Meet The Team

Finding Inspiration in Every Turn

Join us for an enriching event where creativity meets community spirit! The profits raised from this event will be directly distributed to local schools, supporting classes and projects that enhance our children’s artistic and musical education.
By attending, you are helping to provide essential supplies for art and music programs, ensuring our students have the resources they need to express themselves and thrive. Together, let’s make a difference in the lives of our youth and foster a vibrant culture of creativity right here in our community.
Your participation matters—let's build a brighter future together!

Meet The Team

Bernadette R Hall

Chairlady of ACE

A passionate cultural advocate, entrepreneur, and visionary, Bernadette was born In Grand Bahama West End,

but spent most of her childhood in Hope Town, and attended Hope Town School. Bernadette was raised

with a deep appreciation for the rich heritage of Abaco. After moving to the UK after being adopted from

Tilloo Cay at the age of 11 and traveling extensively through Europe and the US, Bernadette has

cultivated a unique global perspective while staying rooted in Bahamian traditions.

With a background that spans racing cars, creative event planning, and community development,

Bernadette is dedicated to celebrating and preserving the vibrant culture of Abaco. As the founder of the

Abaco Cultural Extravaganza, Bernadette blends creativity and purpose to showcase the

island's music, art, and culinary traditions while fostering community pride.

When not organizing events, Bernadette uses their platform to inspire others, support emerging artists,

and explore innovative ways to connect people through shared cultural experiences.

Jonathan Brown

Treasurer

Born and raised in Nassau, spending his summers in the Abacos, Jonathan has a passion for the ocean, sports, and all things Bahamas. At an early age he traveled abroad to further his education, attending Avon Old Farms High School in Connecticut and Rollins College in Florida. Upon returning home he worked for his family retail business, in downtown Nassau, for 10 years. He worked his way from warehouse supervisor to sales, and then on to management. After moving on from the retail world, Jonathan decided to pursue his passion for construction, and property management, managing several Airbnb properties, and starting his own construction business. His goal is to take all that he’s learned over the years and apply it to the Real Estate Business by helping to knowledgeably guide potential customers in their home buying decision. Joining the experienced team at Bahamas Property Group will certainly give him a well-suited platform to fine tune his skill set, where he’s destined to achieve success. His home base and office will be in Hope Town, a market that he is already familiar with based on his family background in The Abacos. I'm looking forward to being part of Abaco Cultural Extravaganza team. Having spent ten years in retail and many more helping in organizing and participating in community related activities I feel like I bring a wealth of knowledge and experience which will translate well to help guide and assist the Abaco Cultural Extravaganza in becoming a successful, profitable and long-standing event that will help promote the Country and Islands we all love.

Treasurer of BASRA since 2015

Captain of the Buccaneers Rugby Club from 2015-2017

Habitat for Humanity at Rollins College, Phi Delta Theta, from 1999-2002

An aspiring entrepreneur who diagnosed with a rare condition which affected her bones, hearing and sight ,despite all odds she overcame them and graduated and went abroad to study photography and videography.

She spent most of her childhood in Crooked Island and later on moved to Abaco. Though she is an introvert, she is full of personalities. Desmona enjoys fishing, listening to music, cooking exotic meals, and going on adventures and embracing new cultures.

She also enjoy doing art whether it’s painting, drawing, writing poetry, photography and designing, very artistic isn’t she.

Joining the Abaco cultural extravaganza crew, Desmona will share her passion for art and creativity with producing eye catching visuals connecting our community and keeping them in the loop of future events to come!

Desmona O Bootle

Communications Officer

Shawna Tennyson

Fundraiser and Sponsorship Co-ordinator

Shawna Tennyson hails from Denver Colorado, graduating Fort Lewis Colllege with a degree in Business Administration. She went on to work at Next Step Finanical for over 10 years, helping clients refiance or purchase homes.

After the housing crash in 2010 she left Next Step and began work at Litigation Solutions, where she started “Kid Time”; a program raising funds for underprivileged children. The program is still running and is stronger than ever. This is where she began her journey to help others in need.

She met her husband, Jonathan, in Nassau where they had a successful food truck business. During their time off they would visit the outer islands. About five years ago, whille visiting Jonathans family home in Abaco, they decided to leave the big city and raise their daughter in the quiet, slow paced, wholesome town of Elbow Cay.

Shawna is an avid tennis player, loves all things active, loves to cook, photography and music. Shawna is excited to help ACE create strategies and initiatives to help raise money for the Abacos. We will strive to educate locals and tourists alike on the diverse and colorfull history and culture of the Bahamas.

Our Sponsors

our sponsors

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