The Island's first chief statistician, Calvin Smith, was honoured during National Statistics Day events yesterday.

Celebrated for the first time here, the event was officially opened by Premier Ewart Brown at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute.

"I am delighted to officially open the Government's first ever National Statistics Day, in collaboration with member and associate member states of the CARICOM region.

"Our goal today is to raise public awareness, and highlight the importance of statistics for economic, financial, business and social aspects of life in Bermuda. Statistics provide a wealth of information about Bermuda — who we are, where we live and what we do. I would also point out that these statistics are also used by individuals — the statistics website had roughly 19,400 hits in 2008."

Dr. Brown also explained that statistics have been used by Government for FutureCare and more recently the upcoming census.

The Premier also gave recognition to Mr. Smith and called him a "trailblazer of statistics".

"In 1970, Mr. Smith was appointed Bermuda's first chief statistician. During his tenure, he made significant contributions to the development of Bermuda's statistical system. Mr. Smith also focused on recruiting young qualified Bermudians for training as professional statisticians.

"In 1970 and 1980, Mr. Smith conducted the first modern censuses in Bermuda, paving the way for our next census day 2010."

Mr. Smith thanked everyone for the award and said: "I am so happy today to see all the wonderful financial statistics this department is producing. It shows that Bermuda has come a long way in terms of relationships between businesses and the Bermuda Government."

Chief statistician Valerie Robinson-James said she hoped the department's work would encourage Bermudians to believe in statistics as some people think they are made up.

"There are three kinds of lies. Lies, damned lies and statistics. I am sure you have heard this. We frown upon these statements because it shows the uncomfortable relationship people have with statistics."

The event continued with a video presentation, testimonials and round table discussions.