At the annual Queen’s Birthday Parade on Saturday 13 June 2015, Deputy Governor Hon. Franz Manderson will announce the names of two individuals who have received Queen’s Birthday Honours, as well as the newest recipient of the Cayman Islands Certificate and Badge of Honour,.

These are Layman Daniel “Dan” Scott who has been named an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE), for services to the local financial services industry and the judiciary. Derek William Haines will receive the Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) medal for services to the community and to sport in the Cayman Islands.

The Governor has also annouced the award of the Cayman Islands Certificate and Badge of Honour to Mr Rudolph “Rudy” Myles for services to the community.

 

DAN SCOTT, OBE

Prominent Cayman Islands’ accountant and civic leader Mr. Layman Daniel “Dan” Scott is the sole recipient of the Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) award in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours.

“This was a total surprise but a pleasant one,” he confesses. He is honoured for his contributions to financial services and the judiciary in the Cayman Islands.

Mr. Scott is the Managing Partner of accounting firm Ernst & Young Ltd, Cayman Islands (EY) and the first chairman of the Cayman Islands Judicial and Legal Services Commission, a position that he still holds.

A former government school student, Mr. Scott got a sound grounding in values from his mother and father, the former principal of Cayman Brac High after whom the school is now named.

Proud of his roots, soft-spoken and unfailingly polite, Mr. Scott fondly remembers that when he was growing up his mother often urged him to: “do what needs doing and do it well”.

He is grateful too to others who inspired and encouraged him, notably accounts teacher, Mr. Peter Dutton. In fourth form, he was for the first time offered courses in economics and accounting. He chose both in what he describes as one of the soundest decisions he has ever made.

After receiving one of the first scholarships offered by Cayman National Bank, Mr. Scott went off to successfully pursue a degree in accounting at the University of Tampa. He then completed his Certified Public Accountant course and is currently licensed in both Florida and New York states.

As a student, he interned with EY and joined full-time as a staff accountant in 1983. From initial jobs that included filing and taking out the mail, Mr. Scott rose steadily to become a partner within 10 years and gained Managing Partner status in 2005.

Again, he acknowledges all who guided and helped him in his career, especially his mentors Mr. Jim Cleaver and Mr. Naul Bodden, as well as Mrs. Joan Austin and Mrs. Phyllis ‘Flick’ Brooks, two Cayman National staff who helped him during his scholarship days.

A diligent worker from the outset, Mr. Scott is now the market segment leader in EY’s financial services office for the Bahamas, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands. He has amassed impressive asset management experience, with a focus on audit and advisory services including structuring and servicing complex global and offshore funds.

In fact, Mr. Scott has been for some time a major player in maintaining the Cayman Islands funds industry, after being involved from the outset doing pioneering work in international promotion, as well as participating on various committees that helped to advise Government on the industry.

He credits the Cayman Island’s lead position to the law, the regulators and the talented professional infrastructure, provided notably by accountants, lawyers, administrators and independent directors.

Despite his crowded agenda, he still finds time to serve on a number of government appointed boards, offering his expertise and knowledge to benefit the community.

He says he was elated and humbled, to be named chairman of the Judicial and Legal Services Commission by the previous Governor. The Commission has provided advice on recruitment for top judicial and legal positions since the introduction of the 2009 Constitution.

With a distinctly optimistic view of the future, he counsels the upcoming generation to embrace standards and values in their lives, to take action, maintain strong family ties and, most of all, be prepared for change and enormous technological innovation. This he predicts will in turn spawn unprecedented opportunities and access to jobs not yet created.

“Be bold, be adventurous but be grounded and focused on your core principles,” he exhorts.

He also believes that the Cayman Islands, as a key player in the financial services industry, will have a critical role to play in buoying the confidence of the global market. Furthermore there is still ample opportunity for qualified Caymanian accountants in the largest financial services profession in the Islands.

The Cayman Islands is spectacular for the diversity that it contains and nurtures. “What we have here is really special, a microcosm of the world,” he comments. At the same time, to gain a better perspective, “go and see that world,” he says.

As a loving family man, Mr. Scott is thankful for his family, notably his “strong, caring and wonderful” wife Lisa, who keeps him grounded and inspired. His wife and four daughters, he says, have led him to appreciate and understand that “having women at the table provides a different perspective and we need that.”

 

DEREK HAINES, MBE

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has named Derek Haines a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in this year’s Birthday Honours.

Awarded to Mr Haines for services to the community and to sports, the MBE caps a lengthy list of achievements by the retired policeman, veteran marathon runner and rugby enthusiast.

Most recently he made headlines at the end of 2014, after he completed six international marathons in a year to raise more than KYD 1.1. million towards the construction of a new hospice facility.

He credits this feat to the support he received from the local community and from a remarkable team of family, friends and well-wishers.

