2009 Press Releases
U.S. Embassy 2009 Martin Luther King Essay Winners Announced
February 13, 2009
Does The Swearing in of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America mean that Dr. Martin Luther King’s Dream has Been Realized? This was the question high school students in grades 10 -12 in both public and private schools in the country were invited to respond to by the U.S. Embassy in its third consecutive Martin Luther King, Jr., Essay Competition.
Some 105 essays were submitted from 12 New Providence Schools and seven Family Island schools. On February 13 the students learned the results of the competition in a ceremony held in the Victoria Room at the Sheraton British Colonial Hotel. Walking away with overall First Place winner from the Family Islands was Bernique Pinder, an 11th grade student from Crooked Island High School. Awarded overall First Place Winner from New Providence schools was Michelle Naomi Butler, an 11th grade student from Temple Christian High School. Jessica Ashley Campbell, a 10th grade student from St. Andrew’s School was awarded Second Place, Raphael St. Hill, a 12th grade student from Abaco Central High earned Third Place, and Princia Bethel, a 12th grade student also from Central Abaco High received Fourth Place.
Receiving Honorable Mention was :Ivan Butler an 11th grade student from Bishop Michael Eldon High School, Freeport, Grand Bahama, Reggia Bain a 12th grade student from Jordan Prince Williams, and Shalna Blanc, a 12th grade student from Abaco Central High.
Embassy spokesman Jeff Dubel said that the Embassy was very pleased with the overwhelming support from the private sector which partnered with the Embassy to make the event a success. The two First Place winners each received laptop computers, donated by d’Albenas Agency and the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce respectively. Each of the four place winners and Honorable Mention winners received books on Dr. King and, The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama. These materials were generously donated by the Bahamas Hotel Association. Bahamasair Holdings Ltd. provided two round trip tickets for First Place winner Bernique Pinder and her mother Beverly Pinder from Crooked Island, to travel to Nassau for the ceremony. The Wyndham Nassau Resort and Crystal Palace Casino funded three hotel nights for the Pinders’ and provided them with dinner for 2 at Moso Restaurant. The British Colonial Hilton provided the beautiful ambiance of the Victoria Room and refreshments for the event.
Mr. Dubel noted the importance of the continued partnership and support from the Ministry of Education. Citing the success of the recent launch of the “Read to Lead” initiative as an example of the commitment by the Ministry and U.S. Embassy to educational excellence, the U.S Embassy thanked Minister Carl Bethel and the Government of The Bahamas for their outstanding efforts. Minister Bethel provided inspiration comments and presented the awards to the top overall winners.
The essay competition was launched in honor of the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, a civil Rights Activist who championed principles of human dignity in his native United States and around the world. Had he lived, Dr. King would have celebrated his 80th birthday on January 15, this year. The objective of the competition was to invoke discussion of Dr. King’s teachings with the view that students would acquire a deeper appreciation and understanding of King’s philosophy.