On 29 May, the newly appointed Governor General, Dame Sandra Mason became the patron of St John Barbados in a short ceremony at Government House.
The Order of St John Lord Prior, Sir Malcolm Ross GCVO OBE GCStJ, presented Dame Sandra with the insignia associated with the organisation said,
It is a privilege to be in Barbados to present the honour on behalf of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and I found your Governor-General very gracious and very kind.
The Lord Prior added that the St John Ambulance Brigade had just concluded a two-day conference for the Americas region in Barbados, which included representatives from the other St John Associations from the Caribbean, along with the USA and Canada.
I came to find out what was happening with our sister organisations in the region, to determine how we in the International Office in London can help them, and encourage them to help each other. These islands are not far apart, but they are all independent as far as St John is concerned, so if we find one can help another, we can facilitate that, he concluded.
