Having started an accounting firm in 1971 and having served as the Managing Partner of Deloitte & Touche, Bahamas to 1994, Sir Franklyn’s current business interests include:

Chairmanships:

• Sunshine Holdings Limited, one of the oldest and largest conglomerates in the Bahamas.
• Focal Holdings Ltd., a company listed on the Bahamas International Stock Exchange and The Bahamas and Turks & Caicos distributor of Shell;
• Arawak Homes Limited, which has developed more houses than any other company in the history of The Bahamas;
• Sunshine Insurance (Agents & Brokers), The Bahamas correspondent of Marsh, the world’s largest insurance brokerage;
• Royal Star Assurance Ltd., one of the largest general insurers in the Bahamas and The Cayman and with the highest AM Best rating of any general insurer in the Bahamas;
• Sunshine Finance Ltd.; a boutique lending firm;
• Jack’s Bay Developers Ltd., a substantial land developer at Eleuthera, Bahamas; including the site of the Caribbean’s first Tiger Woods designed playground.
• Sunshine Group of Companies, itself a holding company with interests in the bakery business, as a retailer and in the armored car services industry.

His other activities include membership on the Board of Advisors to the President of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova, Scotia, his college alma mater. In 1972, he was elected to Parliament; one of the youngest persons to have ever been elected. He has served as Chairman of The Council of The College of The Bahamas (now the University of the Bahamas and which operates The Franklyn Wilson Graduate Centre; as the founding Chairman of each of The Bahamas Chapter of The Young President’s Organization (‘YPO’) and The World President’s Organization (‘WPO’). Sir Franklyn was the founding Chairman of Junior Achievement Bahamas and, for almost 10 years, served as a Director of Junior Achievement Worldwide; and as a Trustee of Elmira College at Elmira, New York. He has been honored by Her Majesty the Queen as a Knight Commander of The Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George, by the Government of The Bahamas for contributions to National development, by The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce as its Distinguished Citizen and almost 30 years later with the Chamber’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Several National Trade Unions, including the country’s largest, have honored him for his role in the advancement of the overall labor movement. Forty years after being one of twelve incorporators of The Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants, he received that organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from St. Barnabas Anglican Episcopal Church. He is the “Chairman Emeritus” of YPO. Has been awarded a “Global Trumpet Award” by the Trumpet Foundation and inducted into the International Walk of Fame at the Center for International Human Rights in Atlanta. His wife, an attorney by profession and a Queen’s Councilor, has twice served as President of The Senate of The Bahamas and the couple has three children and nine (9) grandchildren.

Websites of interest:

www.arawakhomes.com
www.marathon.bahamas.com
www.sunshine-insurance.com
www.jacksbayclub.com

Birthday:

I was born 28^th January 1948 to the proud presents of Jestina Forbes and Stanley Theodore Nairn and given the name Eugene Charles Nairn.

SIBLINGS:

Clyde Forbes, Reno Forbes, Mildred E. Nairn Adderley, Rosita L. Nairn Ali, Aiden Nairn, Theophilus  Nairn Deceased.

EDUCATION:

Primary School: Attended Our Lady’s Catholic from 1953 – 1963 graduated

Secondary School: Attended Saint Augustine’s College from 1963 – 1968 grauduate with Honors.

College: Florida Memorial College (University) from 1968 – 1972 BsC in Accounting. Graduated.

Graduate School: University of Miami, Miami Florida MBA 1976  – 1979 Graduated.

WORK EXPERIENCE:

National Insurance Board 1972 to 1978

Bahamas International Trust Company  (BITCO)1978  to 1979

CitiBank 1979 to 1980

July 1, 1980 Imperial Life Insurance Company a subsidiary of Imperial Life Canada.  I served as a manager, at Imperial Life, for many years, winning numerous managers awards thereby qualifying for company sales conferences and The President Club. I qualified for the MDRT five (5) times. During my time at Imperial Life I conducted LIMRA training courses and a course in Professional Skills Selling Skills for over 15 years or more. I Retired in 2008. Since then I have conducted The New Advisors Business Building training course for new agents for (6) six years.  Over these many years scores of agents passed through the courses I taught. I always believe in giving back to my profession and to encourage all agents to study for their CLU, and CFP and for managers to study for their CLF designation and the CIAM.

Insurance Certificates:

Associate , Insurance Agency Administration  1996 LOMA, INC.

LIMRA INTERNATIONAL, 92^nd Profitable Management workshop in 1995

Life Management Institute, lOMA. Fundamentals of life and health insurance 1996

Chartered Insurance Agency Manager  designation 2004, Limra International .

