director of Summit Insurance Co. Ltd. He is married to Yvette and they have three children.
Reginald Saunders, Past President (2011-2012)
|
Reginald Saunders, Past President (2011-2012), Public Image (Relations) Director
Reginald (Reggie) Saunders joined the Rotary Club of South East Nassau in 2004. He held almost all positions in the Club throughout his 15 years and served as President in 2011-2012. Reggie currently holds the position of Director of Public Image (Relations) and is responsible for providing the dynamic and interesting speakers at the weekly meeting.
Reggie is from New Providence and has a Bachelor of Commerce Degree (Honours) in Finance and Marketing from the University of Windsor in Canada, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) Degree from Eastern Michigan University and an Associate of Arts Degree in Business Administration from the University of The Bahamas. Upon completion of his studies, Reggie became a Portfolio Manager for one of the largest off-shore investment companies in The Bahamas. In 2003, he became the Scholarship Director at the Ministry of Education. He currently serves as Under Secretary for the Ministry of Education. Reginald is an active member of Holy Cross Anglican Church and is married to Kamala and they are the proud parents of three children.
Stanford Charlton, Past President (2016-2017)
|
Stanford Charlton, Past President (2016-2017), Past Assistant Governor and International Service Director
Stanford Charlton joined Rotary in 1998 and was Past President of the Rotary Club of New Providence (2016-2017). Stan, as he is affectionally called, became an Assistant District Governor in 2014-2016, with responsibilities for the Rotary Clubs of Bahamas West. He has held various positions in Rotary and was District 7020 Awards Chair in 2016.
Stan is the Assistant Managing Director at NUA Insurance Agents and Brokers and loves most sports. He also enjoys reading and is married to Nadene. They have two children.
Adrianna Knowles - Youth And Literacy Director
|
Adrianna Knowles - Youth And Literacy Director
Adrianna’s started out in Rotary by joining one of the local Rotary Interact Clubs in 2008 as an executive member. Ten years later, she joined the Rotary Club of South East Nassau as one of their newest members. Adrianna hopes to use her portfolio of Youth and Literacy to promote greater awareness in the community and to shed light on the importance of child and adult literacy. Adrianna currently works as an Administrative Cadet in the public service with specialty in project management.
Calnan Weech - Community Service Director
|
Calnan Weech - Community Service Director
Calnan Weech became a Rotarian in December 2004. However, due to extensive work commitments he had to take a short break. Since then, he has returned to RCSEN as the Director for Community Service, a position which he says he loves because of his love of community involvement.
Calnan is the Executive Director for Information Technology at Atlantis Resorts with responsibility for Information Security and Compliance. He is also Past President and Past Treasurer for The Bahama Island Cooperative Credit Union Limited and The Bahamas Cooperative League Limited. Calnan is married to Sharon and they have two children.
Zorene Curry, Club Wellness Director
|
Zorene Curry, Club Wellness Director
Retired Associate Professor of Nursing, Zorene has been a member of the Rotary Club of South East Nassau for the last eight years. During that time, she’s been involved in many of the club activities and has worked on many committees. Zorene said she joined Rotary because of her love of service and the degree to which she can render service to the public.
Zorene is also involved with her church as Director of Service to The Community Ministry for the Bahamas Conference of the Methodist Church. There she is responsible for nine entities which includes youth camps, youth programmers such as alternative sentencing, Bilney Lane Children’s Home and Senior Citizens Home (The Naomi Anna Christie Home for Older persons) and many more. Zorene is also a lecturer (part-time) at The UB School of Nursing.
Johann Bain, Rotary Foundation Director
|
Johann Bain, Rotary Foundation Director
Johann Bain joined the Rotary Club of South East Nassau in August 2009 and has served in various capacities as Director. Some of them are: Club Administration, Rotary Foundation, International Service, Vocational Service and Attendance Chair respectively. Johann has received several awards including New Rotarian of the Year and two Director of The Year Awards.
Johann was part of the team of Rotarians that planned and executed a successful cultural evening at The Government House for local high school students to showcase their talent in song, dance and local traditions. Currently as Foundation Director, Johann is hoping to increase the Foundation giving particularly how the Rotary Foundation, along with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is doing a fantastic job with the eradication of Polio worldwide.
Johann is a 24 year IT Specialist and was initially employed with RBC as a Systems Administrator, IT Specialist with The Financial Intelligence Unit, and IT Manager for AML Foods. Today, you can find Johann at the Ministry of Education in his role as Network and Security Administrator. Johann holds a degree in Computer Data Processing from the University of The Bahamas, a Master Certificate in Music Production from Berklee College of Music and he is currently pursuing a degree in Engineering Technology.
Peter Goudie - Past President (1995-1996)
|
Peter Goudie - Past President (1995-1996) and Disaster Relief Chair
Peter Goudie is a past president (1995-1996) of the RCSEN and had membership in the club from 1987 to 1997 until his move to Toronto. In 2004, Peter returned to Nassau and rejoined the Club, and has been active since. Peter has held almost every director position on the board, has been Disaster Chair for many years for the Rotary Clubs of The Bahamas and proudly boasts that he was president-elect when the first female member was inducted into the RCSEN. The club made history as the first Rotary club in New Providence that accepted female Rotarians. Peter has 23 years of perfect attendance, having opted out for exempt status this year. He is a multiple Paul Harris Fellow, has received many awards and is passionate about serving.
In his role as Disaster Relief Chair and serving on the board at the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation, Peter was part of a small team who were able to assist Rotary and the Chamber with distributing over $600,000 of funds to help refloat the boating industry and economy in Long Island that had been devasted by Hurricane Matthew.
Peter is the President of the Canadian Cultural Committee, Advisor for the International Cultural Wine and Food Festival, Deputy Chairman of the National Tripartite Council, Director on The National Council for Persons with Disabilities, and Director on the BCCEC and Chair of the Employment, Labour and Skills Development Committee. Peter is a strong advocate for others and is the CEO of PGHR Consulting, a Human Resource Consulting Company. He is married to Irene and they have one son.
Highlights of the Rotary Club of South East Nassau (RCSEN) – Highlights
The Rotary Club of South East Nassau is the first club in New Providence to admit women into membership in 1995. They been extremely active in the community for the past four decades and have won many District awards. The club continues to contribute to The Cancer Society; The Bahamas Red Cross, The Ministry of Education through various schools initiatives; The Catholic Diocese; The Anglican Diocese (St. Anne’s High School) and St. Andrew’s Primary School; PHA and Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre; The All Saints Camp; various Senior Citizens Homes; New Providence Community Church; The Bahamas Judo Federation; The Ministry of Social Services; The Ministry of Health (The Blood Bank) and others. The RCSEN is also heavily involved in international programs and projects, including the continued fight to eradicate Polio. Most recently, the Club contributed to the Water and Sanitation Rotarian Action Group (WASRAG) that saw the club donate funds to high schools in South America to pump clean water to the school’s community. The Club has also participated in the Model United Nations (MUNS) program and the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA). For more information on how you can become involved with the Rotary Club of South East Nassau, you can follow us on Facebook and Instagram, contact Membership Director Tim Ingraham at t.ingrahamrotary@gmail.com or visit us at East Villa Restaurant every Wednesday between 12:30pm – 2:00 pm.
