On request, the Governor-General will send congratulatory messages to Bahamian organizations, including Ministries and Departments of the Government for special anniversaries and special events, such as major national or international conferences which are being held in The Bahamas, cultural festivals and sporting championships.
 

The Governor-General may also agree to provide congratulatory messages to churches observing special anniversaries, pastoral recognition, honouring the work of members or other important occasions.
 

Congratulatory messages for the observance of pastoral anniversaries, dedication anniversaries of churches, or recognition of honourees will normally be approved. However, requests for messages in observance of pastoral anniversaries will only be provided when the standard periods of service is being celebrated; that is the 5^th, 10^th, 25^th, and 50^th anniversaries.
 

Requests for such messages should be submitted in writing one month prior to the event and addressed to the Secretary to the Governor-General. It is important that the requests include the following information:

1. History, goals, achievements, etc of the organization, or the pastor, or the persons being honoured and the reasons therefor;
2. Anniversary/Celebration date, time, theme, venue and schedule of activities;
3. Contact details of person to whom the message is to be sent, including name, postal address, telephone number, email and/or fax;
4. How the Congratulatory Message will be used - newspaper supplement, magazine, newsletter, or other media, or to be read at a function;
5. State the proposed name and date of publication in magazines, newspapers, or other media;
6. The audiences to whom the message will be delivered or circulated
7. The final date by which you would wish to receive the congratulatory message

In order to ensure that messages reach the organizations in time for the celebratory activities, a minimum notice of one month is required. Requests received with less than one month’s notice will be accepted, but there is no guarantee that the messages will be processed in time for the celebration. Requests received within one week of, or after the date of the celebration, will not be processed.