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My first order of business is to congratulate Joan Albury and The Counsellors Limited on organizing this very necessary forum year after year. This is an example of remarkable vision and hard work that yields a national benefit. I thank them for making room for a presentation from the National Insurance Board. It allows me, as director, to give an account of the Board’s stewardship. I’m obligated to reveal how your investment in National Insurance is doing and the dividends shareholders are receiving in terms of benefits and services.

Feedback metrics and more traditional deata helped the National Insurance board of The Bahamas commit to customer service.

My first pleasant duty is to thank you for inviting me as Director of the National Insurance Board to participate in your conference. Occasions such as these allow me to keep members of the community informed of the progress of National Insurance, which is an essential part of my stewardship and accountability.

Sam Walton, founder of the Wal-Mart chain believed that his stores should reflect the values of its customers and support the vision they hold for their community. I believe that the laws we make as a people and the provisions we make for the support and betterment of our community are reflective of the quality of our citizenship and of our characters as individuals. The way a community treats and provides for its most vulnerable members speaks volumes not only of our vision for the collective, but also of our values and of our consciences.

In connection with its National Prescription Drug Programme (NPDP), the National Insurance Board has had another star added to its crown in a year that has already recorded a number of outstanding successes for the Board. NIB has been named a Laureate in the 2011 Computerworld Honors Programme and is being considered for a second even more celebrated honour. The achievements of NIB and other 2011 Laureates will be recognized publicly on Monday, June 20 at a black tie awards ceremony and gala celebration at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, DC. Raymond Wells, Deputy Director, Information Technology will represent NIB at the 2011 event.

For the information of affected persons and the general public, the National Insurance Board wishes to advise that implementation of the July 2010 amendments to the National Insurance Contributions Regulations relative to hotel/hospitality workers, and Pensionable Civil Servants will no longer happen on July 1, 2011, as previously announced; the amendments are now scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2013. These two amendments will be the last of a package of changes, approved by Parliament last year, to take effect. They are aimed at providing better coverage to more workers of the country.

It is a pleasure to be here this morning and I thank BUT’s President, Mrs Belinda Wilson, for extending this invitation for me to talk to you about National Insurance. To me, it is especially heartening to interact with members of the Bahamas Union of Teachers and to learn of this Men’s Seminar and what it represents. You teachers are not always appreciated as much as you should be. Personally, I believe this lack comes mostly from the fact that many Bahamians do not reflect deeply enough on the importance of educators.

George Bernard Shaw, an Irish literary giant once said, “You see things; and you say, 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say, 'Why not?'” This is one of my favourite quotations because it encourages us to strive for what seems to be impossible, reach beyond what we think are our assets and capabilities. I believe that, as Bahamians and Androsians, our dreams for our own lives and the future of our country should be as bigger than Andros and The Bahamas. The old saying tells us that if we aim low, we’ll shoot low, so we must always aim high as we can.

Greetings “Each form of life supports all others; together they weave the grand web of life. Thus there really is no happiness for oneself alone, no suffering that afflicts only others.” ~ Daisaku Ikeda, Buddhist philosopher, peace builder, educator, author and poet.

Greetings “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.” So said Henry Ford, the great pioneer of the automotive industry and I agree with him. I consider it a privilege to participate in this 20th anniversary meeting of Bahamas Business Outlook, which has been bringing together some of the best minds, the most forward thinking people in The Bahamas for the purpose of driving progress and success in this country. The anniversary of this forum is therefore an occasion worthy of celebration.