LIME launched its BIG Money promotion in partnership with Super J IGA and RCI

LIME has launched a new mega promotion that gives its customers the opportunity to win a grand total of half a million dollars worth of cash and groceries.

Dubbed ‘BIG Money,’ the promotion allows LIME customers to enter a series of draws for chances to win $1,000 in cash and $500 worth of groceries from Super J everyday for the next ten months. The promotion runs until March 31, 2013.

To qualify for chances to win BIG Money daily prizes, prepaid mobile customers can just TopUp$15 or more, sign up for Talk24 by texting TK1 to 145, or make any call lasting at least 5 minutes. Landline, Internet, postpaid mobile and LIME TV customers can enter for a chance to win just by paying their LIME bills on time and in full.

“On a daily basis, we will have customers winning not only serious sums of money, but also groceries from Super J in our BIG Money promotion!” said LIME Head of Marketing & Communications, Laurencia Cadette. “With half a million dollars in cash and groceries just waiting to be won, BIG Money is the most exciting and thrilling offer around, and it gives our customers a really worthwhile goal to aim for. It’s a further demonstration that we are living up to our promise to continually give back to our customers by creating ways to help them save and giving them more value for money, with the kind support of our partners, Super J IGA.”

Sariah Best-Joseph of Super J IGA says, “We are proud to be teaming up with LIME for the BIG Money promotion. We have partnered on many initiatives in the past and, once again, we are happy to be part of a promotion that allows LIME customers to benefit from the best in products and services, along with great savings, from both Super J IGA and LIME.”

Within one month of opening the entry list, 17 cruisers have committed to the round-the-world rally with a booking fee, and another 10 are waiting to make payment. This is a fantastic response and suggests that the thirst for sailing adventure is undiminished in these uncertain economic times.

World ARC 2014-15 will be the fourth edition of this popular 15 month circumnavigation rally for sailing boats, and the ninth round-the-world rally organised by World Cruising Club.  Around 35 boats are expected to start on 11 January 2014 in Saint Lucia, with others joining in August 2014 in Australia.  The rally will conclude in Saint Lucia in April 2015.

From 2014 World ARC will become an annual event, with a start in Saint Lucia every January and Australia every August.  This means that boats can sail a half rally, take time out to explore, and then re-join the next edition of the rally.

World ARC 2014-15 Entries

So far, the fleet ranges from Dehler 39 SQ Dignity (GER) to the 35m classic schooner Texel (GBR).  The ‘average’ World ARC boat is around 16m (54 feet), and multihulls usually comprise 15% of the fleet.  The cruisers themselves tend to range in age from 5 to 75 years, but there is no upper or lower age limit.

World ARC 2012-13 in the Pacific

The current edition of World ARC is sailing the Pacific from Bora Bora to Tonga, and will be arriving in Australia in July.  To follow their adventures, see www.worldcruising.com/worldarc2012

OECS DIRECTOR GENERAL MEETS NEW AMBASSADOR OF BRAZIL

Tuesday May 8^th 2012 marked another special occasion at the OECS Secretariat where His Excellency Joaquim Augusto Whitaker Salles, presented his credentials to Dr. Len Ishmael, Director General of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, and became the second Ambassador/Resident Representative of the Federative Republic of Brazil to the OECS.  Ambassador Whitaker Salles was preceded by H.E. João Batista Cruz who ended his tour of duty earlier this year.

During the ceremony which involved officials of the Secretariat and members of the Diplomatic Corps, both representatives exchanged remarks regarding the significance and import of the special relationship being forged between Brazil and the OECS.  According to the Director General in her remarks: “…relations between Brazil and the OECS and indeed the wider Caribbean Community (CARICOM) have been improving over the years, at the hemispheric, regional and bilateral levels, and the many initiatives that have been undertaken thus far signal Brazil’s strong commitment to strengthening the bonds of cooperation and fostering closer ties with the countries of the region.”

The Director General also took the opportunity to enunciate the various cooperation initiatives currently ongoing between Brazil and the OECS, noting with satisfaction and gratitude Brazil’s generosity as a major partner in the regionally administered antiretroviral programme that provides these medicines to over 700 persons living with HIV/AIDS across the region.  Dr. Ishmael thanked the Government of Brazil for this demonstration of its commitment and goodwill and commended its role in the region’s fight to decrease the mortality and morbidity rate of persons living with HIV/AIDS.  She specifically expressed her gratitude on behalf of the governments and peoples of region to the Brazillian authorities for agreeing to extend this Cooperation Agreement over another two years in order to allow for uninterrupted supply of ARVs to patients until 2013.

