The Rotary Club of Sint Maarten-Mid Isle hosted its Annual Vocational Service Award Ceremony during a special fellowship dinner at Mélange Restaurant.
Philipsburg, St. Maarten - the Rotary Club of Sint Maarten-Mid Isle hosted its Annual Vocational Service Award Ceremony during a special fellowship dinner at Mélange Restaurant.
The Vocational Service Award is presented annually, to individuals in the community who have exemplified outstanding professional achievement while maintaining very high ethical standards.
This year three professionals were presented with this prestigious award, namely: Sherryl Carty-Fleming Vanessa Fraser and Jacqueline Richardson. They all were presented with a Certificate plus a check worth $200.00 each. Sherryl was nominated by Immediate Past President/Service Projects Chair Grace Linger, Vanessa was nominated by Rotarian Ruth Linger and Jacqueline was nominated by District Governor 7020 Louis Wever. The awardees have all contributed greatly to the island of St. Maarten.
Mrs. Sherryl Carty- Fleming was born on St. Maarten. She attended the MAVO on the island of Aruba. She returned to St. Maarten where she completed the MAVO at the Milton Peters College.  After completing the MAVO, she moved to Aruba and completed the HAVO before moving to the Netherlands (Rotterdam) where she started her career in Nursing. She worked and studied at Anthonius Verpleeghuis, where she completed the Nursing Program as a Registered Nurse (RN). She has specialized in Midwifery. She is a certified lactation counselor and nursing educator. For several years she worked at Havenziekenehuis (Tropisch Ziekennhuis Rotterdam).  In July 1996, Sherryl returned to St. Maarten, and started working at the St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) on September 9, 1996. She worked on several wards such as: Medical/Surgical Ward, Maternity Ward and the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Sherryl has been the Supervisor of Obstetrics and Gynecology Ward and Daycare for the past 25 years.
Ms. Fraser has been personally and professionally engaged in activism since 1999 and has worked with humanitarian institutions such as the Dutch Council for Refugees, guiding asylum seekers and refuges during their integration process to establish themselves within the Netherlands. In recent years her focus has been on gender equality and women’s empowerment. Vanessa is the founder of SXM Women Strong, a platform that offers women a safe space to express their feelings and share their life’s experiences. Her efforts as an activist have placed her in the fortunate position to harness collaborations with other Civil Society Organizations and Governmental sectors such as Women’s Desk.
That is how she was noticed and eventually approached by the Board of Safe Haven Foundation, where she became the Secretary of the Board. Since April 2020 Vanessa has been appointed as the Executive Director of Safe Haven Foundation and is humbled to be in a position to help adults, children and families in their pursuit to find healthy perceptions of themselves so they can live a peaceful, safe and fulfilling life. Ms. Fraser took Safe Haven to a higher and safer level since she became the Executive Director of the Safe Haven Foundation. She is passionate about her work, punctual and professional.
Ms. Richardson managed the various sports facilities on the island, namely: L.B. Scott Sports Auditorium, the John Cooper/Jose Lake Ball Park and after that came the Melford Hazel Sports Complex. Although they received subsidy from government it was not sufficient to cover salaries for employees, so many days I found myself running up and down between facilities to make sure they could be used by our sports men and women. Due to not having enough coordinators to cover the L. B. Scott Auditorium’s schedule, I took it upon myself to sleep in the office at that location for 3 months. It wasn’t easy, but it was done for the love of sports. Eventually FUSF merged into N.S.I. whereby we got a larger subsidy because we also then started managing the Raoul Illidge Sports Complex. That was a task on its own, as several sports take place at that location. To the public eye they think it’s just opening and closing of the facilities but it entails much more, and it wouldn’t be possible without the staff, management and supervisory board. We work as a TEAM!!! We are family!!
The Rotary Club of Sint Maarten- Mid Isle would like to congratulate the Awardees and thank them for their good work and making a difference in the community.