The American college, Pennsylvania , Chartered Leadership Fellow  2002

ORGANIZATION INVOLVEMENT

Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity , INC. Member and Past Polemarch. I was initiated into the fraternity in fall of 1969 at Epsilon Mu Chapter at Florida Memorial College /University. I am a chartered member of the Bahamas Alumni Chapter 1973. I was inducted into the Greek Hall of Fame April 2022.I was made NPHC Frater of year 2017. I am a life member of the Southern Province and the grand chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, Inc. which was founded January 5, 1911.Kappa man of the year 2016.

Free Masonry: Initiated into the order 1980. Positions held are as follows, Worshipfull Master of Columbus Lodge #16, Past Senior Grand Warden, Illustrious Grand Inspector of James E. Morley Consistory. I was member of the Holy Royal Arch,The Knights Templar, The Commandery and Member of the Grand Inspectors General 33 and last degree. Presently, I am  not active since 2008.

SACA: Past president of Saint Augustine’s College Alumni, Member of Saint Augustine’s Board of Directors and serves as the chairman for fund raising for the sporting facilities at SAC, Past member of the Catholic Board Of Education, Assistance coach of Saint Augustine’s Senior boys soft ball team which dominated the sport for many years.

I am member of Our Lady of The Holy Souls Catholic Church located on Deveaux and Young Streets, and serve as its’ Vice -President I serve as the vice president. I also as an extraodinary    minister of the Eucharist.

I am a member and past president of the Diocesan Chorale and sings second base. I made many travels with the group promoting the Bahamas.

NPABO: I am a member of the New Providence Amateur Basketball Organization as a  refferee for over 40 years.

Marriage:

On August 6, 1977 I married  Beverley Crawley (45) years. We are the proud parents of four children; Dorrena Nairn Davis, Genaye Nairn Sturrup, Geonese Nairn, Gevon Thomas Nairn. We have six (6) Grand Children: Delicia Davis Lucas, Marlon, Zaria, Tykeira, Brandon, Matthias and Greyson. One great grandson Luke Davis.

Community Service:

Performed community services for the Benedictine sisters steakout, The Nazareth center steak-out , Saint Augustine’ sCollege steak-out and Our Lady of the holy Souls Steak and The men’s association steak and souse out. 

Presently I am retired and have taken up the sport of golfing. I am still in the learning process and a work in progress.

Shelly P. Wilson (nee Moultrie) is Vice President – Operations, of Sunshine Insurance (Agents & Brokers) Ltd. with shared responsibility for the Company’s portfolio of commercial clients.  Shelly provides assistance to the President of Sunshine Insurance with management and reporting. Her additional duties include analyzing and revising the Company’s procedures to improve operational efficiency. 

Shelly joined Sunshine Insurance in 2007; having previously worked for eight years at Credit Suisse Private Banking.  To facilitate her career transition from banking to insurance, Shelly has participated in extensive underwriting training programs with some of the largest insurance companies in The Bahamas. Additionally, she participated in numerous training opportunities in the USA, UK and Dominican Republic, as a result of Sunshine Insurance’s correspondent relationship with the global broker Marsh. Shelly is a professionally qualified with the general insurance designation of ACII (Advanced Diploma in Insurance from the Chartered Insurance Institute of England). Her academic background includes a Bachelor of Science (Summa Cum Laude) in Political Science from Barry University, Florida and a Master of Business Administration (Honors) from Nova Southeastern University, Florida. Shelly has held the title of Vice President of Sunshine Insurance since 2011.

Shelly is committed to providing the highest quality of service to Sunshine Insurance’s clients and stakeholders, drawing on her twenty-six years of professional experiences. In service to her community, Shelly is actively involved as member of Christ Church (Anglican) Cathedral, The Zonta Club of New Providence and The Nassau Chapter of The Links, Incorporated. Shelly is married to Mr. Franon Wilson and they have two teen-aged children.

Ms. Ann Marie Major joined Family Guardian as an agent in the Financial Services Division in November, 1997 and by the following year, earned the title of Rookie of the Year. In 2001, despite the devastating loss of her husband Gerald Major to a long time battle with brain cancer, she became a first time qualifier for the Million Dollar Round Table and was also named Family Guardian’s Agent of the Year for Investment Premiums.

Ms. Major’s leadership and steadfast dedication to her career and clients was evident as she continued to rise in the ranks of Family Guardian’s Financial Services Division. In 2004, she was elevated to Agency Manager and by the following year, her agency had produced 5 Million Dollar Round Table qualifiers (herself included) and to date, her agency has been the only agency to boast of such an achievement. Ms. Major served in this role of Agency Manager until 2014 and during her tenure, succeeded in producing a total of 6 Million Dollar Round Table Qualifiers, while also earning the title of a lifetime member of the Million Dollar Round Table in 2011. This is a testament of truly leading by example!

In 2015, Ms. Major transitioned from her role as Agency Manager to Executive Agent, and in 2016 she had earned the title of Million Dollar Round Table Honor Roll member. In total, she is a 22 year Million Dollar Round Table qualifier and has numerous sales conventions, agency awards, manager’s awards and persistency awards under her belt. 