Mention was also made of the collaboration between the OECS Secretariat and the Rio Branco Institute of the Ministry of External Relations of Brazil and the Memorandum of Understanding on the Training of Diplomats that commits both parties to cooperate on exchange of information and experiences through research, study and cultural exchanges aimed at fostering greater understanding and awareness between their peoples. According to the Director General: “this partnership has resulted in the provision by the Rio Branco Institute in 2011, of a one year scholarship worth over R$100,000 to one OECS candidate to pursue Training at its Diplomatic Academy.”

The Director General was of the view that the future of relations with Brazil holds much promise. She conveyed her very best wishes to the Brazilian Ambassador for a successful tenure and assured him of her full support.

Ambassador Whitaker Salles responded by thanking the Director General for her generous words about his country and reassured her of the full commitment of the Government of Brazil under the leadership of its new President, to the processes of regional integration and South-South Cooperation.  According to the Ambassador, Brazil’s commitment to both processes is amply demonstrated by its leadership in establishing the new Community of Latin America and the Caribbean (CELAC), a hemispheric organization that aims to foster cooperation and collaboration between its Members on issues of mutual concern. Brazil established relations with the OECS Secretariat on 23^rd September 2009 and has established embassies in all six independent Member States of the OECS.

The meeting had a three-fold objective, namely:

1)      To brief Parliamentarians on developments relating to the Economic Union;

2)      To keep alive the process of consultation and public education which has been a feature of the Economic Union project; and

3)  To address issues relating to the inauguration of the OECS Assembly, one of the Principal

Organs of the OECS Economic Union in which OECS Parliamentarians will be the principal actors.

The Opposition Parliamentarians all expressed full support for the OECS Economic Union, with some reminding the meeting that they were active and passionate promoters of the Economic Union initiative when they served in Government (some as Prime Ministers), and asserting that they were not about to change their position because they were now members of the opposition in the Parliaments of their respective countries. All representatives expressed a readiness to provide whatever assistance was required to further the implementation of the OECS Economic Union.

The Opposition Parliamentarians also committed themselves to the process leading to the inauguration of the OECS Assembly, as well as to their participation in the Assembly itself, and to that end gave notification of the names of the Opposition Parliamentarians who would serve as members of their national delegations to the Assembly.

Participants were of the general view that the meeting was a success and that it provided a unique and valuable opportunity for dialogue and for input on matters of regional import. They called for a more mature and enlightened relationship between Government and Opposition within the OECS, and sought the assurance of the Chairman of the OECS that their views and concerns would be addressed to the OECS Authority.

For his part, the Chairman saw the meeting as an absolute necessity in the process of advancing the implementation of the OECS Economic Union. He felt that it confirmed the existence of a new and enlightened thinking in respect of governance in the region, and saw it as: “sending the requisite signals to the people of the OECS, the wider region and indeed the world, that the leadership of the countries which constitute the OECS possess the maturity required by the times, are serious about advancing the interests of the people whom they represent, and are prepared to invoke the requisite political will to do that which is necessary to secure the advancement of those interests.” The Chairman undertook to bring to the attention of the Authority the views and concerns expressed at the meeting by the various delegations, and to make recommendations wherever appropriate in respect of the concerns expressed. The next meeting of the OECS Authority is scheduled for June 10-12, 2012 in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The draw which took place at Q-pid’s Backdoor in Rodney Bay Thursday 03 May  before an audience made up of the media, CFL and GL Foods representatives, Brydens staff and other invited guests, saw thousands of entries being placed in a lottery barrel for the grand draw.

Sancha Raggie representing CFL stated how pleased her company was to be a part of what was undoubtedly a successful promotion.

And speaking at the event Thursday, Timothy Fevrier the Kotex Brand manager described the promotion as, “extremely successful and very well supported.”

“We are here to culminate what has been an extremely successful promotion, the Kotex iPad2 giveaway promotion and judging by what you can see here in terms of the volume of entries, it is testimony to the support this promotion has received, “ Fevrier remarked. “But we could not do it alone and although this will be done later during our vote of thanks I would like to personally thank our media partners as well as supermarket partners and outlets, Super J and CFL, GL Foods, Glace, M&C, Southwell and Ti-J’s, and the Brydens Staff for their support and hard work as well as the purchasing public,” he remarked.

In explaining the Kotex donation to the Upton Gardens Girls Centre, Timothy Fevrier had this to say; “This Centre at Cedars which caters to at risk and vulnerable young women in Saint Lucia is an establishment which is very dear to our hearts as it caters to disadvantaged young women in our society. And we at Kotex and Brydens see it as our corporate responsibility to give back to such an institution.” “So today is really and truly a day of giving, giving back to our valuable customers and giving back to the community,” Fevrier went on to express.

