Three ladies from the Sandys Community Centre journeyed to St. George's to be signally honoured by the Seniors Activity Club of the Royal Artillery Association (RAA). Diana Deroza, supervisor of the Sandys club, and her sisters, Norma Smith and Vernette Hunt, have for the past six years been putting together Christmas hampers, which they distribute to needy families island-wide in collaboration with the RAA.

The Sandys trio and their RAA counterparts style themselves the 'West End East End Central Community Hampers' group. One Christmas they distributed 500 hampers.

Melvin Gibbons, who is vice-president of RAA and president of the Seniors Club, took time out to present the ladies with certificates documenting what he said was the most laudable, voluntary service that entailed considerable time and energy collecting the items for the hampers and then distributing them. The occasion for the presentation was the annual ball the activity club sponsors to honour its president. One of the highlights was the performance by the Brass Section of the Band of the Bermuda Regiment under Warrant Officer Nelson DeGraff.

Being a military unit, the band got off the mark first with a march, then broke into some jazz, rock and roll, Basin Street Blues and music from Broadway shows, all to the great delight of the seniors present.

Photos: W/Officer Nelson Degraff (top right) of the Bermuda Regiment Band received the personal thanks of RAA member Dorothy Esdaille for their performance at the President's Ball of the Seniors Activity Club.

At the same time she related how her late husband was for many years a Militia bandsman; and officer DeGraff, in turn, was able to voice his pleasure at having had her grandson serve under him in the Regiment Band.

Another sentimental moment was when Officer DeGraff (below right) presented the young Kallun Thomas the band's drummer, who only recently graduated at age 18 to the rank of Bandsman from his previous status of 'boy' soldier. That was the cue for Louis Ming, above to congratulate Kallun and relate how he, Ming, at age 14 had joined the old Militia Band and served for more than a decade later.

Seniors Club president Melvin Gibbons, a son of Retired Bermuda Regiment Bandmaster Horace Gibbons, is seen in the main photo above with Mrs. Patience Godfrey, second from the right, who is activities co-ordinator for the RAA club, along with the trio of honorees from the Sandys Community Center. Others are Norma Smith, Vernette Hunt and Diana Deroza, Supervisor of Sandys Centre.