BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – A native of St. Kitts and Nevis, who has been residing in Tortola for the past 40 years, was recently voted Delta Petroleum Limited’s Regional Employee of the Year.
The awardee is Willimian Benjamin, who has been employed at the petroleum company as an office cleaner for the past 15 years.
For her efforts, Benjamin received US$700 in the presence of hundreds of employees and family members when the company held its Valentine’s Day Dinner and Awards Presentation at the Serene Vistas Tower in the BVI.
Regional General Manager Bevis Sylvester described the event as very successful and expressed satisfaction with the large turnout of employees, which he said was well appreciated by all in attendance.
In an exclusive interview, Sylvester said that Delta Petroleum usually hosts its annual staff gathering in December, but management decided to make a change this year due to a number of reasons, which he did not disclosed.
He said that Delta Petroleum had achieved many things in 2010 through the innovative, creative and hardworking efforts of its employees.
“We had a very good year last year despite the current economic challenges that affected many businesses. Although 2010 has seen the closure of several businesses, we remained open and did well, and I am confident that we would continue to do well this year also,” he said.
In addition to Benjamin, a number of employees were awarded for their outstanding contributions to the company over the past year, and Leroy Moses was recognised for 25 years of unbroken service.
The Team Leader Awards went to Natalie Reomero, Jamilia Thompson, Beverly Russell and Ricardo Peters, who were each presented US$100, while Leroy Moses, Sylvia Fahie, Sanjay Persaud, Curtis Lindie, Hanalee Chambers and Loleta Humphrey took home US$200 each for winning the Going the Extra Mile award.
Leroy Moses was again in the driver’s seat copping US$500 in the Regional General Managers’ Award presentation, while his counterparts Junior Baker, Anise Adams, Toni McLean, Marva Henningham, Ricardo Peters, Daimen Lettisome, Jamila Bailey, Isha Young, Avril Stoddard, Hanalee Chambers and Jagnarine Persaud each received US$250.
Meanwhile, the Evening’s Best Dress Awards along with US$200 went to Mr. & Mrs. Sanjay Persaud, Natalie Romero and Ricardo Peters.
Benjamin said that she was very elated over winning the annual award and thanked her colleagues and management for recognising her contributions to the company, noting that she intends to continue in the same vein.
She attributed her success to her strong working values, pointing out that she sees the award not only as a personal achievement but also one for nationals of St. Kitts and Nevis.
“I am very proud of winning this award and also proud that I am making a positive name for the people of St. Kitts and Nevis. So I thank management and all those who have assisted me in winning this award,” she said.
Sylvester noted that his company would be seeking ways of deepening its relationship with the public in the various islands within which it operates. This, he said, would help in forging closer and long lasting relationships, taking the impact and effects of the global crisis into consideration.
“However, in my view, we did extremely well, notwithstanding all the challenges. But in 2011 we are confident that there are a lot of opportunities even though some of the islands that we operate in are moving out of a depressed state. We think that despite the difficulties faced, we see ourselves as being positioned to continue being the petroleum company of choice offering value, quality, affordable price and excellent services. And that is where Delta Petroleum comes in, providing that level of service and quality to the islands that we operate in,” Sylvester added.
Regarding competition, Sylvester said there are a number of initiatives that Delta Petroleum would be executing with a view of safe-guarding its current market shares while seeking means and ways for expansion.
“We are rapidly growing in the region and this is because customers recognise that we offer value and service cheaper than our competitors. So we are growing from strength to strength after starting out in Tortola in 1985. Like every other petroleum company, we have conducted our competition analysis and, based on our findings, we believe that we are still in the cutting edge,” he opined.
On the issue of the company’s approach to providing new initiatives and programmes with the view of rewarding customers, Sylvester said they would be closely monitoring the market in their continued efforts to remain competitive.
“We are working hand in hand with the people’s needs. We are looking at ways and means in providing various initiatives to ensure our customers can recognise that what we are offering them is better than what our competitors can even conceptualize. And if the need arises for additional initiatives, we would look at giving our customers whatever it takes to ensure that satisfaction is achieved so as to create additional opportunities for them,” he said.
The Regional General Manager said that Delta Petroleum has adopted an aggressive marketing approach aimed at significantly impacting the market.
“I must say that Delta Petroleum is reaching out, and I can dare say regional as we continue to expand our markets. So our marketing needs and approach are regional, as we continue to look at the dynamics of the market,” he declared.