In accepting the Kotex donation, Ms Prisca St. Paul, director of the Upton Gardens Girls Centre expressed gratitude to Kotex. “It is always a pleasure when organizations remember us because we are always in need of assistance to carry out our programs at the Centre. And so we have to say a special thank you to Brydens and Kotex for this kind gesture which will go a long way,” she stated. “And I also want to say as a regular user and satisfied customer, I will certainly continue using Kotex especially since some of the money is being put to good use,” she added with a smile.

During Thursdays function, Fevrier also explained that the promotion draw also fell within the period of Saint Lucia Jazz 2012 which Kotex is also a proud sponsor of and he invited persons to come and check out the Kotex cool down zone at Pigeon Island.

It was then on to the grand draw and the lucky winners were pulled by Ms. Sherwinner Eletheure, the 2012 Miss Independence. The first winner of an iPad 2 was Dona Joseph who purchased her Kotex product in Castries and the second winner was Lee Ann Theodore of Vieux Fort who made Purchase in Vieux Fort. The winner of the Kotex hamper was Soriah Jn. Baptiste. The draw was supervised by a representative of the Saint Lucia National Lotteries Authority.

Joanita (left, with her daughter) receives two grocery hampers from the staff of LIME Baywalk

Gros Islet resident Joanita Peter’s whole world was turned upside down on Easter Monday, 9 April 2012. An employee of St Clair & Associates, she was on her way home from a family outing when she got a call to let her know her Massade home was on fire. She was, understandably, devastated. More to the point, she was homeless.

One of Joanita’s tasks at St Clair & Associates is to perform janitorial duties at LIME Baywalk. Once the staff at the flagship retail outlet became aware of her situation, they decided to come to her assistance. On Wednesday, Retail Ssupervisor Mariella Daniel presented two grocery hampers containing toiletries and other non-perishable items and a FLIPtop computer to Joanita and her 17-year-old daughter, a Form 5 student at Corinth Secondary.

“This is a small token, but we wanted to be of some assistance to Joanita in this time of need,” explained Mariella. “A friend in need is a friend indeed, and the colleagues here at LIME Baywalk had absolutely no reservations about reaching out to Joanita, who is normally so efficient and pleasant in the execution of her duties, and doing what we could to help her overcome her present challenges.”

Two of Joanita’s children will be doing external exams in a matter of weeks; her elder daughter at Corinth will be writing six CXC subjects and the second-youngest is preparing for the Common Entrance. I am so appreciative and thankful to the staff at LIME,” said Joanita. “Right now we are living with one of our neighbours, but we are hoping to build a new home as soon as possible, and every bit helps. Thank you, LIME.”

The updated bill payment area at LIME Vieux Fort

Saint Lucia’s leading telecommunications provider, LIME continues to take customer experience to new heights with the re-opening of its recently refurbished full service retail store at the Daher Mall in Vieux Fort. Some customers took to Twitter and Facebook to express how impressed they were. “It looks rather nice. Chic and modern. Me likey,” said one patron. “Wow! The redesigned Vieux Fort branch looks amazing,” opined another.

The store was officially re-opened on Wednesday after undergoing extensive renovations to provide customers with greater efficiency and comfort. The outlet offers a full suite of telecom products and services, and improved levels of quality service. As with the other stores LIME operates in Saint Lucia and throughout the Caribbean, the Vieux Fort branch is designed to make it as easy as possible for customers to browse around the product displays, sign up for the latest LIME services and technologies, TopUp and pay their bills, all from a convenient, comfortable and beautiful location.

Customers also congratulated the company for creating “a more approachable and customer friendly environment.” Following Wednesday’s opening ceremony, there was great positive feedback as to a number of the changes that had been made to the layout. “The store is more professional and offers privacy for transacting business with LIME staff; thumbs up, LIME,” was the comment from a regular visitor.

LIME Vice President for Country Operations, Chris Williams says the store is a demonstration of the company’s continuing confidence in the economic future of Vieux Fort.

“We’re thrilled to be re-launching our Vieux Fort store. Residents of Vieux Fort and neighbouring communities will now have more convenient and easy access to LIME offerings in a world class environment,” said Williams. “The south, including Vieux Fort, is an important region for us, and we’re looking forward to satisfying the needs of the many customers we already serve in these areas and to welcoming many new ones. Our goal is to help our customers choose the best mix of products and technologies that meet their needs to stay connected everywhere they live and work.”

The Vieux Fort retail team is led by Vernette Edwards, who explains that the new store is an exciting development for all concerned.

“We are redefining the sales experience by providing customers with personalized service in an innovative way,” she says. “Providing excellent customer service is a priority for us. But the refurbishment is not just good news for customers. It is great for us as colleagues, because the space is used so much more efficiently, and it’s so much more attractive. It’s really just a much more conducive working environment.”

The LIME Vieux Fort full service retail store opens from 8am Monday to Saturday. On weekdays the store closes at 4:30pm and on Saturdays it closes at 12:30pm.

