News
Tanya Swann sails smooth with BTC for almost 19 years
PROVIDENCIALES, Turks & Caicos Islands: Born and bred on the beautiful island of Grand Turk, Tanya Nicole Swann is a single parent who has honed her skills in the tourism industry for the past 25 years and has now anchored her growth with her nearly 19-year tenure at Beaches Turks and Caicos (BTC) resort.
Having joined BTC in 2004, Tanya first started as an administrative assistant in the food and beverage department. With her keen desire to grow and expand in the industry and with the resort, Tanya would find herself gaining valuable experience along the way as hostess in the resorts expansive number of restaurants.
While honing her experiences, Tanya expanded her skillset which saw her transferring, within the first few years, to the sales and weddings department as the administrative assistant and then as executive administrative assistant in the General Manager’s office at the resort.
With a focus on growth always at the forefront of her mind, through the resort company’s learning and development department, Tanya went on to acquire her associates, bachelors and masters degrees which propelled her into various leadership positions which include banqueting coordinator, senior sales executive, senior sales manager, resort sales manager, and currently director of sales groups and conventions.
“Joining the family here at Beaches Turks and Caicos was the best career decision that I have made in my life. This organisation gives everyone the opportunity to grow and expand beyond what he or she may have envisioned,” Swann shared.
Tanya’s steady growth within the industry has been fueled by her intrinsic philosophy of always giving her best in what she does, approaching any day-to-day challenges with the best tools – confidence, communication and active listening.
Highlighting her ability to adapt to challenging situations and turn them into successes, Tanya shared, “we learn something new every day in our lives both personally and professionally and we make choices that will affect us in the present and for our future endeavours. We oftentimes will be faced with difficulties, however, along the way we learn that excellence comes from within individuals who are willing to work hard to reach and achieve their goals and make something of themselves, not just to please others but also to please themselves.”
Even as she grows within the organisation however, Tanya also remains committed to allowing others to grow and experience their fullest potential.
“My most rewarding period with this company is in helping others to grow. I live my life based on succession planning and this has allowed me to groom others into becoming effective leaders. Being able to see the growth process with my colleagues has been a rewarding feeling as allowing others to grow will make this island a better place,” Swann shared.
Tanya has also furthered her academic experience with the completion of a leadership and management diploma course. She is confident her achievements, experiences and interactions attribute to her impact on those around
her.
Maxine Salmon, kids camp counsellor said, “Ms Tanya is a mentor and friend who is always willing to help her fellow team members grow as professionals. She has a warm and welcoming personality which makes her approachable. She is always finding ways to encourage us to do as many online courses that are offered by the company through the Sandals Corporate University (SCU) for our own development and to also get involved in volunteerism at the resort and in our communities.”
James McAnally, general manager at BTC shared: “Tanya is a dynamo. She is capable of leading not only from a resort’s perspective but in the wider society. We are privileged to have her as one of our influential leaders who continues to provide herculean service to not only our employees but the thousands of guests who visit our shores.”
Tanya attributes her success within the industry primarily to support and grooming from former Sandals and Beaches leaders such as the late David Roper, her then Corporate office Director of Industry Relations as well as former resort Executive Manager, Michael Thompson, who allowed her to grow as a leader in her own right. She also gave credit to retired leaders Josef Zellner, former general manager and Fredrick Hamilton the first food and beverage director who allowed her to develop a passion for the industry and especially the Sandals and Beaches culture of leadership.
Caribbean News
Agriculture Ministry Providing Two Water Trucks to Serve St. Elizabeth and St. Catherine
#Kingston, Jamaica, April 24, 2024 – The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining is to unveil two more water trucks this week, which will be used to service communities in St. Elizabeth and St. Catherine.
Portfolio Minister, Hon. Floyd Green, made the disclosure during Wednesday’s (April 24) post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House.
He also informed that of the $90 million earmarked to support farmers being impacted by the current drought, the Ministry will be
providing additional support for storage and drip-irrigation systems.
“So, we have targeted about 600 water tanks and about 400 12-millimetre drip irrigation hoses, and that distribution has already started. Additionally, we have earmarked about $8 million to really help with our livestock farmers,” Mr. Green said.
“We know the difficulty that you’re facing now in this time; [it’s] very hard to get the right nutritional support for your animals. As such, we will be providing some hay, and we will [also] provide some trucking of water to you. Again, our livestock farmers, if you are in need, please contact the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) and let us see how we can help in these times,” he further stated.
Mr. Green also encouraged farmers to download the RADA App, so that the Agency can “help guide you, not only in relation to what is happening on the rainfall side, but also in relation to your integrated pest management”.
“We do see some increases of certain types of pests during this time, and it’s important that our farmers are paying attention to that. It’s also important that you’re taking drought management seriously [by undertaking] soil mulching, looking at planting drought-tolerant crops, timely harvesting, implementing land husbandry treatments and contour ditches,” he stated.
Contact: Latonya Linton
Release: JIS
Photo Caption: Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green, speaking during Wednesday’s (April 24) post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House.
Donald De La Haye Photo
Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
#TurksandCaicos, April 19, 2024 – In an attempt to move to 24-hour-a-day operations Turks and Caicos Islands Airports Authority (TCIAA) is steadily recruiting Air Traffic Controllers to work at the Providenciales/Howard Hamilton International Airport, according to Godfrey Smith, TCIAA CEO, reporting to the Appropriations Committee.
Speaking on April 8th Smith said a cabinet paper would be sent soon requesting six more Air Traffic Controllers to make round the clock operation at the Provo International possible and to open the airport in Grand Turk till 12 a.m.
Currently, 17 posts are filled and seven are vacant.
Smith was candid with his responses to recent industrial action from ATCs which led to resignations and firings.
“What we have to do is find systems to mitigate such actions and that has to start with filling these jobs, putting people in that want to
work and doing right by people – and we always try to do right by our staff. Persons may not think that we are but we always do – we ain’t pick no fight,” he said in the meetings held at the NJS Francis building ahead of the National Budget Communication.
Smith indicated that recruitment was an issue across the board, ‘we need to find ways to recruit a little bit better’ he told the committee. Also in need of a push was capital spending or projects according to the CEO, who said the agency had ‘not been very good’ at meeting that mark but insisted they had recognized the issue and could do better.
A very important key performance indicator drawn up by the TCIAA is increasing passenger satisfaction at the Howard Hamilton International Airport. For the TCIAA part of this means a 30 percent increase in seating by Q2 of this year.
When queried on if they could even handle this increase the CEO said,
“The fact of the matter is we already have the capacity there. What we need is to make the service a bit better.”
Staff shortages have become such a frustrating issue that the TCIAA is instituting a scholarship program created by Authority Chairman, Selvyn Hawkins
“What the board wants to do is basically allocate $25,000 annually for a scholarship and they’ve approved it already.”
This process would cover tuition and all other costs for one student.
The student would return as a summer intern and other breaks to work at the TCIAA and upon graduation, assume a role at the company.
“We identify a particular skill we need, we go after it and we build capacity that is in a nutshell the nexus of the program,” Smith said.
The Turks and Caicos Islands Airports Authority (TCIAA) is allocated $49 million this financial year; over $20 million goes to salaries.
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