Cayman’s own gongs relaunched for 2021
(CNS): People are being invited to submit nominations for local awards within the national honours system that was relaunched by government on Monday. The Order of the Cayman Islands was created in 2010 by then premier McKeeva Bush as part of his vision for nation building. But after the 2013 awards, the local gongs were put on hold. The law supporting the award system was amended in 2018, paving the way for the relaunch and awards ceremony on National Heroes Day next year.
Speaking at a press conference to announced the revamped awards, Premier Alden McLaughlin said his government had revived the local award system with a fresh approach.
The new award scheme calls for up to ten people to be honoured in three categories: five for ‘Members’, three for ‘Officers’ and two for ‘Companion’, which is the top gong. Members of the public now have until 27 November to nominate Caymanians they believe have made exemplary contributions to the lives of those in the community.
The nominations will be considered by the Council for the Order of five people, who were introduced at the press call. The chairperson is Chief Justice Anthony Smellie and the other four members are James Ryan, Norman Bodden, Malcolm Eden and Celene Crance, will decide the deserving awardees in accordance with the National Honours and Awards Law, 2010 and the National Honours and Awards (Amendment) Law, 2018.
The premier, by virtue of that office, serves as chancellor and principal companion of the order and Cabinet Secretary Samuel Rose serves as secretary to the council.
McLaughlin said it was important to honour those who are working hard to move the country forward now and inspire those to come to do the same. “Above all else, it is essential that this new system enjoys the confidence of the public,” he said. “Indeed, confidence is the lifeblood by which such a system is viewed as credible and accepted within the hearts and minds of those living within our community.” McLaughlin said the members of the council were an important part of that credibility.
CJ Smellie said only Caymanians and permanent residents are eligible to be appointed as an Ordinary member but other residents are eligible to be appointed as Honorary Members. He added, “UK citizens who live and work primarily in the United Kingdom or are resident in a foreign country are not eligible to be admitted to the Order.”
“Any person may submit a nomination. If you know someone who inspires you, please tell us about them,” he said.
These new gongs will be given out for the first time on National Heroes Day in January 2021 but officials said these new awards are separate from the National Heroes Day awards that will focus on celebrating Cayman Islands’ seafaring heritage.
Nomination forms for the Order of the Cayman Islands are available on the government website here or from the Government Administration Building reception desk or via email request to nationalhonours@gov.ky
All forms must be fully completed in order to be considered.
As the orders have now been redesigned with a new look the premier said existing recipients can choose to retain their original awards or re-classify their individual awards and receive the appropriate new class in exchange. While no nomination is required for this, the re-classification will only begin after the first investiture ceremony under the new regime in January 2021.
Category: Local News
What is the point of receiving one of these when everyone and their great grandfather already got one!
Nothing more than another distact / deflect tactic to take people’s attention away from the real business not being done and real issues not being confronted by the government.
Only ‘member’ ‘officer’ or ‘companion’ ?
That won’t do at all.
We need another rank of this honour – the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Cayman Islands with Oak Leaf and Cluster.
Only one award of this rank could be made of course, to the Most Blessed and Perpetually Honourable Dr McKeeva Bush.
And rename Memorial Avenue as Avenue Of The Glorious Martyrs.
Beads, nails and mirrors.
Actually there have been amazing caymanians that have done so much for the community during Covid, thinking particularly about the lady who runs ARK, And those that run the food bank and the restaurants that cooked all these meals during Covid for people who otherwise would have gone hungry. The very difficult Covid period showed the community who the true heroes really are
1.43pm Not just Caymanians!!!
Yes! I posted the comment above. Definitely agree that a lot of non caymanians also contributed so much during Covid and should be publically recognized. I’m just not sure if they are eligible for this particular award (I didn’t understand that part of the article)? Let me know if I read it wrong.
“Indeed, confidence is the lifeblood by which such a system is viewed as credible and accepted within the hearts and minds of those living within our community.”
In which case the Honourable Dwayne Seymour is the obvious candidate for this award to be considered with the respect it deserves. As the Minister of Health his leadership through a pandemic has been remarkable, and not just on the health issues – who can forget his sermons and his advice to the diverse population in multiple languages. And if that were no enough for one man to do for his country, he found time to fix the dump and protect the sanctity of marriage , and his early adoption of policies of protecting local employment by continuing to support fast food outlets, barbers and personal trainers. How I used to look forward to the press briefings – a ray of light and joy in the dark days of lockdown. I will be telling my grandchildren about his measured response to press enquiries. The Order deserves nothing less than the Honourable Minister being its first recipient.
LOL. This comment made my day!
And for those of you who can’t pick up sarcastic humor, just keep scrolling.
Can you repeat that in Hebrew for the educated among us?
Yes we agree for a chicken s… metal or a donkey on full moon night
10.40am I could not agree more, definitely a “Companion” to be presented by his personal trainer sitting on a donkey.
Who is Celene Crance?.
Someone who, as far as I can tell, is only publicly associated with this very press announcement. So someone clearly in a position to judge the merit of others’ accomplishments.
Gong…….. gong……….ridiculousness.
Award “ scheme “. Everything here is a scheme just ask any politicians……
Top gong……oi, can I pawn it????
We should also create an Order of Bongs for all those who have managed to screw up in a spectacular and or unforgiveable way. I hereby invite nominations through this medium.
Once-honourable Royal awards have become a farce in Cayman, now comes this again!!?? What a joke! Just another means for politicians to award themselves, each other, their stooges and self-inflated hollow-vessels while they are still alive. Pathetic!
Surely Cayman already has the most “national heroes” and Royal awardees per capita of anywhere in the world or Commonwealth. Order of the Cayman Islands will just further erode the validity and purpose of national awards and “dilute” their value.
Order of stupidest Cayman living award issued by Cayman’s own mangoes dumpling gang for meritorious thoughts and delusions of grandeur and phony and fake @$$ stalwarts of the system. I am now therefore publicly without hesitation nominating Andre the jerk chicken man in Red Bay who inspires me to stop my car and purchase a white container containing fowl steep in his special herbs and spices and covers it in his secret jerk sauce in three degrees of hotness which again inspires me to eat his delicious dish. Please all who read this gives the thumbs up if you agree with this meaningful nomination to someone who actually works very hard and does something worthwhile for Cayman !
He can’t manage his ignorant line cutting customers. No awards for him.
hear! hear!
I second your nomination.
I think we should also award the chickens who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their homeland
Oh, those poor chickens!
Whoever you are, you have me cracking up right now…
100% agreed – better than any of these so called fine dining establishments in Cayman. Although would have to say the pork is better than the chicken pal!!!
caymanians…best self-backslappers in the world!…..and yes they have awarded themselves that award.
9.58 Never known a place like it. Turn up for work 3 days out of 5 and get a pay rise!
And a Franzie!
2:45 You are so jealous of our amazing DG.
He already has two awards and will tell you his award is helping the same Caymanians you tear down.
Shame on you.
2.43pm All senior Civil Servants get awards it goes with the job.But he does help his own employees he never sacks any of them no matter how incompetent.
You are right. Kiss enough frogs, you get…. Chapped lips.
While I don’t personally see the point of this award/gong, should we wait for the expats to slap us on the back? I guess they are, if our backs have eyes, a nose and (God forbid) a mouth…
Is there anyone left in Cayman with any class?
Only us expats. Not to worry. Half of us will be leaving soon, the other half will own what’s left.
More like the Order of da Lodge! Scam.
Perfume on pigs, Empty platitudes that mean nothing.
Pathetic trinkets that are symbolic of supporting a system that destroys decent values.
Stick them. Stick them all. Give them to Alden, Roper, Manderson and Kirkconnell. Surely their trophy cabinets can squeeze another gong in there?
