It was an afternoon of love, laughter and precious memories as the Ministry of Labour and Social Security in Port Maria, St Mary, hosted the National Senior Citizens Pre-Valentine’s Day event on Thursday February 12, 2015. The afternoon kicked off with prayer by Rev. Kermitt Jones. The master of ceremonies, Henry Pryce, vice president of the St Mary chapter of the National Council for Senior Citizens, then took over proceedings. He entertained the patrons with his charm, wit and many jokes. In addition, there were many activities which saw participation by some of the seniors. These included couples sharing their love stories and senior citizen groups from various communities making presentations. People from the audience also selected the best dressed male and female senior citizen, along with best overall couple. The best overall couple went to Lorenzo and Verince McNaught, from the Bromley Senior Citizen group. They were celebrating 42 years of marriage. The union of love produced four children and the couple has also adopted other children. “The key to a successful and long marriage is learning to communicate and listen to each other and worshipping God together,” said the smiling Mr. and Mrs. McNaught.The longest married couple at the event was Kermitt and Gloria Jones who celebrated 55 years of marriage. The couple met at the Jackson Pentecostal Church of God in St. Mary and have been together ever since. “Couples have to learn to give and take,” said a smiling and jolly Rev. Jones. The elegant Mrs. Jones added, “Dedication and having Christian values is the key in keeping us together.”Events coordinator, Simone Granston noted that the event was in its second year. “This event is held for the purpose of recreation for seniors and serves in socializing those persons who may be home bound,” she said. The event came to a conclusion with the senior citizens being treated to cake, wine, ice cream and other delights to complete an evening of much love, laughter, reenacting memories and creating new memories to last a lifetime. Some of the companies that provided support to the event include Casa Maria Hotel and Juicy Patties.
