ECCB Awards Anguillian Students

The two second place winners in the competition held last year by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank as part of activities for Financial Literacy Month 2004, have been presented with their cash prizes of two hundred EC dollars each.

The Anguillian winners were Regine Niles, a Fourth Form student at the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School who won the second place in the oratorical speech contest on the “Importance of Money” and Samantha Ann Webster, a Grade 3 pupil at the Island Harbour Primary School, who placed second in the essay competition with her short story entitled “How Mr. John Became a Millionaire.”
The brief presentation ceremony at the ECCB’s Agency Representative Office in Anguilla was held on September 30, the eve of the beginning of Financial Literacy Month, October 2005. The main address was delivered by Carl Harrigan, one of the Bank’s Directors and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance.
He said Financial Literacy Month was designed to increase the understanding of financial issues everywhere and that the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank was proud to be associated with the promotion of financial literacy in its Currency Union.
“We expect that all of our citizens will be aware of the role of commercial banks, development banks, the products they have to offer and how ordinary citizens, institutions and governments can effectively benefit from these products,” he told his listeners. “We expect our citizens to know about the Central Bank and the role that it plays in regulating the commercial banks and promoting financial stability in the country that it serves. We expect our citizens to know about stocks, bonds, treasury bills and the Eastern Caribbean Stock Exchange, the Eastern Caribbean Home Mortgage Bank and how we all can actively participate in them. We expect or citizens to know about financial services, insurance and other companies at the Companies Registry and how and why companies are formed and regulated; to know about income statements and balance sheets and how to interrupt them.”

Mr. Harrigan said the two young winners of the competition were not only second place winners for the region but winners for Anguilla and that the people of the island were proud of their achievement. He congratulated them, on behalf of the Central Bank and the Anguilla Government, for their outstanding achievement.

Education Officer, Ellenita Harrigan, thanked the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank for organising the second public speaking contest for secondary school students and the short story contest for students of the primary schools. She added that such competitions supported the schools’ curriculum and provided students with opportunities to showcase their talents and abilities.
Acting Agency Rep. Julian Harrigan, gave the Vote of Thanks, first thanking the Central Bank for organising the competitions which not only resulted in winners in the sub-region, but a greater knowledge of financial matters.
The awards ceremony was chaired by the Agency Representative’s Secretary, Patricia Webster.

(L-R) Carl & Julian Harrigan, Regine Niles, Samantha Webster & Patricia Webster