Flipping Grand Bahama

Following the recent Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce Installation I had to ask for the new presidents (Kevin Seymour's) speech just to share here. It is a speech of hope and a longing for change. Out of respect for the entire body of work, I hereby present the speech in its entirety. “THE PATIENT” ANALOGY I begin my presentation by asking you to indulge me for a few minutes while I share with you a highly improbable, fictional scenario involving a hospital patient: A patient arrives at the emergency room of the hospital seeking urgent medical attention for his condition. As usual, the hospital’s emergency room is crowded and therefore after registering, the patient has no choice, but to take a seat in the waiting area just outside the emergency room. The attending physician and his team are given the patient’s file for review. They note that not long ago, the patient use to be a model of health, strong, muscular and attractive. However, due to certain destructiv...

Flipping Grand Bahama would be remiss if we did nothing to member one of the founding investors in the creation of Freeport .. Sir Jack Hayward. For years this author has been trying to get that all exclusive chat with him but had to be satisfied with his recount of the old days when he spoke at a Chamber meeting last year. It was a joy to film that despite the fact that my tripod was no where to be found that day.  Sir Jack was not just interested in the development of Freeport/Lucaya, he had certain aspects he was particularly fond of. One being theatre and he along with others are responsible for the formation of the Freeport Players Guild and the Regency Theatre. Thanks from Freeport Friends and Chris Child The tribute to Sir Jack from Bahamasinfo.com said, "it is without a doubt that the Grand Bahama community and the world at large have lost a true thespian. "Sir Jack Hayward was an iconic figure for live theatre in Grand Bahama.  ...

This week in Grand Bahama we saw the opening of a new insurance company for which the Prime Minister and others were present. Of note the Prime Minister Perry Christie said that it is important for officials to be positive about everything in their country as he chided the Deputy Leader of the Opposition Free National Movement Peter Turnquest who said the people of Grand Bahama needed to know about the state of this island with the upcoming changes set for the Hawksbill Creek Agreement. Mr. Christie stated that he has a few persons already working on the best way to settle the matter of the tax concessions that will be coming to an end as of August 2015 which at present could have some devastating results. He said that the government will have an answer in time to report back to the country that will be in the best interest of all. He noted that he has been criticized for being so optimistic in his mid year budget speech recently, but he said he has to be optimistic about the f...

Some time ago I learned that the true indicators of a turn around and stability of economy include the state of real estate and construction. In Grand Bahama this indicator has told many a tale of building and recession and building and recession. At present along with most of the rest of the world the situation is sluggish but according to what is going on in the real estate business there is a bit of movement. The movement is not huge nor is it with new built homes. Most of it has been with the repossessed homes in this buyers market. This means persons are able to purchase homes at quite a reduced rate. What I have found though is that a lot of people to cut out the bank and try to get homes that are available on rent to own terms. This is a great idea if they could find these homes but past stories have made this option rather slim to nil. But more persons are again owning homes or struggling with the banks to get their own homes back on the payment tracks. There are mo...

Many say the trend of Grand Bahama is to go up and down... boom and bust then repeat. Some have only seen a steady decline but a lot feel that there is recovery always just beyond the next bend in the road. As the year began there have been predictions on what this year would be like ... what the future holds. Much optimism follows. Sweet Affairs, a confectionary business that opened about two years ago and was closed last year was recently bought out by another investor... local... and is back in business on Queens Highway. A water company has moved up and out and is on Queen's Highway. Owner of Coral Springs Water Company Danny Crawford took over the old Coopers Laboratories across from Dolly Madison and recently held an official opening. Restaurants like blinkers in neon signs have been opening and closing ... many question the thoughts and business sense that goes into them but "nothing beat failure than to try". On a rather sad note more recently one of...

Hello on this fine breezy morning. A lot has happened in the past year and a half of Flippinggrandbahama.blogspot.com and only just recently I came across the demolition of four building of the old Freeport Inn I have confirmed that East Sushi Restaurant is moving back to Port Lucaya, but on a ground level, and more changes are in store for Grand Bahama. As I uncover and try to promote the good, I too am making moves ... moving to the world of .com so catch me as of this Friday at FlippingGrandBahama.com . I'm still working on it so bear with me at this point. The work will be more intense and if you hear of any great person or great work that I don't mention, I encourage you to let me know at flippinggrandbahama@gmail.com. I look forward to many years of sharing the positive vibes. Also if you want to advertise your business here for a nominal fee, contact me at the above email as well. To date we have had over 10,000 views from all over the world includin...

And on the positive side.... What is there to say about the future of Freeport? It's all positive. Created from a dream by one man, it is returning with the will and creative imagination of many who remembers the good ole' days. Freeport was planned strategically by investors in the 1950s and 60s, but today as technology and entrepreneurs look at the possibilities in pockets we see great things beginning to come together. Rumours persists of a sale of the Xanadu Resort and Marina but little is yet know if it is true and what will be come of the property that was once owned by Howard Hughes, U.S. tycoon, investor, inventor, aviator, aerospace engineer, film maker and philanthropist. Memories Resort is looking forward to full occupancy throughout the season and other persons are beginning to take a second look at Freeport seeing all its wonderful potential. If you have any disbelief then you need to check out the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence ...