Philip Armbrister and Chelina Williams-Allen were named Manager and Administrative Assistant of the Year, respectively, during the Fourth Administrative Professionals Awards Ceremony at Le Chateau on the Green on Wednesday, April 22, during a luncheon. Shown from left are: The Hon. Shane Gibson, Minister of Labour, National Insurance and the Public Service; Laurie Bullard, chairman, Northern Region Public Service Committee; Mr. Armbrister; Mrs. Allen; Donna Bastian, chairman, Administrative Professionals of the Year Committee; and the Hon. Dr. Michael Darville, Minister for Grand Bahama. (BIS Photo/Vandyke Hepburn)
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FREEPORT, Grand Bahama
-- Philip Armbrister and Chelina Williams-Allen were named Manager and
Administrative Assistant of the Year respectively during the Fourth
Administrative Professionals Awards Ceremony at Le Chateau on the Green on
Wednesday during an elegant luncheon.
Hosted by the Ministry
of the Public Service Northern Region Public Service Committee, the 12 nominees
(four Managers and eight Administrative Assistants) were showered with
accolades for exemplary work done in what was described as a thankless
profession.
On hand for the occasion,
Minister of Labour, National Insurance and the Public Service, the Hon. Shane
Gibson said, "this year's theme is a particularly powerful statement which
signals your deliberate intention to become active players in the development
and transformation of Grand Bahama."
The theme, which was
'Public Service Administrative Assistants and Managers -- Professionals who
Ignite Change,' is timely as the government's goals are to focus on the
development of the country and Bahamians.
"Today, we are
celebrating a few public officers on whom the highest honour, that of being
recognized by their colleagues and by those whom they supervise is being
bestowed. You are being recognized as professionals who are exemplars for
[your] colleagues. You have displayed outstanding leadership qualities, you are
self-motivated, goal-oriented and committed to doing your part to ensure that
your Ministry or Department fulfills its mandate for efficient and effective
service."
Minister Gibson
further stated, "You are the government's most valuable resource. In
today's dynamic and diverse world and in a Bahamas where the rate of
development is rapid, you must ignite, embrace and remain open to change. The
Bahamas does not compete with itself, but as is evidenced in the industries and
mega-properties, we compete with the world."
He said a key area is
customer service and change must be ignited in this area -- empathy, response
time, accuracy, transparency and efficiency are all areas that must be
addressed. As such, the Public Service Centre for Human Resource Development,
the training arm of the Ministry of Public Service, is holding a series a
workshops to equip telephonists, receptionists and clerical staff with the
necessary skills to provide excellent customer service. The workshops started
last week.
"It begins with
each of us, the employees and managers making a positive difference in the
lives of all persons with whom we come in contact."
Minister Gibson added
that the government has also ignited change in the dissemination of information
through technology and E-government. An example of this being the initiative
taken by the Office of the Attorney General and the re-launch of the Bahamas
Laws online website (laws.bahamas.gov.bs). This has given the public access to
laws updated to December 2014, and he asked, "How can this be replicated
in your Ministry or Department of Immigration, the Treasury, Social Services,
Housing or the Health Authority?"
Through continuous
training and in-house workshops, he said.
He said, "I must
also use this opportunity to admonish you to not rest on your laurels. The
skills we possessed yesterday, may not be relevant today no matter how good
they were. Degrees earned yesteryear need refreshing. Policies and practices
need review and in many cases updating or replacing. It is not good enough to
do what we always did in a better way; we need to seek, become conversant with
and implement best practices, industry and international standards for our
work. I encourage you to find opportunities to improve your knowledge and skill
sets."
Minister for Grand
Bahama, Dr. the Hon. Michael Darville said as someone who came from the private
sector, "I had no idea of the quality of workers that exists in the public
service." Over the past three years, he said, he has had the opportunity
to work with a cross section of people in the public service and he is
"proud to be a part of a group of professionals who are dedicated and who are making serious strides to improve
the quality of service we provide to the general public."
The Minister commended
all of the nominees and encouraged them to stay committed to hard work.
"You know there is a stigma that falls on all government employees and you
have to shake that off. Because some people in the community believe that the
only thing we do is go to work, sit down, drink tea, eat biscuit and go home.
"No way. There
are serious individuals in this room who have contributed greatly to the growth
and development of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and may never get
recognition for it."
As representatives of
the government, said the Minister, it is their responsibility to stand up and
recognize the successes that have happened in the public service over the
years.
The Manager of The
Year nominees were: Philip Armbrister, Chief Security Officer of the Ministry
of Health, Public Hospital Authority; Shanica
Culmer-Ferguson, Officer-In-Charge, Ministry of Finance, Department of Inland
Revenue; Olivia Blatch, Council, Ministry of Legal Affairs, Officer of the
Attorney General; and Carol Martinborough, Senior Executive Officer, Department
of Housing.
The Administrative
Assistant nominees were: Sarah Bethel-Cooper, Senior Clerk, Ministry for Grand
Bahama; Una Bethel, Senior Clerk, Department of Immigration; Annie Charlton,
Executive Officer, Ministry of Social Services and Community Development; Patrice
Darling, Officer Grade 1, Department of Immigration; Andrea Moss, Chief Clerk, Ministry
for Grand Bahama; Eloise Percentie, Chief Clerk, Department of Immigration; Valerie
Rolle, Chief Security Officer, Ministry of Health, Public Hospital Authority;
and Chelina Williams-Allen, Chief Clerk, Ministry of Social Services and
Community Development.
The judges for the event
were Constance McDonald, chief judge; Donald Glass and Dr. Jean Turnquest.
As winner of the
Manager of the Year award, Mr. Armbrister was presented with a cruise, and a
one night stay at Old Bahama Bay. He was also selected as the Most Popular candidate,
and won two round trip tickets to Nassau and a spa day.
Mrs. Allen also won a
cruise along with a one night stay at Pelican Bay Resort.