SAJ's President Grantley Stephenson as he addressed secretaries at the recent SAJ Luncheon at Terra Nova Hotel in Kingston. PRESIDENT OF the Shipping Association of Jamaica (SAJ), Grantley Stephenson, has highlighted the importance of secretaries and administrative professionals in the development and growth of the local port community.
Paying tribute to these professionals at a special luncheon hosted by the SAJ at the Terra Nova hotel in Kingston last Wednesday, Mr. Stephenson commended them for the hard work and the contribution they have made in their respective companies. The luncheon that was organised to commemorate Secretaries Day, April 24, under the theme: "Bringing Visions to Reality", provided an opportunity for managers and other executives in the industry to recognise and honour their secretaries.
"It goes without saying that the role of secretaries augments and supports corporate strategies, and helps to build companies," Mr. Stephenson observed, noting that without efficient resourceful secretaries assisting and supporting managers and executives to develop and implement corporate plans and strategies, many organisations would not be successful.
The SAJ President also encouraged the secretaries and administrative professionals to strive for excellence, continue with their personal development and "aim for the pinnacle of the professional ladder".
"Rapidly changing times dictate that you must continue to learn new skills and upgrade yourselves to remain relevant and marketable. And, as this year's theme suggests, you must set your goals and work hard to realise them," he told them.
Countering the commonly-held view that the role of the Secretary is "obsolete", Mr. Stephenson submitted: "the 'Secretary' can only evolve into a more efficient, multi-skilled professional who will serve as a catalyst for change and further organisational growth and development".
"We need secretaries not just to carry out routine, mundane, even menial tasks, but to help us to craft visions and then implement them," Mr. Stephenson said, pointing to efforts underway to transform SAJ to make it more relevant to its members and more impactful on the national economic stage. This process he said, would involve all relevant players.
"It is our role as leaders in the society to share our vision of changing trends in international trading, and to do this we need to integrate all professionals in crafting an organisation which is quality driven, sector specific, member focused, technically competent and nationalistic in perspective," Mr. Stephenson stated.
Secretaries were presented with tokens of appreciation and entertained by local artiste and musician Cecil Cooper and Conroy Cooper.
