• Relaunched Order of the Cayman Islands national honours system will be overseen by a council of five persons.
• The public have until 27 November to nominate persons whose contributions have enriched the lives of those in the community.
• The new system has also introduced caps on the number of persons who may be  awarded membership in any given year.

Grand Cayman (GIS): The Council for the Order of the Cayman Islands invites  the public to nominate persons who have made exemplary contributions to life in the Cayman Islands for membership in the society of honour known as the Order of the Cayman Islands.

At a press briefing today (Monday, 26 October 2020), Premier Hon. Alden McLaughlin, MBE, JP announced the relaunch of the order and introduced members of the Council.

Members of the Council are:

• Chairman, Chief Justice, Hon. Anthony Smellie, QC, JP
• Mr. James Ryan, CBE, JP
• Mr. Norman Bodden, OBE, JP
• Mr. Malcolm Eden and
• Ms Celene Crance. 

The Premier, by virtue of that office, serves as Chancellor and Principal Companion of the Order and the Cabinet Secretary, Mr. Samuel Rose, Cert. Hon. JP, serves as Secretary to the Council.

The purpose of the Council is to vet and consider nominees for membership of the order in accordance with the National Honours and Awards Law, 2010 and the National Honours and Awards (Amendment) Law, 2018.

Annual quotas have also been established for each level of membership as follows:

• Companion- 2 persons
• Officer- 3 persons
• Member- 5 persons

“These types of awards are very important in a country. We have to honour those who are working hard to move us forward now, and inspire those to come to do the same,” said the Premier.

He continued, “Above all else, it is essential that this new system enjoys the confidence of the public. Indeed, confidence is the lifeblood by which such a system is viewed as credible and accepted within the hearts and minds of those living within our community. I was therefore deeply gratified to know that each of these distinguished and highly respected individuals have agreed to serve as members of the Council for the Order.”

Confirming the eligibility criteria for membership, Chief Justice and Chair of the Council, Hon. Anthony Smellie said,  “Caymanians and permanent residents are eligible to be appointed as Ordinary members. Persons other than Caymanians or permanent residents are eligible to be appointed as Honorary Members. UK Citizens who live and work primarily in the United Kingdom or are resident in a foreign country are not eligible to be admitted to the Order.” 

He added,  “Any person may submit a nomination. If you know someone who inspires you, please tell us about them.”

The first investiture ceremony for the relaunched Order of the Cayman Islands will be presented on National Heroes Day in January 2021. The public is reminded that next year’s National Heroes Day will focus on celebrating Cayman Islands’ seafaring heritage and thus nomination forms for the Order of the Cayman Islands are separate and apart from those for National Heroes Day.

Nomination forms may be found at www.gov.ky/order-of-the-cayman-islands or from the Government Administration Building reception desk or via email request to [email protected] and will be available from Tuesday, 27 October.

All forms must be fully completed in order to be considered.

Speaking at the press briefing, the Premier noted that the Government has agreed to leave the choice open to previous recipients of the Order of the Cayman Islands at the level of Commander, Officer and Member to keep their current awards or re-classify their individual awards and receive the appropriate new class in exchange. While no nomination is required for this, the re-classification will only begin after the first investiture ceremony under the new regime in January 2021. 

Photo caption: Photo by Marsha Ebanks, GIS

From left: Cabinet Secretary, Mr. Samuel Rose; Ms Celene Crance; Mr. Norman Bodden, OBE, JP; Chief Justice, Hon. Anthony Smellie, QC, JP; Premier, Hon. Alden McLaughlin, MBE, JP, Mr. James Ryan, CBE, JP and Mr. Malcolm Eden