At it's first board meeting for 2007, held in Kingston, Jamaica, at the Courtleigh Hotel, on February 2, Special Olympics Caribbean welcomed new members and a new executive to the board of directors for the period 2007-2010.

The board comprises 16 professionals from seven countries in the Caribbean as well as Miami, and a representative from SOI's headquarters in Washington, D.C. These members all possess a range of skills critical to the building of a sustainable programme.

The new members are:

Horace Hord - associate vice-president, community relations, Royal Caribbean International/Celebrity Cruises; Miguel Navarro - director, Partnerships for Safety, American Airlines, Miami; Muna Issa - treasurer, SuperClubs, Jamaica; Errol N. Allen - retired deputy governor, Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The new executive comprises the following:

Maureen Webber - Chair Jamaica; Horace Hord - vice-chair, Miami; Carl Alfonso - vice-chair, Trinidad and Tobago; Maxine Everson, treasurer, Cayman Islands; Thelma Brathwaite - secretary, Barbados; Candilla Berment - executive director, Trinidad and Tobago.

Discussion, planning

The meeting, held over a two-day period, provoked much discussion and planning for the support of the Caribbean Special Olympics Programmes. While the focus was on the level of preparedness of the 14 programmes going to Special Olympics World Games in Shanghai, China, it also discussed and signed off on a schedule to strengthen programmes in several countries in the region through increased funding, board training, training of coaches and exposing athletes to invitational meets throughout the region.

The members visited a Special Olympics Aquatics training session at the University of Technology (UTech) pool where they were able to see the athletes in training for their national games, as well as speak with the athletes selected to attend this year's World Games in China, carded for October 1-11.

The evening culminated in a dinner reception at Cafe Aubergine Restaurant where members mingled with coaches.