• Scholarship Fund Update

The Peter Gordon Scholarship Fund initial seed money ($40,000) was turned over to College of the Bahamas for management and administration.

• Caribbean Renewable Energy Forum (CREF)

The BSE sponsored and participated in the 2^nd annual Caribbean Renewable Energy Forum that took place on October 13^th-15^th at the Atlantis Resort, Paradise Island.  The 2011 CREF conference will be held in Barbados. 

• BSE Conference

 The 1^st BSE Engineering, Planning and Design Conference and Awards Luncheon was held at the Sheraton Cable Beach Resort on December 3^rd 2010.  The conference was a one day event and included informative business and professional development workshops.

• Monthly Meetings

The year 2007 opened with the monthly BSE membership luncheon.  The guest speaker for the luncheon was the Hon. Vincent Peet, MP, Minister of Financial Services & Investments and his talk focused on the Opportunities for Engineers in 2007.

• Professional Engineer’s Board

The year 2006 was the landmark establishment of the Professional Engineer’s Board in the Bahamas.

• BSE Workshops

The organization participated in and completed the first in a series of Professional Engineering Workshops.

The BSE also participated in Certified Workshops on the Canadian Electrical Code.

• BSE Activities

The BSE had active participation on many National Committees & Consultations as well as various public relations initiatives, and membership recruitments.

• BSE Operations Revised

BSE established a new office with a part-time office administrator and set-up Standard Operating Procedures in order to provide better service to the membership.

• Courtesy Calls

BSE made courtesy calls on the Ministers of Housing and Financial Investments during this period.

• Engineers Bill Passed

In May 2004, the BSE received confirmation from the Minister of Works and the Senate that the Engineer’s Bill had been passed with the Amendments that were recommended by the BSE.  The Engineers Bill was signed into law and made effective August 2004.

• Position Papers Published

BSE produced and circulated various Position Papers, the majority of which were on issues related to the Engineer’s Bill.  The organization also revised the paper on Plan Stamping and produced new papers on Capacity Building in the Local Engineering Sector and Foreign Direct Investments.  The organization was still working on the Drafts for Drainage and Energy Usage at this time.

• Special Luncheon hosted by Kerzner International

BSE continued to lobby for increased involvement of Bahamian Engineers in major projects.  In this regard, Kerzner International responded and was thanked for hosting BSE Members to a special luncheon at the One & Only where plans of their expansion at that time were revealed.  This jump started the process for increased participation and increased working relationships.

• BSE Participation

BSE has remained active in various trade shows and Technology Fairs as well as a special forum to discuss the promotion of Science.

• Engineers Bill Update

The Engineer’s Bill was unanimously passed in the Lower House of Assembly on September 24^th, 2003.

• Membership Update

The Society saw a membership growth of approximately 40%.  The membership totaled (150) persons at the end of this year.

• Monthly Meetings

Monthly luncheons continued to be held. These included speeches from the Ministry of Works, Ministry of Financial Services, BTC, NEMA, The Island School, The Developers of Cotton Bay, and others.   Average luncheon attendance was approximately (35) persons.  

• National Emergency Response Initiative

BSE played a major role in the national emergency response initiative. More than (20) members of BSE volunteered their time and experience to assist with the initial damage assessment for the numerous hurricanes.

• BSE Monthly Meetings

The year opened with Governor of the Central Bank of The Bahamas addressing the group on “The State of the Bahamian Economy.”  Other guest speakers at the luncheons included the Minister of Works, the Parliamentary Secretary, The Ministry of Financial Investments and Senator Trevor Whylly.

• Professional Engineer Registration

BSE continues to lobby for Engineering Registration.

• BSE Professional Forums

BSE participated in the Women in Science & Technology, the Bahamas Association for Career and Technical Educators (BACTE) and the New Plumbers Permit Seminars. BSE also participated in the History Pays Workshop, The Construction Seminar Group initiatives, various WTO, FTAA, and CSME Workshops and meetings, the Annual Caribbean Water & Wastewater Association Conference and the Bahamas Home & Building Show.

• General Elections

Elections were held in the country and BSE member and Engineer John Carey was honorably elected to the House of Assembly.

• COB Social Event

BSE organized a social event for students of the College of The Bahamas. At this event members from BSE were able to interact with the students and provide them with information on BSE and the Engineering Profession in a relaxed atmosphere.

