Some Women in Tourism

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Evelyn Smith: Second woman to head the JHTA

Evelyn Smith's hospitality career began after graduating from the prestigious Wellesley College in Massachusetts where she also worked at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers and the Four Seasons Hotel. On returning home, she worked on the pre-opening team for the Grand Lido Negril and then assumed responsibilities as the opening sales manager for that hotel. She later moved on to the Point Village Resort where she worked as executive assistant manager, resident manager, director of marketing and later general manager.

She has been actively involved in tourism industry affairs since the late 1980s and is currently the president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA). She is only the second woman to serve as president during its 50-year history. Prior to assuming that responsibility, she served as first vice-president for four years and second vice-president for two years.
A recipient of the JHTA Hotelier of the Year award in 2008, Smith currently serves on the boards of the Jamaica Tourist Board and the Tourism Enhancement Fund.
Accomplishments
She is a graduate of the Saint Andrew High School where she obtained nine subjects with five distinctions at the CXC Level and two A'Levels. She was a senior prefect and was active in the Student Council and House competitions in drama, music and cooking. A recipient of a Wellesley College scholarship for foreign students, she majored in French and Spanish and spent her junior year in France. At Wellesley College, she was active in both the International Students Association and the Caribbean Students Association.
Smith completed her MBA (Hons) from Nova Southeastern University, courtesy of a John Issa Scholarship. Although a busy professional, she believes in the importance of community service and is a board member of the Rhodes Hall High School in Orange Bay, Hanover.
Throughout her professional life, Smith has remained a strong advocate for the small-accommodation sector and the importance of strengthening linkages with other sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, education, culture and entertainment. She believes firmly that tourism has a vital role to play in the growth of our country and as the private-sector voice of tourism, the JHTA must continue to lead the way, while at the same time demanding that the right enabling environment be created for the sector to thrive and prosper. Since 2008, Smith and husband Joseph have been offering marketing and management-consultancy services to the hospitality industry. They also currently manage the Tensing Pen hotel on the West End in Negril. They have two children.

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Valerie Dixon- kicking up 'runkus' in Resource, Manchester
Valerie Dixon, a trained business-education teacher of Spur Tree, Manchester got involved in community tourism 15 years ago in an interesting way. "I came to Resource (Manchester) looking for my 'roots', as I was told that a part of my family migrated from St Ann and settled in south Manchester. A search led me to Resource and I found a family with the same oral history that I was given," she told Hospitality Jamaica, recently.

And Dixon was to stumble upon something else apart from relatives. "The elders in the community invited me to a 'secret' meeting and gave me the oral history of how Marcus Garvey came to be in Resource. I checked the archives and realised that dates and times did match this oral history and that the man who was the catalyst for causing Marcus Garvey to come to Resource, Mortimer Henriques, did live in Resource," she said.
Vestiges of Garvey's sojourn in Resource are still in this hill-top community. The house in which he stayed is gone, but the foundations and parts of the front steps are covered with bush. There are also the remnants of a piazza in the square from when Garvey would address the people. The former home of Mortimer Henriques is still occupied, but in need of some restorative work. Liberty Hall, built on land donated to Garvey, now operates a basic school, and forms part of the venue for the Marcus Garvey Fair, of which Valerie Dixon is the organiser.
Fair hosts
The Marcus Garvey Fair, conceptualised eight years ago, is hosted by the UNIA Resource Citizens Association and the Universal Negro Improvement Association-African Communities League in collaboration with the Countrystyle Community Tourism Network/Villages as Businesses, National Best Community Foundation and the International Institute for Peace through Tourism Caribbean.
"It was to have a special day in the month of February to commemorate Black History Month ... by bringing in outsiders to share the legacies of Resource on this one day, shops, stalls and those in the community who wished to participate could earn above normal income on that day. It would also be a day to educate the community and outsiders about their rich history and have wholesome family fun and entertainment," Dixon said.
The Marcus Garvey Fair, however, is part of a greater thrust by Dixon and Diana McIntyre-Pike, president of Countrystyle Community Tourism Network, to promote community tourism in Resource, where you can get, from a certain section, the utterly captivating view of the valley, the south Manchester coastline and the Caribbean Sea.
This venture takes the form of the Resource Tour. "It includes visits to Marcus Garvey sites, visit to the Canoe Valley to see the old Alvey Food Farm and the dry-farming technique. You will get a chance to make your own bammy, Taino style, which you can eat with ackee and saltfish or fried fish. The entertainment is an African retention known as the 'Runkus'. It is a coromante dance from the Akan or Ashanti people from Ghana. Our local and foreign visitors are enthralled with this lunch-hour entertainment," Dixon said.
She also said "the projects that the community is engaged in are underpinned by the legacies of Marcus Garvey and the Taino Indians. No other community has such a combined legacy, so it makes the community unique. Visitors are exposed to how the unleavened bread made by the Tainos (formerly called Arawaks) is still made in the manner and style left behind by the Tainos.
"Bammy-making proves that the enslaved Africans, who ran away into the hills from the plantations in the then parish of Vere, must have melded with the Tainos, who had the second largest settlement in the island, in the Canoe Valley where Resource is situated."
Dixon and her team have big dreams for other projects in Resource, but it will take time. "I will say this much, it will centre around the known Taino sites in the Canoe Valley, the rich biodiversity that is found nowhere else in the world (which is why we must save the Canoe Valley from limestone mining). We are hoping to expand bammy-making, as we have acquired a cassava flour-making machine. Our market will be schools, local and foreign visitors. "We hope to receive training for the members of the newly formed UNIA Resource Citizens Association to be able to manage Resource as part of the Villages As Businesses project," Valerie Dixon, the first recipient of the Marcus Garvey Award for the Arts, said.

