Rotary Sunrise opens new high-tech community park

(CNS): The long-awaited Grand Opening of the Cecile Crighton Spotts Newlands Community Park will be held on Wednesday, 8 September at 6pm. This state-of-the-art park includes the usual swings and slides, but also includes free wireless Internet access, 24-hour closed-circuit television security, and a small rock-climbing wall. Other notable amenities in the lushly landscaped park are a basketball half-court, a gazebo, a barbeque area, picnic tables, seating areas, and restrooms. The park is located at the intersection of Spotts Newlands Road and Mocking Bird Crescent.  (Left: Rotary District Governor Diana White packs soil around a newlyplanted tree at the park as Rotary Sunrise President Michael Levitt steadies it.)

More than 60 businesses and private individuals contributed to make the park a reality for the children and families who live in the rapidly growing Spotts Newlands area.

It is the first community park that the Rotary Sunrise club has developed in the Cayman Islands. Several dignitaries will take part in the opening ceremony, including Police Commissioner Baines and Chief Magistrate Ramsey-Hale.

In conjunction with the Grand Opening of the park, Youth Director Frank Balderamos will announce a Youth Photography Competition called 10Ten10 that Rotary Sunrise has planned for 10 October. In addition, because the park opening coincides with International Literacy Day, the club will present 832 books to George Town Primary School, Northside Primary School, and East End Primary School. The books were donated by cruise ship passengers last month through the Festival at Sea – Children’s Book Donation.

As the club’s president, Michael Levitt, observes, "The opening of this community park marks a significant milestone in the history of our young club. Not only will we be celebrating the vision of Rotarian Claude Myles to fulfill our commitment of ‘Building Communities, Bridging Continents’, but also recognising our other areas of focus with Youth and Literacy."

Rotary Sunrise was chartered in 2002 and has members who are mostly young professionals from Cayman and 24 other countries. They have fun contributing to the Cayman community and meet for breakfast at 7 a.m. on Wednesdays at the Grand Old House.