NASPA Long Point Nevis (March 27, 2021) – With over 20 years with the Nevis Air and Sea Port Authority (NASPA), Accounts Clerk, Sheila Webbe confesses that throughout her years with the organisation, she has seen the establishment grow and flourish and has also developed personally and professionally with her tenure with the company.
Webbe recalls vividly when she started her job as a Tally Clerk on Dec 1st, 1997 where she was responsible for tallying the cargo entering the Charlestown port. At that time, she remembers that the organisation only included the Charlestown Sea Port because the Vance W. Amory International Airport was not yet under the Authority and the Long Point Port wasn’t constructed until a couple of years later.
“I was a tally clerk at the Charlestown port then I came over to Long Point where I became the Head Tally Clerk. Later I moved to office administration as a receptionist to assist the secretary. I later worked alongside the Senior Administrative Officer as the Administrative Assistant. I subsequently, was transferred to the accounts department as an Accounts Clerk and that’s the position I currently hold. It’s been over ten years since I’ve been in this position,” she said.
“I am very happy for the organisation, to see the growth we have made because I wouldn’t like to know that we are still at Charlestown and it was only Charlestown. I think it has improved significantly since I started in 1997.
“I would like to see greater development for the organisation in the next ten years, moving forward. I think the port authority can be air and sea, but I would like to see cruise development. I would like to see the cruise pier so we can have bigger cruise ships coming to Nevis. For the sea ports end, we could accommodate more cargo boats coming in as well,” she said. Webbe admits that while there isn’t really a demand for it in her opinion, she believes that with more development, it will attract more ships to Nevis.
“Like any other company or organisation, they have ups and downs, challenges, opportunities, but what really determines whether or not you stay for long periods of times is whether the ups outweigh the downs. And like any other organisation, there isn’t a perfect one, and it has been challenging at times, but all in all I think the ups are better than the downs,” she said.
Her message to persons interested in joining the organisation is to “Stay focused on whatever you have to do and don’t get distracted,” she said.