• School Career’s Day

The Public Relations Committee of BSE launched its school career’s day campaign during this year. As a result of this campaign BSE members visited various local high schools to inform students about careers in the Engineering Profession.

• Engineering Forums

The Engineering Forum, which was the brainchild of BSE, was hosted by the MOPW.  The BSE participated in this lively debate on the Engineer’s Bill along with Engineers representing the Ministry of Public Works, Public Corporations, Engineers from Grand Bahama and the Bahamas Institution of Professional Engineers. It is from this meeting that the current draft of the Engineer’s Bill was formulated.

• Agreement with the CSCE

The BSE signed an Agreement of Cooperation with the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE) at the CSCE’s annual conference in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

• Second Annual Freeport Trip

The BSE held its second annual meeting in Grand Bahama this year.  This entailed site visits and a luncheon with guest speaker the Hon. Kenneth Russell, M.P.  who was currently the Minister responsible for Public Works.  The Minister addressed the group on the Draft Legislation for the Registration of Engineers.

• Engineers Bill

Lobby letters were issued to Members of Parliament, Ministers of Government and Senators to encourage support for the Proposed Engineer’s Bill.  Panel discussions were held with young candidates representing the three major parties to pledge their parties’ support for the Proposed Bill.

• Freeport Annual Trip

The first Annual Trip to Grand Bahama was organized this year. Thirteen BSE members went to various sites of interest during this trip including a luncheon and a tour of the Our Lucaya Resort that was under construction at the time.

• Officer Elections

The second election of officers was held and the following persons were elected to serve for the 2000-2002 term:

• President - Sonia Brown


• Vice President - Kevin Basden


• Secretary - Gregory Stubbs


• Treasurer - Cadrington Coleby


• Directors -  DeCosta Bethel, Dwight King, Nicholas Dean, Damian Francis, DuWaine Edwards, Cyprian Gibson, *Keith Bishop (Elected to replace DeCosta Bethel who stepped down during the term.

• Installation Banquet

The Second Installation banquet was held where the newly elected board was installed along with twelve new members.

• Engineering Bill Meeting

BSE wrote Minister Knowles (Minister of Works at the time) to request that the MOPW host a meeting to discuss the proposed Engineering Bill. The purpose of this meeting was to bring together all of the representatives and stakeholders for the Bill and reach an agreement on the content of the proposed legislation.

• BSE Organization Formed

The new engineering body, the Bahamas Society of Engineers was formed and the first election of BSE officers was held on June 24, 2008.  The following persons served on the first board of the BSE:

• President – Hammond Rahming


• Vice President – DeCosta Bethel


• Secretary - Peter Gordon


• Assistant Secretary – Sonia Brown


• Treasurer – Adrian Rollins


• Directors -  Kevin Basden, Melanie Roach, Patrick Hanna, Dwight King, Lambert Knowles, Carleton Blair and Racquel Greene

• BSE Constitution

Within a few months of being formed, the BSE Constitution was drafted and ratified by its current board and membership.

• Membership Numbers

In the first year of being formed, the BSE membership registry consisted of about fifty (50) persons. 

• First Installation Banquet

The first Biannual Installation Banquet was held in 1998 and the newly elected board was installed.

• First Honorary MembersThe first group of Honorary Members was inducted into the organization at the Biannual Installation Banquet and included the following persons: 
  
  
  
  • Ivern Davis
  
  
  • Peter I. Bethel
  
  
  •  Calvin Cooper
  
  
  • John Steer
  
  
  
  

 

• Monthly Meetings Instituted

The organization began holding monthly meetings for the membership in its first year.

• Annual Field Trips

The organization started planning educational field trips to sites for its members.  The following sites were visited:

The “New” Paradise Island Bridge Construction

Phase II Atlantis Construction

Reverse Osmosis plant

BEC Expansion at Clifton Pier  

• Courtesy Calls

The Society began making Courtesy Calls to Government Officials.  The following Minister’s, Public Officials and Business Institutions were visited during this time:

• Minister of Public Works, Hon. James Knowles, M.P.


• Publisher of Nassau Guardian


• General Manager of the Bahamas Electricity Corporation


• General Manager of the Water & Sewerage Corporation


• General Manager of the Bahamas Telecommunications Corporation

• BSE Initial Interest Meeting

A Steering committee was established to begin discussions on creating a voice in the community for Engineers.