A round-up of resolutions

Michael DeSilva, Police Commissioner

Personal: To learn something new every day, to help someone every day and laugh (even at myself) every day.

Bermuda: To see Bermuda print all the good news on the front page and all the bad news on the back page, and then stand back and look at what a difference we made in the way we look at our problems.

Paula Cox, Premier

I have not made any New Year Resolutions as yet. I tend to keep general as opposed to specific. I am older and wiser, so keep more generalist — both personally and nationally, to aim to improve on the last year and work to that end.

Sir Richard Gozney, Governor

Personal: To help to explain to the outside world how Bermuda is reacting to the economic recession.

Bermuda: For the island to entice back more of the holidaymakers from America, the U.K. and elsewhere.

Belcario Thomas, entrepreneur and party promoter

Personal: To improve on Belcario in all ways, and be a better business person, entrepreneur, boyfriend, uncle, godfather, friend and Bermudian than last year.

Bermuda: That our island becomes hungry for success again via dynamic and progressive means, as soon as possible.

Wayne Caines, Digicel CEO

Personal: To be more balanced; ensuring that I develop spiritually (spending time in the word) and quality time with my family, exercising regularly and eating correctly.

Bermuda: That we all balance our lives; loving each other, placing less emphasis on the temporal or material possessions. I would that we be resolute in protecting our vulnerable, our young, our elderly or mentally challenged.

Edward Lamb, Commissioner of Corrections

Personal: To continue being a father to not only my children but all children. To think, speak, act and feel only positive things and not allow even one day to pass without doing something good for mankind. (Plus a list of about 15 other things!)

Bermuda: For people to be less materialistic and negative, and more honourable and positive.

Dwayne Caines, police press officer

Personal: Read more, love more, exercise more, listen more, care more and relax more.

Bermuda: For us to be more tolerant of each other, include one person in our circle of influence that does not look like, sound like or act like us; for everyone to mentor someone; to take the time before we judge someone to get to know a little more about them; and to learn to forgive.

Wayne Furbert, Hamilton Parish MP:

Personal: To be a better husband and to continue to give guidance to my daughter and son so that they can reach their full potential. For it is at the foundation of the home I believe my dream to build a better Bermuda must begin.

Bermuda: My resolution is to continue to proclaim to the residents of Bermuda that there is no mountain that we will not be able to climb,  or river that we will not be able to cross,  or problem that we will not be able to solve, providing we lay down our differences and work towards one goal to make this country better for the next generation. For what lies behind us, and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.

Sheelagh Cooper, Coalition for the Protection of Children

Personal: My New Year’s resolution is to listen more and talk less.

Bermuda: My hope for Bermuda is that we can show each other the love, compassion and understanding that will help to heal the wounds of the past and enable us to move forward as the very special and beautiful community that we can be.

Mark Anderson aka drag queen Sybil Barrington

Personal: My New Year’s resolution is to support the Centre Against Abuse by offering my time, talent and resources, so that we as a community can come together and help teach our children through our example to show more love and respect towards our fellow man.

Bermuda: Let’s stop this violence. It is my hope we can win this. Families can build a stronger bond of unity for a better Bermuda. This is our legacy, we have to protect it. My wish is that all Bermudians become a part of this solution to solve the problem. Remember guys, ‘Bermuda Is Another World’.

Lucinda Spurling, filmmaker

Personal: My New Year’s resolution is to write for two hours every day, a tall order! Hopefully by the end of 2011 I will have at least two additional screenplays.

Bermuda: To listen to community activists like the Coalition for the Protection of Children and to try new and inventive ways to solve the issue of poverty and the spiraling disparity between non-professional income levels and the cost of living.

Duncan Hall, Bermuda Docs director

Personal: To demonstrate, more often, the generous spirit that I so admire in others.

Bermuda: For the political class in Bermuda to appreciate that the electorate wants to see an exchange of ideas, rather than insults — and that, ‘They started it!’ does not constitute mature political discourse.

Uzimon, aka Daniel Frith — musician

Personal: To sit down, take my time, and read a really good book cover.

Bermuda: We as a community need to get together and recognize that the evil from the U.S. is influencing our youth too much. We should unify and move the island further east into the Atlantic.

