A combined team comprising the Department of Education Services Continuation of Education Excellence initiative and the Sir John A Cumber Primary School Lunch and Grocery Delivery Team took home the 2020 Team of the Year trophy at the Deputy Governor’s Team Awards ceremony on Tuesday, 5 April 2022. 

Given for the first time, the Team Awards recognised the tremendous undertakings of Civil Service teams, and in some cases public and private sector collaborators, who worked to ensure the delivery of services and functioning of government during the height of the national COVID-19 emergency in 2020. Teams were awarded for their hard work, dedication, and ‘‘moments of magic”. ­

Among those who attended the event were His Excellency the Governor, Mr Martyn Roper, the Deputy Governor Hon. Mr Franz Manderson, the Premier, Hon. Wayne Panton, the Deputy Premier, Hon. Christopher Saunders, and Minister for Health and Wellness Hon.Sabrina Turner. Also, in attendance were members of the panel of judges, which comprised four private sector representatives: Mrs. Sophia Harris, Mr Woody Foster, Mr Orrett Connor and Mrs. Pamela Small.

Following a retrospective of 2020, the Deputy Governor gave his heartfelt acknowledgement of awardees and attendees. Thanking the Governor, he commented: “From the day we locked down until the day we opened, he was at work every day. He led the Government’s response from the Civil Service side, from the public sector side, from the front. He was in his office, attending the press briefings; he was there for me to bounce off ideas, and to also give me advice and encouragement”. 

The Deputy Governor also thanked the judges for the “extremely difficult task” they faced in selecting the winners in each category because of the high calibre of the work that the teams had done.

Announcing the Team of the Year before Mr. Manderson made the presentation, Portfolio of the Civil Service (PoCS) Chief Officer, Ms Gloria McField-Nixon, shared the judges’ rationale for the selection. Nominations were assessed by the judges based upon innovation, results, teamwork, professionalism and the overall impact of the project.

“The combined winning submissions by the teams at John A Cumber and the Department of Education Services (DES) focused on our most vulnerable population: our children who might otherwise be voiceless.” 

The Chief Officer added, “Cayman’s largest primary school, John A Cumber, not only found ways to expand young minds but they also nourished more than 100 families during the height of lockdown. As they visited those children who were most in need, they responded to the reality that without their basic needs being met, their students could not be expected to learn. So, the team at John A Cumber primary delivered hot meals, grocery bags, food vouchers and more. 

“Meanwhile, the DES team guided the transition to online learning during the lockdown and hastened strategies for schools in the public and private sectors to return to classroom learning as early as September 2020 – a year ahead of much of the world. 

“Their teamwork spilled beyond the Ministry of Education and even the public sector, to also include partnerships with civil society including the Kiwanis Club of Grand Cayman, Feed Our Future, the Cayman Food Bank and the Alex Panton Foundation.”

She elaborated, “In achieving these outcomes, they contributed to nation building by delivering a strategic advantage for these Islands as we emerged from lockdown. They contributed to the mental wellbeing of our youth; and they fuelled our economy by allowing parents the freedom to return to the workplace. Their caring moved the judges and indeed all of us attending this event. At the DG Team Awards, we witnessed first-hand what it means when the Civil Service fulfils its purpose, “To Make Lives Better.”­