While maintaining her position as Executive Agent,  Ms. Major was appointed Strategic Planning Co-Ordinator of Family Guardian’s Financial Services Division, and has played a key role in the succession planning and continued growth of this division. Further cementing her as true leader in this industry, her training and guidance has aided in her sole protégé, earning the title of Family Guardian’s Rookie of the Year in 2018, Agent of the Year in 2019 and in 2022, becoming a first time qualifier of the Million Dollar Round Table. In this regard, she is living proof that there is no harm in creating your legacy and passing the baton.

During her career, Ms. Major has positioned herself as a force to reckon with in this industry and she continues to be an example for agents and managers alike. We congratulate her on her many achievements over the years and for this well-deserved recognition by GAMA Bahamas!

Patrice Major is a consummate sales and career planning professional with more than twenty years combined corporate experience. She is a renowned industry expert and her attained insurance acumen serves to undergird her genuine care and compassion for others. She joined the insurance industry in 2004 and has achieved a cadre of awards and accolades evidenced by stature in the corporate society.

She has been the Executive Agent of the Year more than ten times – a feat she accredits to God and her clients for without neither, she would not be the success she is today. Moreover, Patrice has been runner-up for Executive Agent of Year for more than three times, having consistently won Sales Champion of Year, Persistency Award, Student Accident Award and other noted industry accomplishments.

An honors graduate of R. M. Bailey, she earned her Diploma in 1987 and continued to develop her craft before entering the workforce. As an avid reader and activist for educational pursuits, Patrice has achieved several certifications but the pinnacle of which was in 2019, where her passion for sales and drive for institutional advancement led to the attainment of the Certified Business Professional Designation in Sales – the hallmark of scholastic excellence for salespersons.

Although an Executive Agent with BAF Financial and Insurance, Patrice has a rich history that transcends various industries. In her previous career, was the Office Manager with Dykton Mechanical, where her ten-year tenure honed her leadership skills, organizational development and love for upward mobility. Her rigid, uncompromising work ethic and professionalism belies her honesty and integrity – traits far too rare in the corporate world today.

            In 2020, after ten consecutive years as a Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) qualifier, Patrice was inducted as a Lifetime Member of the prestigious sales club, commemorating decades of hard work and resilience. This year, she set out to accomplish MDRT in the first quarter and succeeded. Her life is a testament to her unwavering Christian beliefs, unyielding familial dedication and unrelentless pursuit for success. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, cooking and spending time with her granddaughters (Gabriella & Alaia) and adopted twins (Camille & Clinton). She is the wife to one husband (Gordon), mother to two children (Travis & Takia) and support-system to hundreds of clients across the length and breadth of the Bahamas.              

Following four years employed as Public Relations Executive at the Ministry of Tourism, Deveral Ferguson was restless for change. She wanted a career that was fulfilling and rewarding. A colleague introduced her to a manager at the former Imperial Life Insurance Company of Canada and the “rest is history”. Her career in the Insurance Industry began in August 1982 with Imperial Life.

Self- motivated, goal orientated, combined with the Company’s structured training program led to early success. She attained qualifying and life membership in MDRT in 1993. She is a member of MDRT Honor Roll, and the MDRT Quarter Century Club. She has participated in MDRT’s Mentoring program. She was a consistent MDRT Foundation contributor, and assisted with the installation of a $100,000 playground set Foundation members installed in West End, Grand Bahama in 2005.

She is the recipient of numerous Company awards. In 2000, The Bahamas Association of Life & Health Insurance recognized her for outstanding performance and conservation of business. In September 2007, The Insurance Institute of The Bahamas awarded her ‘The Ordinary Agent of the Year’. Through consistently high production and exceptional persistency levels, she has qualified and attended numerous conferences and incentive trips around the world including to: Jamaica, Hong Kong, Rome, Toronto, Quebec, Albertha and Vancouver, Canada, Cancun Mexico, Switzerland, Barbados, Tunisia.

In December 2015, her stellar production and consistently high business conservation was recognized by Colina when she was inducted in the Company’s Wall of Fame. This is the highest honor offered by Colina, and is bestowed on the Company’s most distinguished advisors.

Deveral received her education at Government High School, and Mold Allen High school in North Wales. She graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BA in History and Political Science from McMaster University, Hamilton Ontario, Canada, and a Master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Waterloo, Waterloo Ontario, Canada.

Deveral is actively involved in her Church and Conference. She served as treasurer of her conference from   2014 – 2017 .  She serves on the Division of Property and Finance, and the Division of Education and Training at the Conference . She serves on the Usher Board, the Ladies Fellowship, and The Board of Adult Ministries at Church. She is an active member of the Andros Missions Committee, and has served as  its Treasurer since 2012.

