The first Long Island Bahamas Business Outlook (BBO) is set for November 12 at the Community Centre in Clarence Town.
The Counsellors Ltd. chief and Founder of the BBO Joan Albury cited her own "deep roots" in Long Island and said that "to finally return to the island where so many of my antecedents hail from is an honor and part of an overall push that I hope would thrust Long Island's economic fortunate to the forefront".
Adrian Gibson, a presenter who is also a native Long Islander, was exuberant about the BBO coming to Long Island, pointing out that he had literally pleaded with Albury in the past to consider Long Island as a stop for the event. He noted that he was elated that Long Island was finally having an opportunity to showcase itself and to make the case for any economic and social incentives and assistance that it needs. Gibson -- a businessman, educator, attorney-at-law and newspaper columnist -- referred to the BBO as being a vehicle that could lead to "the economic boost that Long Island greatly needs. It is the hope of the organizers of the BBO that it would stimulate economic growth on that island".
Long Island joins a list of islands which have been participants in the business forum. The BBO has over the years become the premier business conference in The Bahamas, having been held in New Providence for more than two decades and, subsequently, in Grand Bahama, Abaco, the Exumas, Andros and Eleuthera.
"The Bahamas Business Outlook has always featured a diverse cadre of speakers, of movers and shakers in The Bahamas and/or in their specific sphere of Bahamian life. These persons can collectively be seen as true nation builders," Albury said.
The first annual Long Island Business Outlook seeks to encapsulate much of what has been done at past business outlooks and will feature presentations by a wide array speakers. It will be held Wednesday, November 12, 2014, and will take the format of a one-day forum where the theme will be "Charting the course for growth".
This outlook will cover a number of pressing issues and feature speakers such as Captain Tellis Bethel, deputy commodore of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force; Cheryl de Goicoechea, president of the Long Island Chamber of Commerce; Ian Knowles, chief councillor of local government; Adrian Gibson, businessman and attorney-at-law; Edison Sumner, co-chair of the VAT Education Task Force and CEO of The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation; Lynn Gape, deputy executive director of the Bahamas National Trust; Philip Beneby, assistant general manager of Family Island/Business Development, Water and Sewerage Corporation; Dr. Pearl McMillan, director of public health; and William and Britta Trubridge, representatives of The Caribbean Yoga Retreats.
Long Island faces a sluggish economy, lack of government initiatives and incentives, high unemployment and what appears to be a lack of a long-term development plan for that island. The Long Island Business Outlook will be one of the first such outlets for taking an intimate look at some of these disquieting concerns.
For further information or to register, interested persons may contact Margaret Albury, The Counsellors Ltd at 242-322-1000; Cheryl de Goicoechea, Long Island Chamber of Commerce at 242-338-0103 and Dawn Simmons, Ministry of Tourism at 464-2308. Registration for Long Island Business Outlook is also available at www.tclevents.com.

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