Our executive committee saw three new additions: Andrew Vaucrosson as Vice-President, Kiernan Bell as Secretary and Liesl Harmse as Treasurer. Mr. Vaucrosson is a Director and Senior Manager at Zurich Investment Services and is responsible for Operational Risk Management. On a local front, he has helped in starting the Bermuda International Film Festival, the Association of Canadians in Bermuda, has sat on the Advisory Board for Ministry of Culture, and is an original and existing member of the steering committee for the Bermuda Biodiversity Project. Ms. Bell is a partner in the Litigation and Insolvency department of Appleby. She is currently Vice President of the Bermuda Bar Association, a member of the Professional Conduct Committee of the Bermuda Bar, and former chair of the Continuing Legal Education Committee of the Bar. She is a member of the International Bar Association and of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. Ms. Harmse, who is originally from South Africa, is an Senior Associate at PWC with an expertise in Investment Management and Tax Accounting.

We have been fortunate to enhance our management committee by adding several new faces from diverse backgrounds. Plus, we have formed a special events team made up of past Greenrock volunteers and key folks in Bermuda cultural scene. New to the Management Committee is Amy Harvey who has a background in environmental science and spearheaded the Recycle Bermuda campaign while working for the Works and Engineering Ministry of Government last year. She now teaches environmental science at the Bermuda College. Robin Gray is owner Ornamental Ironworks and co-owner of Joshua Bate Trading Bermuda Ltd and has been using and researching alternative forms of energy. Mr. Gray serves on the NTB and has been instrumental in getting ex-convicts back to work. Felix Tod is a musician, producer, composer and sound engineer, as well as being a Mac genius. Mr. Tod is constantly looking at ways to lifestyle more self-sustaining in an eco-friendly way. Mark Booth has a background in biochemistry and is now Risk Modeling Analyst at Aspen Re. Mr. Booth has a keen interest in anything technical or chemical that can help Bermuda sustain itself for future generations. Tina Nash is a guidance counselor at BHS and is passionate about teaching and doing when it comes to the environment. Mrs. Nash exemplifies “reduce, reuse, recycle” in her day-to-day life. Kathleen Keane is a retired lawyer and works for the National Trust. Mrs. Keane was very instrumental behind our Bring Your Own Bag (BYOB) reusable grocery bag initiative. We have also created a special projects and events team that are utilized on a need basis. Eugene Dean, Jon Legere, and Lindsey Ternent are all current members. I would like to sincerely thank all of these new committee members for their time and enthusiasm in Greenrock’s mission. However, there is one member of the management who has been working tirelessly now for almost 3 years on a key component of Greenrock. That person is Dave Zuill, who has built (with creative assistance from Russell DeMoura) and maintained the Greenrock website.

We also saw the addition of four new advisors: John Sharpe and Daren Bascome, Sameer Gupta, and Willi Paul. John Sharpe is the owner of New World Wines and is a former lawyer. He brings a wealth of knowledge and assistance when it comes to fundraising and the charitable arena. On the East Coast of the U.S., Daren Bascome resides in Boston and owns a Commercial Design group. He’s an excellent resource when it comes to gaining knowledge from MIT and Harvard. On the West Coast, our advisors in San Francisco and Berkeley, are Sameer Gupta and Willi Paul. Willi Paul is working on his Doctorate on Sustainable Urban Planning at U.C. Berkeley and has been of great resource for networking with other groups about sustainable issues and green entrepreneurship. Mr. Gupta is a musician and businessman who owns a private record label called Isotope Records and has been helpful in providing leads on up-and-coming artists. Thanks to all of our advisors who have gone above and beyond their call of duty.

In 2006, Greenrock solidified its purpose as a Registered Charity in Bermuda: To be a facilitator, communicator and repository for ideas relating to Sustainable Development. Mr. Vaucrosson was instrumental in building this strategy and vision on what Greenrock should achieve in Bermuda as a charity and how Greenrock should appear publicly (from communications to a branding perspective). Within 2007, the timing of this new direction has proven to be wise since it has placed Greenrock at the forefront of many key current affairs affecting our lives in Bermuda. Along with this, he has also been very instrumental in helping us raise funds for our group and arranging for Greenrock to part of the International Charity Fund of Bermuda (which allows a US Taxpayer to claim a deduction for a charitable gift on their tax return for any contribution made to Greenrock). We re-branded Greenrock with the help of Advantage, particularly Sami Lill and Russell DeMoura, and came up with the tag-line “Changing the Mindset” which refers to people’s acceptance of ideas related to living with a more sustainable lifestyle. We also rebuilt the website and gave Greenrock a whole new “look”. With this imaging, Greenrock is attempting to make sustainable thinking more part of the public consciousness.

In terms of Events, we worked solidly for six months and put on the Heather Nova and Friends Festival of Music. We chose the Arboretum Park and this was the first event of its kind in this particular park. The event was FREE and was extremely well received. The public anxiously awaits the next one! Besides the phenomenal music and scenery, Greenrock used we used this opportunity to showcase the electric scooters and bio-diesel. We also, for the first time at a major event in Bermuda, had only biodegradable picnic-ware used by all of the food vendors. Hence the event was virtually waste-free; also a first for Bermuda. Lindo’s Grocery store now carries the biodegradable picnic-ware and they report it to be selling well.

In the media, Greenrock is gaining a reputation for being a solution-oriented group with a true interest in enhancing ideas about sustainability in Bermuda. We’ve been featured in the Royal Gazette, Mid-Ocean News, and Bermuda Sun, on television and radio, and in the most recent issue of the Bermudian Magazine. The upcoming issue of Bermudian Business Magazine will also feature Greenrock and its facilitator role with green entrepreneurs.

In 2008 and beyond, in terms of projects, we will be continuing on with the AIT School Road Show, E-scooters, Dehumidifying Water Coolers and Bio-Diesel. We will encourage as many stores to stock the BYOB bags and continue with the Eco-products list compilation. We will again do the Eco gift-wrapping at Christmas at the Farmers Market and will expand our presence to the Annual Exhibition and Harbour Nights next Spring. Harbour Nights will be an excellent venue to raise awareness about our organization, sell t-shirts and BYOB bags and encourage other ideas regarding energy saving. Wind Turbines will be a focus this year and we are keeping up with new technologies in this area that are more feasible for use in Bermuda. This will be part of Greenrock’s work to encourage Bermuda to develop a long-term energy plan for the island.

We will be reviewing the Draft Plan for the Planning Development Act, a long overdue document, with the help of experts and then disseminate details of the new plan to the general public.

And finally, we are already working on the next Greenrock Music Festival to be held on Queen’s Birthday Holiday weekend. It will be an event not to be missed.

So we have plenty to do! Again, thank you to the management committee, events and projects teams, advisors and volunteers for your help. Without you we would never have come this far in such a short period of time.

For more complete draft of Greenrock's 2007 Financial Statement please download this PDF file:

 greenrock_fs_final_2007 129.71 Kb