Gavin Smith , Chewstick founder and CEO

Personal: My resolution is to spend more time with my family, and to record my music!

Bermuda: My resolution for Bermuda is that we all spend more time with our family, if we do, we will be able to fix a lot of these problems in the community from the ground-up.

Chris Lodge, VSB news director

Personal: To attempt to enjoy my retirement (now I am officially a senior citizen) for at least a month, before returning to my favourite pastime of anchoring the morning news.

Bermuda: For more Bermudians to exercise tolerance and restraint this coming year and for our lawmakers to look with vision.

Tom Vesey, former Bermuda Sun editor and current columnist

Personal: Mine is an unfulfilled carry-over from last year (and the year before) — reduce procrastination.

Bermuda: All of us — from the meanest gangster to the loftiest leader — should resolve to talk and listen more, and fight less. It works better. It’s also more interesting.

Laverne Furbert, Senator and BIU organizer

Personal: Since I don’t take New Year’s resolutions seriously and because I believe that laughter is the best medicine, in 2011 I will resolve to get spiritual guidance from Rev. Syl Hayward before speaking on the Motion to Adjourn in the Senate, to avoid being publicly chastised by her.

Bermuda: The people should resolve to ask the Voters’ Rights Association and the Bermuda Environment and Sustainability Taskforce to form a coalition and become the third opposition party.  Of course this would mean that Stuart Hayward would join Kim Swan and Craig Cannonier as Opposition leaders.  Geoff Parker could serve as chairman of the third opposition party.

Glenn Jones, manager of bermuda.com

Personal: My resolution is to write more, especially on my career experiences, in the hope younger people, like my brothers, can learn from my life’s lessons more easily than I did.

Bermuda: My resolution for Bermuda is more courage. A more courageous approach to our economy, our social problems, our legislative agenda, our schools, etc. will put us in a good position for a better year.

Gavin Manders, Bermuda tennis champion, athlete of the year

Personal: To win the Gold at the Island Games and be in the best shape of my life for the Pan American Games.

Bermuda: To come together and realize that we live on one of the most beautiful islands in the world, and there is no need for all the violence. But at the same time, we should focus on all the positive things going on rather then the negative, because there is more positive.

Senator Kim Wilson, Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry

To have a few good dinner parties! Both my husband and I enjoy cooking and entertaining, but family and work commitments make it difficult.

Gerald Simons, president and CEO of the Argus Group

The beginning of a new year is the perfect time to make a commitment to exercise more.  Walking, or taking your existing walking routine to a higher level, is a great way to start 2011 on the right foot. We all know the benefits: greater cardiovascular health, increased energy, and an improved mental state. Expect setbacks in your exercise regime, but stick with it and the benefits will last a lifetime.

Kim Swan, UBP leader

Personally, it is my endeavour to live healthy and to honour that my body is a temple.

Politically, I will work to lead Bermuda’s political realm to be less interested in perceptions and totally focused on addressing the myriad of issues that are adversely affecting the lives of our people and jeopardising the future for Bermuda.

From a community perspective, I will strive to bring about a shift in the mindset of our people that encourages them to look out to protect each other and their environment for future generations.

Choy Aming, filmmaker and co-member of the Bermuda Shark Project

My New Year’s resolution is to try to be the first person to bite a shark. I figure we owe them one!

Rolfe Commissiong, consultant to the Premier

Personal: Well I am loathe to admit this because I have failed so many times; but I intend to redouble my efforts to stop using the ‘killer weed’ tobacco in the New Year. It is truly a horrible addiction, as my lovely wife constantly reminds me.

Bermuda: As to my hope or resolution for Bermuda, it is simply the hope that we weather the current economic challenges facing us, without too much pain and that we use this period to prepare ourselves for the many opportunities that will be coming our way in the future. I am confident that we still have a lot to offer; and my confidence in the Bermuda brand and its people remains undiminished.

Charles Brown, Director of Sustainable Development

At all levels of society, I would like to see a holistic approach to our planning and decision-making; an approach that reflects careful consideration of the relevant economic, social and environmental issues.  My wish is for decisions that acknowledge the limits to our growth and signals a balance between our current and future needs.