MIami Herald - In a recent interview, Consul General Gladys Johnson-Sands said that the Bahamian Consulate has expanded due to the growing demand for services.

She served for five years as a senator in the Upper House of Parliament of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. On Jan. 2, 2008, she was appointed to the Bahamian Consulate in Miami, which includes Florida, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Johnson-Sands directs a staff of 17 from the Miami office, which recently moved to the Ingraham Building, 25 SE Second Ave. Services include passport applications, cultural heritage tourism, trade and investment, and creating new business markets.

In recognition of Bahamian Independence, the consul general is planning a program celebrating Order 1973, which created the Bahamas as a sovereign democratic state 37 years ago on July 10.

A commemorative service will be at 3:30 p.m. July 18 at Overtown's historic St. Agnes Episcopal Church, 1750 NW Third Ave. The rector, Canon Richard Barry, will host the service; a visiting clergy from the Bahamas will deliver the message. The public is invited.

Johnson-Sands acknowledges the historic role of Bahamians in helping build South Florida and the groups that have been the keepers of the Bahamian cultural expression for many years: The American-Bahamian Federation and the National Association of the Bahamas. She was the chairwoman of the 2010 Miami/Goombay Host Committee for Coconut Grove's 34th Goombay Festival.

She facilitated the 2010 tourism conference, ``The Underground Railroad Connection to the Bahamas'' held in Nassau May 17-20.

Diane Miller, director of the U.S. National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program, and Barbara Tagger, manager of the Southeast Region Network to Freedom Program, led the delegation, which included members of the National Park Services.

The luncheon speaker was Florida state Sen. Tony Hill Sr., District 1. A highlight of the conference was the day trip to Red Bays, Andros Island, an African/American slave site of the Black Seminoles. University of Central Florida Anthropology Professor Rosalyn Howard gave a lecture from her book, Black Seminoles in the Bahamas.

The conference was hosted by Rita Pratt, founder and director of the African/Bahamian/American

/Caribbean Museum, coordinator for the Bahamas Underground Railroad Network. It was co-sponsored and co-hosted by Ambassador Nicole Avant of the U.S. Embassy, and the Bahamas government, represented by Charles T. Maynard, minister of youth, sports & culture and Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, minister of tourism.

For additional information about the Bahamian Consulate, call 305-455-4259.