Deveral enjoys travelling, reading and gardening. She is married to Ashward Ferguson. They have three daughters; Dana (Elsworth), Sasha (Dodrick) and Ashley Paige. They have two grandsons and one granddaughter.                                                                  

Learning, Teaching and Sharing

To most of the world, the Bahamas is a vacation paradise. It is also, however, a growing market for the financial service industry and home to Gregory H. Bonamy, a 37 year MDRT member from Nassau. The life insurance and financial service industry “is still emerging in the Bahamas,” said Bonamy. “Local companies are beginning to assert themselves, to grow and to provide for the people in our country.” Our industry is the only vehicle that would provide security for our people. It is necessary for the health and growth for our country. “Although Bahamians are the largest per capital purchases of life insurance, it is presents a real mystery to many of them,” Bonamy continued. “They don’t fully understand the need for life insurance, let alone the bewildering array of products on the market today.” And although life insurance doesn’t have the same glamore as some of the financial products available, it is still one of most important purchases one will make. “My job” he said, “is to educate them and help them purchase a product the fits into their financial plan.” Educate others is nothing new to Bonamy. After graduating from Lingston University, Lingston, Oklahoma in 1975, he taught grades 11 and 12 at the Government High School for 4 years. He then taught at St. Augustine’s College, Nassau, from 1980 to 1982. Although teaching was emotional rewarding, he made very little money. While reading the newspaper, he came across a small advertisement for a job offering approximately 3 times the annual salary he was making as a teacher. He answered the advertisement, and on December 4, 1980, became a part-time agent at Peter Wilson Agency for Colina Insurance in Nassau. After 2 years, he left that firm and went full time at Crown Life.

Learning and teaching

Bonamy spent the next few years learning as much as he could about the insurance industry and financial products. He had help, especially from the agency’s director, Terrance V. Newton (a 3 year MDRT member from Nassau).

“He was a very ‘hands-on’ type of guy,” Bonamy said. “He walked me through every situation, helped me learn what I needed to know.” Newton’s example inspired Bonamy, who always tries to help younger and less experienced agents.

“The saying ‘If I have accomplished because of someone, let someone accomplish because of me’ means something to me,” Bonamy said. “I like to give back because I’ve gotten so much from this business.”

“I always try to offer advice, to give hints and tips that would help others succeed,” he said. One way he helps others is by encouraging them to qualify for MDRT. He first heard about MDRT in 1983 when a colleague A. Michael Romer, a 13 year MDRT member returned from 1984 annual meeting in New York, New York. Listening to Romer talk about the sessions, the sales ideas and the camaraderie made a definite impression on Bonamy. He was determine to join this organization that seemed to have so much to offer his career. He qualified and became a first year MDRT member 1985.

Life Skills

In summoning the discipline to qualify for MDRT in less than a year, Bonamy only had to look back on his childhood and the value he learned from his parents. The oldest of 5 children, he was responsible for supervising his younger siblings.  Bonamy’s father was automobile mechanic and his mother was a housewife. Their home life was highly organized, centering around discipline and hard work. The importance of a good education was highly emphasized. “My parents have always been a source of inspiration,” said Bonamy. “Although of the privilege, all 5 of us received a high quality of education at private schools.  My parents showed us, through their example, that hard work and discipline leads to a good life.”

This example helped him immensely in both teaching and working in the financial world.  The skills he learned while supervising his siblings- time management, organization and persistence – were extremely valuable life skills, he said.

Sharing Life’s Lessons

Bonamy helps those outside the financial industry as well.  In 1989, he funded a two year scholarship to the Bahamas Hotel Training College in Nassau.

“One of my former collegues had moved to a government position,” Bonamy said, “ and she was looking for sponsors to help educate and train youth.”

Thankful for the quality education he’d received, Bonamy was glad to help others get an education.  “One of the opportunities was to sponsor scholarships to the Hotel Training College…I took that opportunity.”  His contribution helped him in an unexpected way.  He knew he’d feel good about helping others, but was surprised when he received a write up in the local newspaper.  The article mentioned his profession and generated some business.

Bonamy has passed on his lessons about hard work and the importance of education.  His Son Ramon, now a University Graduate, Husband and Father. His Wife Sylvia of 40 years, now retired was a Vice President in Financial Control at Citi trust (Bahamas). She worked for the company since 1972 .

He continues to share his knowledge, of both life and the industry, with his clients, as well.

“Our role as agents in this business is to turn people’s financial dreams into reality.” Bonamy said. “This requires passion, purpose and profound optimism to help our clients develop those dreams.

“As I meet people from day to day, I’ve discovered one thing…… there’s a huge void in most people’s lives, regardless of how successful they are.  They need someone to talk to, someone they can trust.  My job is to fill that void.  My job is to provide solutions when other solutions have failed.”