Kingston Wharf 75th Anniversary

NAME OF FEATURE | THE GLEANER | SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2020 32 KINGSTON WHARVES 75TH ANNIVERSARY PAULA EDWARDS HUTCHINSON – KWL CHILD WHO HAS COME OF AGE Operations coordinator Paula Edwards Hutchinson grew up at KingstonWharves.“I began visiting KWL at the age of 11, when I would attend work with my mother, Gilda Thomas (now deceased), who was employed to the company. I was the youngest of her children, so on the days when I did not go to school, she would take me to work with her and I would sit quietly while she performed her functions as an office attendant,” Paula explains. In her school’s fundraising efforts, Paula would outperform her class- mates in funds collected, because she would amass contributions from her mother’s co-workers at KWL, who were all willing and gen- erous to support her many causes. In the summer of 1988, when she was older and in high school, she landed a summer job with KWL. It has been a long-standing practice over the years for KingstonWharves to offer summer employment to children of its employees. In 1989, she received full-time employment. In 1994, the company was merged withWestern Terminal and persons were re-engaged to the new com- pany, so her official employment time was calculated from that year. Twenty-six years later, even as Kingston Wharves has changed, it has transformedPaula froma shy stu- dent into a powerful communicator and motivator, who engenders the respect of her peers and supervisors. Someone with her ear to the ground andherhandonthepulseofthemood on the terminal, she often acts as an opinion leader andmediatorbetween her peers and themanagementwhen there is aneed for greater clarityanda resolution of any issue. As operations coordinator, Paula is a woman in a man’s world, but she is undaunted by the challenge of the physical and emotional de- mands of the job. Her job functions included docking and preparing vessels for sailing; communicating with shipping agents and marine pilots; overseeing yard/vessel oper- ations; requesting and monitoring labour; supervising andmonitoring all other activities on the terminal and preparing hourly reports to both internal and external partners. “I enjoy my job. I like the auton- omy I have, because my managers allowme to innovate andmake top- level decisions relating to vessel op- erations and matters involving my direct reports,” Paula notes. “One of my personal philosophies is, be present, arrive on time and never let your attitude affect the work you produce. Always give your 100 per cent, no matter what you are being paid,” she notes. Taking that philosophy to heart, Paulahasnot restedonher laurels, but has been improvingherself academi- cally over the years. She completed a diploma in shipping logistics fromthe CaribbeanMaritimeUniversity (CMU) and took other courses in supervisory management. She is a certified first aid and CPR professional, a certified fire warden; a hazardous material technician; a docking master; and has done cybersecurity and project management training, among a host of other certifications. She credits her mother and her manager, Valrie Campbell, for in- spiring her to success through their positive examples. However, if Paula is proud of her own achievements, she takes even greater pride in theaccomplishments of Kingston Wharves. “The company has changed in leaps andboundsover the years. Physically, we have moved PLEASE SEE COMMITTED , 33 G ARFIELD PARRIS, Maralin Spence and Paula Edwards Hutchinson are a commit- ted corps of Kingston Wharves Limited (KWL) employees who have grown with and contributed to the success of the company. They each joined the team as youngsters and now celebrate 26 years of excellent service. The trio are part of a crop of 26 employees across the KWL group to fall into this category. Paula and Garfield, or ‘Parris’, as he is affectionately called, work in different areas of the company, but they both came to Kingston Wharves as holiday workers, then over the years developing into valu- able members of the KWL team and pillars of the organisation. Maralin started as a junior clerk; her stead- fast commitment has driven her success at KWL. Paula Edwards Hutchinson, Garfield Parris and Maralin Spence celebrate 26 years. COMMITTED & CONSISTENT Three long service employees share memories of their 26-year journey