Various partners who supported the new hospice project included the Rotary Club Grand Cayman of which he is a member. His employer Dart donated the land for the hospice, while various local businesses donated services and materials towards the facility’s construction. By donating a portion of its fuel sales per gallon, he adds, local petroleum supplier Sol ensured that everyone in the country could donate to the cause just by filling up their cars.

Among the individuals whose steadfast support helped him to keep going during the year long drive, are his wife of 40 years Helen, their son and daughter, his running partner Cynthia Hew, and Her Excellency the Governor Helen Kilpatrick, who serves as patron of the new hospice project.

He further cites the efforts of fellow Rotarian, Chris Johnson, who has served as his treasurer on similar projects. Prior to launching the new hospice initiative, the pair worked together to raise funds towards the purchase a chemotherapy unit for the Cancer Society, as well as on earlier, smaller efforts.

Mr Haines was first inspired to combine his love of long distance running with fundraising some three decades back, as a show of support for his brother who had mental and physical disabilities. Losing another brother and sister-in-law to cancer has since provided further motivation for his good works.

This same tenacious drive and ability to create high performing teams that work to help others has also been evident in his contributions to the Cayman Islands Rugby Club, almost from the moment of his arrival in the Islands 20 years ago.

A junior director from 1995 and president for the past 14 years, Mr Haines says he has been very pleased to see rugby develop from being a sport mostly played by expats to one that is played mostly by Caymanians.

The reason for that change he says has been the hard work of the local rugby community and in particular those who have contributed to its youth development programmes.

In addition to the superlative record of its youth teams, Mr Haines is particularly proud of the fact that the young players perform well in high school, and often receive scholarships from overseas universities.

He retired from the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service in 2006. In addition to the Cayman Islands his 40 year career as a policeman spanned the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. During this time he received the Colonial Police Medal and the Queen’s Police Medal, both of which are awarded for gallantry or distinguished service.

Asked to comment on his latest honour, Mr Haines says: “I want to thank everyone who has supported me over the years in running and in rugby. This award belongs to the community as a whole, although I will have the privilege of wearing it.”

 

RUDY MYLES CERT. HON

The life and work of Mr. Rudolph “Rudy” Myles has long been as resolute as the timbre and tone of his voice.

His decades-long commitment to the arts, his career and the wider community have earned Mr. Myles the Cayman Islands Certificate and Badge of Honour in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours.

While possessed of undeniable talent, his musical prowess and contributions to the Cayman Islands community are the result of focus and application to his art from a young age.

After leaving the Cayman Islands with his family in 1974 for the glitz of New York City (NYC), Mr. Myles focused on musical pursuits throughout his high school years. His already obvious accomplishments were further developed when he chose to study with Dr. A.J. Patterson (formerly of Julliard School of Music), who directed the Martin Luther King Jr. Male Glee Club of NYC.

For a decade following, he sang and recorded with the club. Evan as a teen, he enjoyed the privileges that came with membership of the celebrated group, including performing as a soloist at Lincoln Centre for the Performing Arts, and at the USA bicentennial celebrations concert in Central Park. There were also some 120 American and European concerts each year.

Mr. Myles further recalls opportunities to meet Mrs. Coretta Scott King and other relatives of the late Martin Luther King Jr., as well as other notable African American personalities in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Mr. Myles returned home to the Cayman Islands in 1987. As a unique talent in a small community, he has over the years sung at governmental and political functions, as well as pageants, international conferences, weddings and funerals.

Some of the high-profile functions which have featured his talents have included a: a Royal Visit by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, opening ceremonies for the Cayman Islands Legislative Assembly, the inauguration ceremonies of local Governors, and at many Queen’s Birthday Parade ceremonies and annual Parliamentary Prayer Breakfasts.

In addition to numerous appearances in his home country, he has performed with over 160 different choirs across the Caribbean countries, as well as in the USA.

Always willing to share his love of music with others, Mr. Myles has also contributed to projects for the educational benefit of faculty and students from universities, colleges and elementary schools – both locally and regionally.

Simultaneously, he has forged an impressive career in the telecommunications industry, and currently serves as LIME’s Regional Fraud Manager.

Previous honours include the Cayman Islands Medal of Honour-Officer Class (OMH), and the Premier’s Award for the Arts, in appreciation of his musical contributions to the Cayman Islands.

Music aside, Mr. Myles’ roots in the community run wide and deep. His civic contributions have included over a decade of service to the farming sector, including stints as a member of the Cayman Islands Agricultural Society’s board, and serving terms as its President, First Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary – a post he currently holds.

He has also chaired the Bodden Town Development Plan Review Committee, spent seven years on the Planning Appeals Tribunal Board, and worked as a member of the National Data Protection Legislation IT Sub-Committee.

Other stalwart service includes six years as the Cayman Islands Diabetic Association’s President; and contributions to the George Town Seventh-day Adventist Church, where he is a Church Elder as well as a Board member.

Mr. Myles and his wife Yvette have two sons – Daniel and Nathan.