Basseterre, St. Kitts (April 21, 2005): The importance of the service volunteers render to the success of the St. Kitts Music Festival was stressed at an orientation meeting on Tuesday.
Approximately sixty-six persons turned up at the Basseterre High School Auditorium to attend the meeting, which was organized for first-time volunteers of the St. Kitts Music Festival and other major national events.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Sport and Culture Lloyd Lazar chaired the session, which featured presentations from a number of resource persons. Cosbert Manchester spoke on pride, discipline and commitment. Three attributes that are important for all volunteers to exemplify. Your contributions and performance are important to the nations success, he stressed.
Anne Fontaine, a veteran volunteer, detailed her experiences to the new group while Superintendent of Police Ivor Blake discussed the relationship between volunteers and security personnel.
Chief Executive Officer of Cricket World Cup St. Kitts-Nevis Ltd. Horatio Versailles told the gathering about the requirements of the fast approaching 2007 Cricket World Cup and indicated that a large number of volunteers are needed. Mr. Versailles also stressed the importance of training for volunteers.
In related news, all volunteers are being encouraged to register with the Festivals Secretariat. An official indicated that registration was mandatory and would serve to build a national database of volunteers, allow networking as well as proper volunteer placement.
Registrants would be invited to take part in a series of workshops slated to begin on Tuesday, April 26. The six-course workshop will take place every Tuesday and Thursday from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Basseterre High School.
Topics to be covered include basic volunteering, asset mapping, time management, customer service, managing change and technical training. The final session is slated for May 12.
