On Saturday, December 7, 2014 more than 50 young leaders from the Interact Clubs across St. Maarten and Anguilla assembled on St. Maarten at Learning Unlimited Preparatory School for a fun-filled day of activities all geared to boost their leadership skills and knowledge.
In attendance were students from St. Maarten Academy, St. Dominic High School, Milton Peters College, the Sundial School and Learning Unlimited Preparatory School all representing St. Maarten, as well as three members of the Interact Club from Anguilla. All participated in a full day’s worth activities that began at 8:30 AM and lasted until 5:00 PM.
The event was organized by the Rotary Club of St Maarten and was sponsored by CIBC First Caribbean Bank, Office 1 Superstore, Domino’s Pizza, Le Grand Marche, Prime Distributors, Cost U Les, the University of St. Maarten, Sheriff Security and the Administration of the Learning Unlimited Preparatory School. Rotary Club of St. Maarten President Maria Buncamper-Molanus said, "We are thrilled and overwhelmed with the turnout, participation and enthusiasm for this Interact leadership training event. Each of the Interactors who attended participated to the fullest extent. I want to thank each participant for their energy and participation". Mrs. Buncamper went on to say, "A special thank you goes out each sponsor and Rotarian that helped make the day a reality. I also want to thank each of the speakers for the day because it was their expertise that kept everyone engaged for the entire day. Speakers included Rotary Assistant Governor Rebecca Low speaking on Rotary, SHTA Intern Naomi Zaloumis speaking on how to prepare a project, Rotarian Dr. Soc (Jeffrey Sochrin) speaking on Meeting Skills and Public Relations, Accountant Candia Joseph speaking on Budgeting, Rotarian David McGregor speaking on Presentation Skills".
Immediate Past Rotary President Robert Judd then addressed the group and invited them back on Saturday, January 11, 2014 at the University of St. Maarten. Each Interact Club will have the opportunity to use the skills they acquired during the December 7th session and to present a formal project to fellow Interactors, Potential Sponsors and the Media.
An initial evaluation of the workshop by President Maria Buncamper, Past President Pierre DeCelles, Past President Robert Judd and Dr. Soc revealed that more time could have been spent on Interact Members interacting with each other in an effort to become better acquainted with each other and increase participation in activities.
Dr. Soc, who served as the Moderator for the December 7th event jumped in and said, "After the event was over, I had the opportunity to speak to many of the participants and I asked them what we could have done differently to make the day better. Overwhelmingly, the response was ‘we wished the day was longer and that we had more time together; when can we do this again?’ ".
For more information about the Rotary Club of St. Maarten, please contact the Rotary Club of St. Maarten Press Officer at: pr************@gm***.com or visit the website www.rotarysxm.org