The IFRSs are a set of accounting standards developed by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), which are being adopted globally for the preparation of public company financial statements.

The objective of the workshop is to develop the capacity of regional financial reporting trainers to provide training in the use of the IFRSs.  The areas to be covered during the five-day workshop include: the main principles of each IFRS and the main applicable estimates and judgements; accounting for insurance contracts and financial instruments; and reporting financial performance in accordance with the IFRSs.  Mr Michael Wells and Mr Andrew Hyland of the IFRS Foundation, and Mr Darrel Scott, Member of the International Accounting Standards Board, will conduct the sessions.

The workshop, which is a partnership among the Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Eastern Caribbean (ICAEC), the IFRS Foundation and the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), is part of a World Bank sponsored project. The first of such workshops was conducted during the period 16 – 20 May 2011.

Boys Training Centre staff playing dominoes with LIME Big Brothers & Sisters

Two years ago, over 200 colleagues from LIME descended on the Boys Training Centre to do renovations on the island’s lone juvenile facility, to erect new signage, build steps and lunch tables, repair and paint various areas, and to install cables and electrical wiring. But that renovation process was nothing compared to what LIME is undertaking in its latest collaboration with the BTC. This time, LIME employees are working with counsellors and workers to help support and rehabilitate the dozens of boys and young men who are resident at the facility.

Saint Lucia’s leading communications provider sponsored the recently held 2012 LIME & BTC 3-Hand Domino Tournament. The event gave the wards at the facility the opportunity to enjoy some exciting, wholesome entertainment while pitting their playing skills against each other. Participants were drawn from among the different sporting houses at the BTC.

The domino competition marks the formalization of LIME’s partnership with the BTC through the creation of a mentorship group called ‘The LIME Big Brothers and Sisters Group’ comprising of volunteers from the LIME staff body. Under the guidance and training of the BTC management and staff, the mentors will interact regularly with the wards and assist in providing them with various forms of support, as well as moral and spiritual encouragement.

LIME’s management team has encouraged the Big Brothers program, through which the LIME employees intend to reach out to the youths and help them improve their lives. “We are very proud of our partnership with the BTC,” said LIME VP Country Operations, Chris Williams. “Anything that can help these kids enjoy the sort of life we take for granted can be of tremendous help. Our support is a vote of confidence in the management and staff of the BTC, and a demonstration of our love and caring for the boys at the facility.

“These children have been deeply wounded, and let down by society. The best way for them to heal is through the power of relationships. The children at the BTC need our patience and respect, and a listening ear – and some responsible adults in their lives who can say to them loud and clear: “I’m not going to let you fail.” That’s what the Big Brothers program is all about. We believe that the young men at the Boys Training Centre can all become outstanding citizens, and we want to be part of their growth and development.”

Manager of the Boys Training Centre, Mr Leonard Terrance expressed appreciation for LIME’s support for the institution and the employees’ concern for the wards. “It goes a long way to help us achieve our mission of equipping the wards with discipline and skills necessary to make a positive contribution to the community,” said Mr. Terrance. “Our overriding objective is to create an environment that provides each of the boys with an opportunity to grow, learn and develop skills necessary for spiritual, social and economic development.”

The male players selected on the squad are: Jerry Charles (Captain,) Akim Herbert, Gavin Similien, Imran William, Cletus Junior Joseph, Danlin Samuel, Zayvon Augustin, Mario Chicot, Wedrel ‘Tommy’ St Clair, Cyril Marius, Henson Hunte, Arthur Joseph, Colvis Samuels, Claudius Medouze, Lenford Eugene, Roger Butcher, Uranus ‘Mal’ Denis, Lyndel Norville, Simon kelsey and Edlon Charlery. The female team will be selected from: Vonette Victor, Renetta Frederick, Senetta Vigee, Paulyn Eugene, Valerie Farrel, Crescentia Innocent, Chantel John, Anthea Butcher, Sylvia Butcher, Emily Remy, Shernell Blanchard, Yasmin Antoine and Electra Marcelle.

Both teams have an interesting blend of novices and experienced players. They are also similar in that there is speed to burn among the players which should be an asset in the encounter with the inexperienced Curacao team.

The Union would like to thank the following benefactors for their kind generosity regardless of the magnitude of the sponsorship: Windward and Leeward Brewery, St Lucia Electricity Services Limited, Le Sport Hotel, Bryden adn Partners, RJ Clarke Drug Store, Windjammer Villa Beach Resort, Du Boulay’s Bottling Company, Sandro and Susanna Bertola, Paradise Springs Water, La Place Salaizon and Rotary Club of St Lucia.

The St Lucia public is encouraged to come out and support the local team and rugby in general. Bring a flag, bring a towel, bring a whistle, make some noise and let your presence be felt.