Associations
FROM: JUL-AUG 2006 ISSUE
Caribbean Cooperation
The main goal this year for CGA-Barbados is to enhance the CGA designation within the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), a group established in 1973 to facilitate the economic and social development of member states and unify the Caribbean, says the Association's new president.
"As president, my vision is to position the CGA designation as a premier designation within the region, synonymous with excellence, whose members discover and chart frontiers of the profession that are currently unknown and untapped," says Deborah Nurse, B.Sc., MBA, M.Sc., ACIS, CGA.
Nurse is currently the lead consultant on an Inter-American Development Bank project with the CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality, a project involving the development of infrastructure across the Caribbean.
Prior to that, she was the director of investment and promotion for the Barbados Tourism Investment Inc., an assignment that included attracting foreign direct investment to the tourism and hospitality industry in Barbados as well as developing joint venture projects for both foreign and domestic investors.
Nurse and her husband Henderson, a geographer, have one son, 14-year-old Daimon. "I have lived in Barbados all my life," she says. "I've travelled extensively throughout the Caribbean islands, North America, Europe, and Asia, but there's no place in the world like Barbados. It is simply a paradise."
Nurse received her CGA designation in 1997. She chose CGA because of the professional development opportunities available, and because it offered the best opportunity for executive management and entrepreneurial development.
Over the past four years she's been involved with CGA-Barbados as Chair of the Continuing Professional Education (CPE) committee, and more recently at the directorate level.
"As Chair of the CPE committee, my vision was to provide opportunities for continuing educational development that ensured that the intellectual currency of CGAs did not suffer from the scars of devaluation," she says. "I want to ensure we are equipped with the necessary knowledge and energy to make a difference and to empower our region towards economic longevity while ensuring that our profession remains relevant."
Serving with Nurse on the CGA-Barbados Executive are Hank Lucas, CGA, first vice-president; Deanna Forde, CGA, second vice-president; Edmund Grimes, CGA, secretary; Orson Simpson, CGA, treasurer; Marcel Murrell Jr., CGA, immediate past president; and Marlyne Burgess, CGA, assistant secretary/treasurer.
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Coastal Harmony
A sustained focus on Vision 2008, an ambassador program with particular emphasis on increasing member awareness, is the goal for CGA-BC this year, says Maurice (Moe) Jones, FCGA, the new president for 2005-06.
Jones, who received his designation in 1962, founded Jones, Richards Accounting Practice in 1977, which was one of the largest and premier accounting firms in Canada. Now retired, he received his FCGA in 2005.
"When I retired, I wanted to get more involved with CGA and give back to CGA, which has given me so much over the years," says Jones of his dedication to the Association. "The power of CGA really is a power within each of us."
In addition to chairing several CGA-BC conferences over the years, Jones has an extensive record of service throughout the Association.
He served as Chair of the CGA-BC Educational Foundation from 1996-2000, and chaired the Awards Committee in 2000-2001 and the Discipline Committee from 2002-2004.
More recently, he was a member of the National Professional Committee in 2004, and has been a CGA-BC Board member since 2002.
In 2001, he was awarded the CGA-BC Harold M. Clarke Award of Merit which is presented in recognition of outstanding service to a CGA-BC committee.
At the national level, Jones is a member of the CGA-Canada Board of Directors, and has been part of CGA-Canada's International Committee since 2005.
Outside of work, Jones's record of volunteer service is also impressive. He served as treasurer of the Burnaby Soccer Club from 1975-1977 and was a member of the Burnaby Rotary Club from 1978-1984. Since 1998, he has worked as a counsellor for the North Shore Self Employment Program.
In additon to this significant record of volunteer service and professional achievement, Jones still finds time for leisure pursuits. "Singing is my hobby," he says. "I have sung, and continue to sing, in a barbershop chorus and also in quartets for 40 years." He served as president of the Gentlemen of Fortune Chorus from 2002-2004.
Born and raised in Port Alberni, B.C., Jones enrolled in the CGA program right after graduation, and has lived in the Lower Mainland of B.C. since then. Jones and his wife Linda, assistant superintendent of the West Vancouver School District, have been married for 20 years. He also has two grown children.
Serving with Jones on the CGA-BC executive are Gordon Clissold, CGA, first vice-president; Pat Keller, CGA, second vice-president; and Rita Estock, FCGA, past president.
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