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Sandra Scott: A lifetime commitment to travel and tourism
When the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) announced the appointment of Sandra Scott as the new deputy director of tourism with responsibility for marketing in 2011, it was the culmination of years of experience gathered in Canada and the Caribbean. It also meant the return home of a Jamaican daughter who may have lived for many years outside the boundaries of her native land, but who always maintained a strong bond with the island.

She has worked primarily in hotel sales and marketing, including the Intercontinental Hotel in Ocho Rios, and Delta Hotels in Canada. She also conducted food and beverage training in the Eastern Caribbean on behalf of the Caribbean Development Bank, and at one time managed her own full-service catering business.
"I have a passion for entertaining, and travel and tourism has provided me with a vehicle for entertaining on a large scale," explains Sandra. "Guest satisfaction is also important to me so whether my clients are travel agents, hotel guests, media or corporate entities, I set out to meet and surpass their needs. And I encourage the persons on my team to do likewise."
Scott's family migrated while she was in high school. After graduation from St Hugh's, she joined the rest of the family in Chicago, but at the first opportunity she was back! Her first job was with Air Jamaica as "a rare tropical bird flying on the love bird". Even as she worked her way up the corporate ladder, she felt the call to lend her considerable talents to her homeland, accepting the position of regional director, sales in the Jamaica Tourist Board's Canadian office. During her six-year tenure in that position, arrivals of Canadians in Jamaica increased more than 100 per cent. Her vast experience in sales and marketing meant increased business for the destination.
At the time of her appointment, director of tourism John Lynch said; "We are delighted to welcome a deputy director with such impressive credentials. We believe with this proven track record Sandra will further expand and foster relationships with partners and increase our reach internationally so that Jamaica remains the premier Caribbean tourist destination."
In her current role, she must interact with leaders in the public and private sector. Constant communication with the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment, Jennifer Griffith, is imperative to ensure that the marketing operations of the board remain compliant with official guidelines.
The projects she oversees also involve contact with members of the diplomatic corp. The Experience Jamaica campaign is a case in point. Created to encourage persons living in Jamaica to take advantage of significant discounts offered by tourism partners, Sandra has targeted the diplomatic sector to make use of the opportunities during their tour of duty. She feels that travel and tourism has been quite fulfilling. "Jamaica is a beautiful country and I am happy for the opportunity to share my beautiful homeland with others, while remaining close to my family."

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Talia Cooke-Johnson ... a dynamo in the hospitality industry
Talia Cooke-Johnson is the training and development manager at the Grand Palladium Jamaica and Lady Hamilton Resort and Spa in Point, Hanover.

As one whose early career goal was fixed on working in the field of international relations, her directional change which happened by accident, has resulted in her becoming a more confident and assertive person.
The only child for Joan Crawford-Cooke and Aston Cooke, she attended the Montego Bay High School for Girls and later the Montego Bay Community 'Com-C' College for Pre-University Business studies. After 'Com-C', her next step was the University of the West Indies, Mona campus, where she majored in international relations.
Formal education
Following her years at the UWI, Cooke-Johnson worked with Air Jamaica for two years as a reservation agent before jetting off to England where she pursued an MBA at the Birmingham City University and then the London Metropolitan University where she gained a post-grad diploma in human resources management.
It was then back to Jamaica and after a one-year break, she sought and obtained employment at the spanking new Grand Palladium Jamaica and Lady Hamilton Resort and Spa in May 2008 as a human resource administrator - a post she held until early 2012 when she was promoted to the position of training and development manager.
Up to that point, Cooke-Johnson saw herself as a very introverted person, but her new position literally pulled her out of her shell. "Even though the transition from being a HR admin person to being the training manager was smooth, I was a bit apprehensive as to how I would function in this new role. However, to my surprise, I rose to the occasion and have seen personal growth. I have been given the task of training my co-workers, while learning myself, which is a wonderful opportunity for me to grow professionally."
Making the transition
Cooke-Johnson credits her training in international relations and human resource management for significantly helping her performance as training manager. "My job has me working with people from various nationalities and cultures and I have been able to address their individual needs in an effective manner. The support staff at the human resources office have played a key role in my success so far and I am very thankful for that," she noted.
Looking ahead, Cooke-Johnson hopes to become a HR Consultant while operating her own human resources company. "I am hoping that in my next professional step, I will be able to offer my knowledge and professional training to the wider public with the view of helping to get our workforce more professional and well trained. This is an exciting field and I am yearning to enter that phase of my life." Cooke-Johnson is happily married to Jomo Johnson, an airline pilot and plans to have two children.

