Transportation Employee of the Year Dennis Smith is happy about winning the 2011 Cayman Islands Tourism Association Stingray Award.
“It is a good feeling – it made me feel like I am really doing something,” Mr. Smith said. “A lot of the time you’re working and you don’t really see any of the results until the end of the day and it makes you feel you are doing a good job.
“It was a really nice, fun time,” he said. “The turnout was really good. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen some of those folks so it was great to meet up and greet each other.”
He is a supervisor at See and Sea tours, with responsibilities including the on-time running of tour buses, scheduling and general operations.
“Eight years ago, I saw Mr. Ronnie Anglin and told him I was a good driver and swimmer, so I would be good in tourism. But he couldn’t put in my permit as someone else got a job,” Mr. Smith said. “Working with him for the last five years has been very good. We have a very good relationship, both understand each other and know what each other is about. He is a man who does not put up with nonsense.”
Going well
Mr. Smith hails from St. Catherine, Jamaica and came to Cayman on the recommendation of a family member.
“I was working in the airport in Kingston and my sister was working in the Cayman Islands,” he said. “She told me that if things were slow in Jamaica it would be good to try and get a chance here. I didn’t need a visa in those days, so I came here and everything has been going very well and the people are nice.” Such is Mr. Smith’s status in the industry, he now has key employee status with See and Sea. Outside of work, he is a keen footballer, turning out for George Town regularly.
“We were runners-up in the league and champions of the Digicel Cup,” he said. “I play right midfield and am very quick. This year we are planning to win everything! I don’t smoke, I don’t drink – the young players look up to me at the old age of 39. This might be my last season in the Premier League, if my body says no but my brain says to go ahead.”
In the future, he said, he would love to run his own business.
“Everyone dreams of this – you look at the tourism business and get good comments from your tours,” Mr. Smith said. “It would be great to own my own business to learn what it is about. My coworkers look up to me as supervisor.
“My advice for young people is to always be yourself in the tourism field,” he said. “Sometimes you leave your house not in a good mood, but you have to be yourself, be nice with everyone, be polite, keep yourself and your bus clean. It’s all about being nice to tourists all the time.”
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