Guyanese amongst Brooklyn’s 31 ‘extraordinary women’
GUYANESE-born Phillipa Morrish, a certified Etiquette Consultant and Founder of Etiquette Training International (ETI), is on the Kings County District Attorney’s list of ‘31 Extraordinary Women’ of  Brooklyn to be honoured for the year 2011, in recognition of their service to their communities.

Kings County District Attorney, Charles J. Hynes made the announcement last week, naming the 31 ‘Extraordinary Women’ who will be honoured at a prestigious ceremony in Kings County on March 29.

The gesture is part of the District Attorney’s annual observances for Women’s History Month.  International Women’s Day was observed last Monday.

About Phillipa Morrish
Phillipa Morrish is Founder of Etiquette Training International, a finishing school programme dedicated to promoting etiquette and protocol skills necessary for success in the 21st Century.

She began her impressive teaching career in her post-high school years when she spent time in the jungles of Guyana with the Macushi tribe.  Through the Ministry of Education, she taught general education subjects to the children during the day, but independently created a women’s group to teach their mothers social and religious subjects one evening per week.  For her, it was a labour of love, and she encouraged them to find their voices, insist on community respect, write letters to address issues, and also discuss religious views.  On a voluntary basis, she worked extensively, touching the lives of many, before migrating to the United States of America in 1982.

On arriving in the United States, she now recalls, she quickly realized that her academic education, though excellent, did not automatically translate into the social skills needed for success.   She very quickly gelled in, and proceeded to qualify herself further.

Her undergraduate studies done at the University of Guyana and Universidat diAruba earned her a B.A. in English degree.  She is also a graduate of the Ophelia DeVore School of Charm, New York City, and Minding Manners, London, England.

Now a Certified Protocol Consultant, Morrish brings her international experience gained through years of travel throughout Europe, Asia, and North America to ETI’s global training sessions.

She has successfully taught business and social etiquette programmes to adults and teens since 1999.  She has taught professionals such as Federal Correction Officers in Brooklyn, New York; Teens for Success, Clermont, Florida, and private clubs such as the Ladies’ Hibernians, Brooklyn, New York. In addition, she teaches high school seniors at private schools such as the Fontbonne Hall Academy, and has also taught at Adelphi Academy in Brooklyn, New York.

Mrs. Morrish has also been honoured by several civic organizations.  Some of the awards and citations she’s received over the years are:

•    Citation from the City of New York for exemplary community service
•    Citation from the Fort Hamilton US Army Base for service to military members and their families
•    She’s been honoured by ‘Services for the Blind and Multi-handicapped’ as one of their ‘Three Outstanding  Women’
•    Honoured in 2010 by the ‘American Council for Minority Women’  for her work in empowering Minority Women through education and o  School of Charm, New York City, and Minding Manners, London, England.

With a passion for reaching out to help others, for many years, she’s been involved in various voluntary projects in the community of Bay Ridge where she resides. She’s started a scholarship fund in memory of Behlen, a friend and community activist who died in 2001. With effect from 2002, high school students who’ve displayed exemplary community service in Bay Ridge have been eligible to apply for grants which are collected from community events.

In addition, Ms Morrish has taught Etiquette to ‘at risk young men and women’ in  Florida, in addition to having formulated a training programme for women who need enhanced social skills to transition into a higher level of living.  Known as the ‘Chrysalis Project’, the programme targets women who need a boost in their self esteem, in order to help them live productive lives.  More recently, (on March 2) she conducted a workshop for some of the female soldiers there.

Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle,  Ms. Morrish ,who said the foregoing projects have all been done on a voluntary basis, modestly remarked:  “I see voluntary work as my ‘tithe’ or my way of giving back some of what I have been given.  I believe in the old adage: ‘To whom much is given, much is required.”’

And since migrating from Guyana 29 years ago, Morrish, who visited Guyana twice for last year,   made her big impact here last summer when she began teaching etiquette and protocol skills. The programme has been very well received, and plans are afoot for her to do further training here later this year.