I nominate the person above because of his tenure and experience as a Cayman Islands Seafarer. Mr. Parsons began his career in seafaring and the early age of 17. Although he was "supposed" to be at least 18 to start his career, his family needed the financial assistance and with no work in Grand Cayman in the late 40's, as a young Caymanian man, he moved forward into seafaring. Mr. Parsons has been to almost every country in the world, with the exception of Russia and Australia, as he worked on many seagoing vessels that transported food, oil and even dynamite. One of this "favorite" stories to tell is about the shipwreck he lived through during a passage from Tampa, FL to Columbia. As the ship entered the Pacific Ocean it encountered bad weather along with the fact it was carrying dynamite and ultimately sank. Mr. Parsons lived through this and recalls being asked to navigate the small boat the men were on for over 20 hours until they were finally picked up and rescued. He said he navigated it "straight" even though it bounced around on the water like a toy. His many stories about the terrible sunburn he received while in the Persian Gulf, the very hot coffee that always was available on the cold wintery mornings, shipwrecks, and of course the happy times of returning home to the Cayman Islands. Mr. Parsons is now 90 years old and lives near his family home in West Bay. He is a devoted husband to his now deceased wife, Leta Parsons and father to his four daughters and eight grandchildren. His stories of his seafaring days are the highlight of our family visits and of great pride to his family. Mr. Parsons is a good Christian man and to be recognized for his contributions to the development of the Seafaring industry in the Cayman Islands would be a great accomplishment to his life.

I nominate the person above because of his tenure and experience as a Cayman Islands Seafarer. Mr. Parsons began his career in seafaring and the early age of 17. Although he was "supposed" to be at least 18 to start his career, his family needed the financial assistance and with no work in Grand Cayman in the late 40's, as a young Caymanian man, he moved forward into seafaring. Mr. Parsons has been to almost every country in the world, with the exception of Russia and Australia, as he worked on many seagoing vessels that transported food, oil and even dynamite. One of this "favorite" stories to tell is about the shipwreck he lived through during a passage from Tampa, FL to Columbia. As the ship entered the Pacific Ocean it encountered bad weather along with the fact it was carrying dynamite and ultimately sank. Mr. Parsons lived through this and recalls being asked to navigate the small boat the men were on for over 20 hours until they were finally picked up and rescued. He said he navigated it "straight" even though it bounced around on the water like a toy. His many stories about the terrible sunburn he received while in the Persian Gulf, the very hot coffee that always was available on the cold wintery mornings, shipwrecks, and of course the happy times of returning home to the Cayman Islands. Mr. Parsons is now 90 years old and lives near his family home in West Bay. He is a devoted husband to his now deceased wife, Leta Parsons and father to his four daughters and eight grandchildren. His stories of his seafaring days are the highlight of our family visits and of great pride to his family. Mr. Parsons is a good Christian man and to be recognized for his contributions to the development of the Seafaring industry in the Cayman Islands would be a great accomplishment to his life.