PRESS RELEASE – 25 January 2008

“NEW PRESIDENT FOR HUMANE SOCIETY”
At the Annual General Meeting of The Bahamas Humane Society held at their Chippingham shelter on Tuesday 22 January Mrs Betty Kenning stood down as the society’s longest serving president, having committed some fifty years of continuous, dedicated service to animals throughout The Bahamas.
Executive Director Kevin Degenhard said, “Mrs Kenning’s commitment to speaking up for those who were, and are, unable to speak for themselves has been amazing. Mrs Kenning is an incredibly philanthropic Bahamian and her true love of animals is outstanding. This has been recognised in many ways, not least of which was when the Queen awarded her the Order of the British Empire and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) in the UK awarded her their rare Queen Victoria Silver Medal for services to animal welfare. Having been influenced by her parents, Mr & Mrs Trevor Kelly, but particularly by her mother, Mary, who helped establish our society, Mrs Kenning’s greatest contributions were through her ‘hands on’ support of the staff, volunteers and animals and her substantial contribution of our current shelter, which was opened by the Rt. Hon. Hubert Ingraham in his previous term as Prime Minister. Nobody could ask for more from such a dedicated volunteer.”
He added, “We must recognize the faithful support which we have also received from Mr John Kenning, and we thank him most sincerely.” He added “The BHS Board is planning an emeritus role for Mrs Kenning in recognition of her service, and this will be announced in due course.”
The BHS Board elected Mrs Kim Aranha as their new President who said “I was very honoured to be nominated and I thought very seriously about the responsibility which goes with this role before I accepted. There is a lot of hard work which needs to be done and I am determined to continue improving standards of animal welfare in this country.”
Mr Stephen Turnquest, acting director of operations, said “We are really very fortunate to have Mrs Aranha leading the BHS into the twenty first century. The process of modernizing the society must continue and I know Mrs Aranha has the commitment, energy and determination to do it. Mrs Aranha, too, has a long association with our society and anyone who knows her knows she is forthright. She will say what needs to be said and do what needs to be done.”
Mr Dayne D’Aguilar will continue as vice president and Mrs Doreen Seymour-March will continue as treasurer. The resignation of outgoing Police Commissioner Paul Farquharson was accepted at the AGM and he was wished well in his new diplomatic career. Two new directors were voted on to the board, these being John ‘Peanuts’ Taylor and The Venerable Keith Cartwright, Archdeacon.

Remaining directors of the board are Mr Paul Cleare, Mrs Cheryl Bastian, Mrs Celpha Sands, Police Inspector Andrew Deveaux, Mrs Saskia D’Aguilar, Mr Clive Toomer and ex-officio director Kevin Degenhard.
Mr Turnquest added “The mission of the BHS continues to be to eliminate unnecessary animal suffering and to promote responsible animal ownership through education, encouragement and enforcement. We have a good team of staff and volunteers, and a strong, focused board of directors, so we are ready to face the challenges before us.”