St. Maarten News – VKS commander Antonio Rogers will present the fourteenth Lionel Bernard Scott Memorial Lecture on January 28 at the PMIA Hall on Back Street. Past, present and future development of crime as it relates to the self-esteem and reliance of the people of St. Maarten is the topic of this year’s lecture.
The annual lecture honours the memory of L.B. Scott or Brother Bo, a St. Maarten builder, businessman, politician and statesman, who dedicated his life towards the improvement of himself, his family, his people and his island.
Lionel Bernard Scott played an important role in the development of the Windward Islands in general and St. Maarten in particular. His contribution as a builder, businessman and politician were profound and his leadership in his community was of the highest calibre. He was a staunch proponent of self-reliance of the people of St. Maarten in the social, economic and political fields.
Against this background the Lionel Bernard Scott Memorial lecture series started on Scott’s birth date January 28, in 2003.
Past lecturers were: Governor Eugène Holiday, Lawyer Richard Gibson Sr., former Lieutenant Governor Dennis Richardson, the late Vance James Junior, the late Educator Camille Baly, banker Jan Beaujon, Imran Amjad McSood, Dr. Petit, Dr. Bryson and Dr. Holiday, and Drs. Jurien Wuite, Mavis Brooks-Solomon, Rueben Thompson, Clara Reyes, surgeon Felix Holiday. Banker W. Vlaun and former Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Patricia Lourens-Philip.
All lectures focuses on encouraging self-reliance; Topics covered so far are the economy, the constitutional changes, education, banking, insurance, and the medical structure, the role of the advisory council, cultural preservation and self-preservation as citizens of St. Maarten.
Every year the board of the Philipsburg Mutual Improvement Association (PMIA) presents the lecture from the previous year in a booklet. These booklets are on sale (for 18 guilders or $10) and the funds are used to maintain the program and make contribution to the educational system on St. Maarten. The long-term goal of the program is to offer study financial assistance to students and support other institutions or organizations with similar objectives.
The aim of the annual lecture series is to enhance and promote awareness and discussion on current social-economic and political issues of interest to the development of our community.
The lecture begins Thursday, January 28, at 7 p.m.
VKS commander presents Scott Memorial Lecture
