Both Sides of The Coin: The Story of The Central Bank of Barbados 1972-2017

Appendix 3: Celebrations and Festivities - The Central Bank at Play 291 activities in May. Staff members from all levels and departments participated in this event. For the inaugural (1988) concert Governor King played the Steinway piano, at first alone rendering a piece by composer Frederic Chopin, and later accompanying the Bank’s Choir. June Skeete also performed as a soloist and with the Choir. A popular activity at the concerts was to highlight in drama or song some problem affecting the staff. During the 1989 event a skit dealt with the lack of parking space. In 1993, Sheila Legall’s calypso, “The Mouse”, compared a mouse in the Accounts Department with a computer mouse. For the 2009 concert, Andre Burgess performed “Nothing Happening” a spin-off on Red Plastic Bag’s “Something’s Happening”, airing concerns about air- conditioning and parking. The awards and recognition ceremony During this event, long-service and special awards were presented to staff by members of the Board, senior staff or their spouses, and retirees. While the long-service awards had been around from the earliest days, the special awards were introduced during the 2000 ceremony. The 2010 edition relied heavily on video technology. The new HR director, who was out of the island, sent a video-taped message and there were video profiles of the awardees. The Christmas party The Bank’s Christmas Party was always a well-attended, high- class event for which staff and their guests dressed in their finest. It was held at a fashionable venue, including up-market hotels like Sandy Lane, the Crane and the Hilton. Highlights of this party were the sumptuous dinner and the after-party dance during which many of the usually quiet members of staff took to the floor.