COK members attend 'recession proof' seminar in MoBay

No. 63 Monday, March 8, 2010
The inaugural members­only seminar in COK Sodality's 'recession proof' series produced better than expected results with more than 100 members turning out for Wednesday, February 24's event in Montego Bay.

    "We were very impressed by the level of interest shown, with the discussions during the session being quite lively, and with members approaching the COK Sodality team members to continue the dialogue even after the main presentations were over," said Lorraine J. Green, the Credit Union's Manager for Marketing & Business Development.
    The seminar series is called COK H.E.L.P.S. [Helping through Empowerment, Learning & Practical Steps] and is designed to enhance the coping skills of members during stressful economic times - via the attention paid to financial management tools, as well as those which members may use to enhance their spiritual and mental wellness.
    "This is the type of holistic approach we felt was critical to helping COK Sodality members survive in harsh economic conditions such as the ones now being faced all around the globe," said Jacqueline Mighty, the Credit Union's Chief Executive Officer, when she announced the COK H.E.L.P.S. seminars.
    Among speakers at the forum were motivational speaker Dr. Noel Williams, Founder of The Learners' Centre in Montego Bay. He urged participants to acknowledge the importance of embracing education and entrepreneurship - which will help them to become creators of jobs - as means of promoting
sustainable wealth which can help to get Jamaica out of its economic rut. No trained person or nation, he emphasized, can ever be poor.
    In his presentation, Rev. Phileman Samuels of Fresh Bread Ministries International called for a change in the thinking of Jamaicans - inclusive of urging them to desist from living beyond their means, as well as speaking negatively about the country, their families and themselves.
    For his part, Mr. Cleveland Parker from the Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC) gave excellent and practical money management tips such as the need to do comparison shopping and, wherever possible, to shop in bulk; the importance of checking receipts; of ensuring that correct change was received after items were purchased; and of taking to the store only the amount that the shopper intended to spend -leaving extra cash and credit cards at home,
    The other practical information shared at Wednesday's kick-off COK H.E.L.P.S. seminar included the creation of an actual budget - a pro­cess for which banker Stacy Myles provided guidance.