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Mureen James - The consummate professional
Warm, friendly and the consummate professional, Mureen James started her career in the hospitality sector in 1990 at the Jamaica Attractions Development Company, a subsidiary of the Jamaica Tourist Board, which, at the time, managed most of the known attractions on the island.

James quickly mastered the fundamentals of hospitality and later accepted a job offer with the Wyndham Rose Hall Resort (now known as Hilton Rose Hall Resort and Spa) as a concierge manager and worked for approximately six years with front desk operations.
James' love for the hospitality industry and proactive demeanour fuelled her growth and success, resulting in opportunities to transfer to various key fields in the industry, particularly sales. Soon after her transfer, she began exceeding her budgeted sales goals and contributed to the hotel's overall successes. She later achieved President's Circle Awards and the prestigious Chairman Circle Awards for her outstanding performance. These accolades were followed by significant job promotions, including becoming wedding sales manager where she continued to excel. After 11 successful years of dedication at the Wyndham, James took a well-deserved break.
Promotion After a few months of rest, however, the hospitality industry presented another opportunity and the Ritz-Carlton Golf & Spa Resort, Rose Hall, Jamaica, selected James for a sales manager position in May 2006. Given her impressive performance, she was later promoted to senior sales manager in April 2010. James' consistent hard work and dedication were further rewarded when she was promoted to director of group sales one year later. She currently provides support and direction for the sales and marketing team at the Ritz-Carlton. No doubt, her warm personality, professionalism and beautiful smile help to build and maintain great relationships throughout the sector. James has a genuine love for people and for her profession and goes above and beyond in everything that she does. She is a true lady and the hospitality industry salutes her.

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Diane Brown-Allen - A promising new face

Diane Brown-Allen has been with the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) since its establishment in 2005. As the manager for investments and accounts, she is responsible for the collections of TEF fees and TEF's investment portfolio, in accordance with the TEF Act 2004.
As part of its mandate, the TEF funds projects are geared towards the growth and development of a sustainable tourism product and it is TEF fees and the management of its funds that make this contribution impactful.
Brown-Allen is the key player behind the entity's corporate outreach Summer Internship Programme.
She serves as president of the parent-teachers' association at the Shortwood Practising School. She also champions causes for the youth and is involved in tutoring and mentorship programmes.
One of the newest faces in tourism, Brown-Allen is a mother, a foster mom and mentor to many. Her motto: "Just give ... a dollar, a hug, a kind word, a smile ... makes a difference."

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Diane Corrie leads BA Caribbean team
Diane Corrie, British Airways' commercial manager for the Caribbean, leads the commercial team across the region, including Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, St Lucia, Antigua, Grenada, The Bahamas, The Cayman Islands and the Turks & Caicos Islands.

Previously commercial manager, North Caribbean, with oversight for Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, The Bahamas and the Turks & Caicos Islands, Corrie says the job is "as exciting now as it was when I joined in 1985".
"There is a rush of adrenalin" that accompanies the unveiling of each British Airways innovation, and an excitement at being part of a highly motivated team planning strategy and sharing ideas. British Airways stretches you to achieve," she explained.
Sharing knowledge
In leading the BA Caribbean team, Corrie takes the opportunity to share what she has learnt in 28 years at British Airways with colleagues.
From defining sales and marketing strategy to developing budgets and managing the team, Corrie is constantly on the go.
Balancing a demanding job and family life with husband Rickie and sons is by no means easy, but says Diane, "my family is very supportive and the extended family - my team and colleagues at British Airways - make it possible to achieve even the most ambitious goals.
Noting that air travel has become increasingly more challenging due to international events, Corrie says, "our goal at BA is to make air travel as seamless as possible and ensure the comfort of all our passengers."
Noting that the airline remains viable by "constantly upgrading the product and keeping ahead of the competition", Corrie says that "continuous staff training ensures that we can all contribute to the big picture".
British Airways, she says, "has benefited from the vision of a number of persons who were virtual aviation geniuses. Their work is seen in product enhancements like the world's first fully flat bed, and the mobile boarding pass". Based in Kingston, Corrie leads the commercial team across the region, ensuring the delivery of the highest possible British Airways service standards.