Cayman Islands DG’s 5K Nets $50,000 for SOCI

The Deputy Governor’s 5K walk/run recently made giant strides in raising funds for Special Olympics Cayman Islands (SOCI).
In the final tally, the event garnered $50,000 for the Special Olympians and chaperones from the Cayman Islands who are headed to the World Games in California this June. The 5K, which took place at the end of April, attracted a field of 1,248 participants. At the end, the winners received trophies while nearly 100 donated prizes were distributed among winning participants in a raffle.
“Huge thanks to everyone who participated in any way in making this event such a success!” acknowledged Deputy Governor Hon. Franz Manderson, Cert. Hon., JP. “What we ended up raising was way beyond what we expected to collect.

“And I can say, undoubtedly, this would not have happened without the support of all – the public, and the large number of sponsors and volunteers. Our target was $20,000 for the Special Olympics team and we far exceeded our expectations.”
Commenting that this year’s DG’s 5K challenge was an “outstanding success” on every level, SOCI Chairman Nick Freeland said: “SOCI truly appreciates being the beneficiary of the profits from this year’s event, which will take a great deal of pressure off our World Games fundraising team. I would particularly like to thank the DG and Ministry of Health Chief Officer Jennifer Ahearn, who agreed to support us so early on in the planning for this year’s event.”
He also lauded all efforts that have helped raise public awareness for Special Olympics and the athletes, and also paid tribute to family members and volunteers.

Race results:
In the run segment, with a time of 17 minutes, 55.8 seconds, Sean Olsen dashed across the finish line to place first among men. Joanna Manzi was the top woman, finishing in 19:32.7, and placed sixth overall.
The best male runner among civil servants was J.P. (Jacobus) Hanekom of the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) with an individual time of 19:31.5; he placed fifth overall. Sue Morris of the Cayman Islands Further Education Centre (CIFEC), who clocked 27:45.8, was the top female runner among civil servants.
Last year’s winners of the award for the most civil servants and the highest percentage of civil servants repeated in 2015. The Immigration Department fielded 39 participants to retain their title for the second year as the government agency with the highest number of participants.
Likewise, the National Archive with 100% participation remained the top government agency with the highest percentage of participants.
Three new trophies were instituted this year and the winners were:
• Statutory Authority/Government Company with the highest number of participants – Health Services Authority – 49 participants;
• Statutory Authority/Government Company with the highest percentage of participants – Public Service Pension Board – 100%; and
• Corporate Cup for the private sector company with the highest number of participants – Maples – 59 participants.

Sponsors thanked:
“Our heartfelt thanks to all our sponsors, especially our Gold sponsors Appleby, Ernst and Young, and Butterfield Bank,” Ms. Ahearn said. Silver sponsors were EFG Bank, Cayman National, Walkers, Samson and McGrath, Greenlight RE, Dart and KPMG. Bronze sponsors were Genesis Trust and Corporate Services, Rawlinson & Hunter, BritCay, Generali, Island Heritage, UBS and Bodden and Bodden/BCSL.
Added Deputy Chief Officer Nancy Barnard: “Our thanks also to our “half-way there” sponsor CINICO as well as our water stop sponsors LIME and PricewaterhouseCoopers.”
The large number of raffle prizes awarded to participants ranged from Cayman Airways airline tickets to smartphones and gym memberships.

Photo Captions: Photos GIS
Fastest Male: Fastest male Sean Olsen, who also placed first overall, receives his trophy from Deputy Governor Franz Manderson in the company of Governor Helen Kilpatrick.
Pensions staff: Deputy Governor Franz Manderson presents Pensions Board Managing Director Jewel Evans-Lindsey and staff the trophy for the Statutory Authority/Government Company with the highest percentage of participation.
Pensions presents: The Pensions Board MD presents the Deputy Governor with a cheque for $1,000, a donation collected by the board staff to benefit SOCI’s Los Angeles trip. Also seen (l-r) are: Civil Service Portfolio Chief Officer Gloria McField, SOCI Chairman Nick Freeland and Financial Secretary and Chief Officer Kenneth Jefferson.
Immigration trophy: Deputy Governor Franz Manderson presents Acting Chief Immigration Officer Gary Wong the trophy for the government department with the largest number of participants, an honour that the Immigration Department has bagged two years in a row.
Archive trophy: In the company of senior government officers, Deputy Governor Franz Manderson presents to National Archive Director Kimlon Lawrence and staff, for the second consecutive year, the trophy for the government department with the highest percentage of participation.
Maples trophy: Maples’ Head of Human Resources Morven Bodden collects from the Deputy Governor, Hon. Franz Manderson the new trophy awarded this year for the corporate entity with the highest number of participants.
Raffle winners: A large number of raffle prizes were awarded. Here Deputy Governor Franz Manderson with prize winners (l-r): Kimberley Voaden, Sybil Berry and Gina Matthews

For the official Cayman Islands Government web portal, www.gov.ky:
Web title: DG’s 5K a Big Success
Web blurb: Far exceeding expectations, the walk/run procures $50,000 for Special Olympics.