Albany partners with gov’t. on Southern Recreation Grounds redevelopment

Albany partners with gov’t. on Southern Recreation Grounds redevelopment
Albany Bahamas made a commitment to donate $600,000 to the Government’s Southern Recreation Grounds Redevelopment project, and delivered the first cheque of $300,000. The presentation was held Monday, November 5, 2018 in the Office of The Prime Minister, Cecil Wallace-Whitfield Centre. Pictured from left are Rocky Nesbitt, Communications & Media Specialist, OTHU; Myra Farquharson, Administrative Cadet, OTHU; Samita Ferguson, Executive Manager, OTHU; Nicole Miller-Campbell, Permanent Secretary in the Office of The Prime Minister, Reece Chipman, MP, Centreville; Dr. the Most Hon. Hubert A. Minnis, Prime Minister; Dr. Tyrone McKenzie, Sr. Vice-President, Albany Bahamas; Travis Robinson, MP, Bain and Grants Town; Viana Gardiner, Chief Operating Officer, Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit, Office of the Prime Minister; Aneesha Abdullah, Project Officer, OTHU; Daniella Pratt, Project Officer, OTHU; and Shanell Moss, Economist. (BIS Photo/Yontalay Bowe)

On Monday, November 5, 2018, Albany Bahamas made a commitment to donate $600,000 to the government’s Southern Recreation Grounds Redevelopment project and delivered the first cheque of $300,000.

The redevelopment project is part of the government’s comprehensive Over-the-Hill Community Development Partnership Initiative.

The Over-the-Hill Community Development Partnership Initiative focuses on reducing crime, cleaning up and rejuvenating the area, and community social and economic development Over-the-Hill.

The renovation of the Archdeacon William Edward Thompson Softball Field on the Grounds will soon begin. There will be new playground equipment and adult exercise equipment. The basketball court will be resurfaced and other improvements will be made.

The installation of the new equipment is part of the Government’s various healthy lifestyles initiatives to reduce the incidence of non-communicable diseases through better nutrition and physical activity and exercise.

The redevelopment and restoration will also include informative signage to depict the role the Grounds played in the development of our nation’s history.

Receiving the donation on behalf of the government was Prime Minister Dr. Hubert A. Minnis. Also on hand were Samita Ferguson, Executive Manager of the Over-the-Hill Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister, and other members of the Office of the Prime Minister charged with executing the Over-the- Hill Community Development Partnership Initiative.

Dr. Minnis thanked Albany Bahamas for partnering with the government in its initiative to redevelop such an iconic historical and cultural venue, and for Albany continuing to be a generous corporate citizen. He noted the historical political and social significance of the grounds. By restoring the Southern Recreation Grounds, the government hopes to reinvigorate commitment to national pride.

Dr. Tyrone McKenzie, Senior Vice President of Albany Bahamas noted his organization’s great pleasure in partnering with the government on the Southern Recreation Grounds Redevelopment, as the project coincides with Albany’s renewed corporate emphasis on youth development programmes. He also noted that the project has personal significance to him, as he spent his formative years on the Southern Recreation Grounds and the softball field is named in honour of his surrogate father, the late Archdeacon William Edward Thompson.

A second tranche of the donation in the amount of an additional $300,000 will be made in the coming months as the Southern Recreation Grounds Redevelopment progress.