Banks DIH and Digicel rule Mash day road parade

There is yet to be an announcement of who is the designer of the year but after all the revelry for the nation’s 40th Republic anniversary from Church Street to the National Park, Banks DIH and Digicel are the major prize winners for the 2010 costume float parade competitions.

Banks DIH got four first places spots for the best individual King that presented the majesty of the Banks Beer, Best full costume large band than numbered in excess of 200 and best Semi costume band which featured about 300 revellers. That company also won the commercial floats top prize. Additionally Banks DIH also copped two third place prizes in the individual female and queen categories.

Digicel captured three first place spots in the individual male, female and Queen categories as well as one third in the Large full costumes band for their Pollination presentation the featured the Humming Bird, the Honey bee and  the Hibiscus flower all designed by Olympia Sonnoram.

AnSa Mcal (carib) copped three third place spots for individual female, male and king costumes with their message of sand, sea and sun.

The National Aids programme secretariat and the ministry of education copped the first place spots in the full costume medium and small band categories over GPL and the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs respectively.

Region ten and the Ministry of Agriculture won the semi costume bands medium and small category respectively while the Chinese association and the public service Ministry copped the second place spots.

The PPP placed second in the large band semi costumes category while Slingshot’s Guyana: an oasis of hope placed third.

The National Library won the non-commercial float top prize while the Body of Christ and the Chinese Association placed second and third respectively.

In the regional competitions region four was the best copping the top prizes for the individual King and Queen Costume categories but regions one and ten copped the pop honours in the full and semi costume categories. (Mondale Smith)

Prize giving is set for the March 5th

18-year-old finds largest cash amount in Merry Mansion

$1.132M hidden in Manion for next search

Ranole Bourne, age 18, of Durban Street Wortmanville missed a few hours of his prom night last week but has more than 100,000 reasons to celebrate nonetheless. He was one of five who were selected in the first batch to search the Merry Mansion for $1Million cash and managed to find seven envelopes.

In those envelopes his cash totaled $146,000. As the person who found the most cash he qualifies to be in the Merry Mansion for another search next week. A exhausted but beaming Bourne said: “The search was kinda tricky because it was first time search but next week I will be finding much more.” This was minutes before heading off to prepare for his prom. The Richard Ishmael graduate gained passes in seven subjects at the 2009 Caribbean Examinations Council.

Other cash finders were Lynette David who found $105,000 and said she has already topped up with $500 and has also received her message as being in the Digicel pool for likely selection to the top fifteen for the next search.

Kim McCalmont represented her daughter and found $40,000. As she waved the cash she said “I’ll be topping up even more now with my phone cause with Digicel you always win and I want to search this time for me self.”

Berbician Pertab Singh found $65,000 and said he will be using the money to assist with ongoing construction of his house. “Buddy, the search was exciting and me gun be topping up even more cause they got a lot of millions to win and I could do with it to finish me house.”

Winston Gonsalves searched and found $11,000 cash and he said:”This going towards buying credit for sure because I now leave with $11,000 that I did not come with that thanks to Digicel.”

Over all the competitors won in excess of $367, 000 leaving in excess of $632,500 that will be added to next week’s Merry Mansion search.

For the next show, searchers will be looking for $1, 132,500 in the Merry Mansion. Digicel official say that the competition is one of the company’s many ways of giving back to its supporters. In addition to the cash that they found, all five of the participants were presented with new Nokia E63 internet ready cellular phone handsets. Persons qualify for a chance to be in the Merry Mansion simply by topping up their Digicel phones to the value of $500 credit while post paid customers as asked to pay their bills on time to qualify. Fifteen persons are selected randomly through a computerized process via a live show on NCN and qualify to visit the mansion but with the help of Santa clause and his elf only five make it into the mansion where millions of dollars can be found.

Oliver Barnes has the key to the Bimmer

-Gives 50 inch Plazma screen to woman who won nothing

‘Zimm Zimmer’, Oliver Barnes out maneuvered 25 others and found the key to the first Digicel $20M ‘Bimmer’ (BMW) on Saturday night in an atmosphere of euphoria at the Linden Municipal Bus Park and is giving Digicel and God all the glory for his blessings.

While many can sing, “Zimm Zimmer, who got the key to the Bimmer”, on Saturday night businessman Oliver Adrian Barnes aged 34 burst into excited waving and jumping when he found the slip that read “Zimm Zimmer you got the keys to the Bimmer”.

He said “Digicel certainly did pay me back just as the advertisement said and I ain’t going anywhere else. I am sticking to the bigger better network.”

Prior to the first Bimmer Flex promotion draw, 26 competitors had pocketed $100,000 each and had qualified for Saturday’s draw by spelling BIMMER.

