St. Paul's Jumior Club Celebrates Its 5oth Anniversary
The St. Paul's Junior Club of Sea Cow's Bay celebrated its golden anniversary with a dinner at the Treasure Isle Hotel on Saturday October 14th. The Club was founded 50 years ago October 13th, by Mrs. Valerie O. Thomas, who was one of the stalwarts of the local community. The objective was to provide a forum for youngsters to meet after school hours in order to further develop their Christian beliefs and to develop social skills.
The youth group continues to be active today, participating in various activities, such as the Queen's birthday parade, cookery, art and craft, bible studies, camping, fundraisers, socials in the form of birthday celebrations, both local and overseas excursions, visits to the sick and shut-ins and the hosting of its Annual Community Christmas Tree. The members in attendance range from 20-25. The girls are between the ages of 5-13 years. Meetings are held on the St. Paul's Church grounds/hall every Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. The current President is Mrs. Elvera Smith, Vice President is Mrs. Sybil Hodge and Secretary - Ms. Myrtle Matthias.
Several individuals paid tribute to Ms. Val, as she was affectionately known, and to the work of the St. Paul's Junior Club. These included Vicar the Reverend David Stedman, immediate past Principal of the Ebenezer Thomas Primary School Pastor Inez Brathwaite and several former Club members. "As the founder of the St. Paul's Junior Club, Mrs. Thomas has been most instrumental in moulding the lives of many of the young people of Sea Cow's Bay, both young men and young women, into believing in themselves and endeavouring to reach their fullest potentials," said Chief Minister the Honourable Ralph O'Neal in tribute. He pointed out that Mrs. Thomas took on this task on a voluntary basis, long before the government established a Social Welfare Department.
In his remarks in the commemorative booklet, His Excellency Governor Frank Savage applauded the efforts of the founder and congratulated the current sponsors of the Club for the invaluable service they have given to the community. He encouraged them to continue and even redouble their efforts, bearing in mind that our young people today are subject to many pressures. "We need more clubs like the St. Paul's Junior Club to provide guidance for our youth and to assist them to develop into responsible and caring adults who will be the future leaders of the BVI. District Representative and Minister of Natural Resources and Labour Hon. Julian Fraser said anything 50 years old and still going owes much to its leader and founder. He said Mrs. Thomas has been an asset, not only to the Club, but also to the entire community.