Let them eat cake.
And turtle 🐢
milk and carrots?
Only interested if I am receiving one with a bonus for not working and my patience:)
This “Order” is constitutionally illegitimate. Only the Monarch, through the Governor in this case, can bestow honour in this territory. The Premier being “Chancellor and Principal Companion” of this “Order” is an insulting, invalid farce. Fair warning to anyone who accepts one of these extremely dubious awards: I will laugh in your face if I see you wearing one, for it will mean absolutely nothing having come from a politician, and mark you ignorant. They got having the Chief Justice as head of the nominating body right, but that’s about it.
For this to have any legitimacy at all, the Chancellor and Principal Companion should be the Governor. That is how it works in Canadian provinces: the Queen’s Representative in the province serves as Chancellor and Principal Companion of the province’s Order for the duration of their term. It’s obvious isn’t it: the symbol of the Order cannot be a partisan figure. It has to be the non-partisan representative of the head of state. If the Government paid for any consulting advice about how to set up this abomination, they should ask for their money back.
I hope a future government admits this was a mistake and disbands it entirely. You are wrong, Premier, that it was a shame this “Order” did not take off. The shame is that you have revived it when it should have never existed, and had already died the death it deserved. No ‘honour’ rejected by 50% of those offered it should get a second trial. Moreover, this guarantees the UK will not award its honours to Caymanians anymore. They will say ‘you set up your own system – use it if you think this person is so deserving’. And as we all know, having some local yokel tell you that you ‘done real good’ in Heroes Square is not worth a postcard of Buckingham Palace.
The motto of the Order of the Garter, the highest honour in all the Commonwealth, is (translated from Latin) “shame on him who thinks evil of it”. The motto of the Order of the Cayman Islands translated should be “shame on him who thinks anything of it”.
Lord, if you are up there, I rarely ask you for anything unlike those who pester you multiple times a day, but please grant my fellow Caymanians some class and refinement. Teach them to know real dignity, decorum and propriety, and cause them to know how far from it we are as a people. Please do not make me live my adult life watching us devolve into apes hanging bananas around each others’ necks.
@3 43 Why do you and your ilk hate these beloved islands so much but still hang around. Stop living off the fat of our land while cussing the people who make your good life possible. If you don’t like how we do things, go where they go it your way.
what fat are you referring to?
All of it, starting in the LA.
Love living off the fat of the island, there is no hate for the ISLAND. Many of the people though, different story. Good money even through COVID … thanks cayman
Better yet we are just waiting until you idiots go bankrupt, buy the island and ask you to please go and find yourself a place that got it your way. Soon Come.
Your prayer sounded truly dignified and classy. Perhaps our people are not all as eloquent and enlightened as you.
Perhaps you are one of those monarchy worshiping suck-ups who believes that recognition is only valid if it comes from those who you consider to be your superiors.
And that’s fine. Given your outlook and life you seem quite eligible to receive your due reward for serving your inflated ego.
Just understand that there are many people of all classes who have done good things in Cayman who will never receive acknowledgement from those outside of our shores.
This is for them.
Thank you for the many compliments.
The difference between Caymanians and expats is when a Caymanian wants a day off he/she stays home, when an expat wants a day off they come to the office, walk around all day sipping coffee , get on the Internet to check up on home, go from desk to desk annoying the staff, wait around in the afternoon until everyone has left then they take off like ” a bat out of hell” . Being at work is different from working!
10.26am But they do answer their phone.
All evidence to the contrary. This is why Caymanians don’t hire Caymanians.
They don’t mean much if they hand out dozens per year in such a tiny population. As dumb as having so many “heroes”.
Whole place is one big gong show.
Going going gong…. 😉
Pissing away 30 big ones a month and this is somehow the priority?
They all honowable!
Got to have something for the folks who aren’t invited to run again next year.