With much entertainment from local artistes and DJs Saturday night, the 26 finalists were led to a massive box filled with inflated balloons at the center of a more than 10,000 crowd and plunged into a frenzied search for as many canisters as possible. Each canister had slips with prizes written on them, and after about 15minutes of searching, Barnes began waving frantically signaling that he had found the slip.

The married father of two also produced slips for a 50 inch flat screen Plasma television, $1000 credit and a Digicel cap.

The other competitors included one Indian national, and after the entire episode was captured on two huge projector screens, all produced slips for cash and other prizes but Mae Alexandria Fraser the lone Lindener of Grenville St, Wismar found nothing.

Barnes couldn’t recall how he ended up with the winning prize.

He said that there was a mad scramble, by the contestants and then people were saying, they didn’t have it, so he checked his list of prizes and there it was-he had been holding it in his hand all along without even realising it!

He had the keys to the Bimmer, as well as the television set, a cap and a cell phone.

The decision to give away the television set was a spontaneous one according to Barnes, who himself a Christian, had unknowingly given away the prize, to another believer.

The lucky recipient of that prize, Mae Fraser, said she was indeed blessed and fortunate to have gotten so lucky, as she was the only person among the contestants, who was unable to get anything during the mad rush to find the keys to the Bimmer.

She expressed her sincere gratitude to the benevolent young man, who has made her upcoming birthday on Wednesday, a very special one.

Barnes said, “All the other competitors had something to take home but my heart went out to the Lindener who was disadvantaged by her age and with prompting from a photographer I decided to give as I had received. So I guess she’s happy now with her Flat Screen Television because I realise that with Digicel everyone wins.”

The third person to spell Bimmer through the purchase of six $2000 cards, Barnes, a Data Process outsourcing professional said that the $100,000 won for spelling BIMMER came in handy to pay his bills.

He said the competition was fair and transparent that allowed for anyone to win “but thank God I did”.

He also recalled saying a silent prayer for God’s guidance in the right direction before entering the box.

“Come to think of it, a total stranger from the crowd while I was walking with the rest to the box said to me while I was passing “you are going to win that prize and he was right.”

He admitted that never in his wildest dreams did he think of Bimmer but after winning he said “I’m the owner of that $20m vehicle and this vehicle is proof that God has got a lot in store for me and this car is telling me that God wants me to come up higher in life’s game.”

He has not decided what to do with is new found luxury but can’t wait to have it landed in his yard so he can gradually make it part of his life. He said “This is a $20m car, it is like my new trophy and God is indeed good.”

Barnes lauded Digicel as a great and superior service and advised customers not to give up, but to continue buying the flex cards, which apart from giving them a chance to win the other BMW come September, but will also afford them the opportunity to win other prizes.

Digicel’s head of Marketing, Donovan White, said the response to the promotion was phenomenal, and said he looks forward to giving away the other BMW in September.

Additional reporting by Mondale Smith

Digicel launches Summer Flex promotion

Elephant man, Tanya Stephens, Tessanne Chin to headline concert

Digicel Guyana, along with corporate sponsors Banks DIH and Caribbean Airlines, promises to set the National Stadium ablaze again with another multi-million-dollar ‘summer’ promotion.

In 2008, the companies entertained Guyana with the Morgan Heritage family concert to conclude of its summer sizzle promotion, now on June 26, next, the company is set to offer entertainment seekers and subscribers to its ‘D’Summer Flex’ promotion with a mega international ‘Free’ concert.

Incorporating the events, the management skills of Wild Fire Productions the company yesterday announced that Guyana would enjoy, as part of the launch, mega performances from international acts Elephant man and Tanya Stephens while Tessanne Chin will be making her local debut.

Guyana’s star performers X2 and B-52 will add to the excitement.

Jonathan Beepat, Wildfire CEO/ Creative Director, at yesterday’s press conference said, “The international lineup was selected based on their popularity and abilities to provide a night of entertainment from their great musical repertoire.”

Jerome Softleigh, the Promotions Director assures that the event will be nothing short of excellence, as “sound, stage and lights will be provided by Traveller’s Sounds while the evening’s entertainment will be Trendsetters and Slingerz sounds.

Through a Digicel initiative, Beepat guarantees that entrance to the event is free and Donovan White Digicel’s head of marketing said much will be on the offer to patrons from his company and Banks DIH.

At that event Banks DIH will be launching its Power Stout and its new RYDA Wine, said Carlton Joao, Banks DIH Sales and Marketing Executive.

Explaining that a grand surprise awaits Whyte said that tickets are free with every purchase of $1,500 Top up at Digicel outlets.

By Mondale Smith