Twenty-six members of staff were recently honoured by Paymaster Limited in a long-service awards and recognition ceremony at the Caymanas Golf and Country Club in St. Catherine.

Client companies, agents, as well as members of the media, were also recognised at the function, which was held to mark the company's 10th anniversary.

Guest speaker and chairman of Paymaster's board of directors, former United States Ambassador to Jamaica J. Gary Cooper, said at a time when relationships "can often be equated with the growing fast-food culture, it is refreshing to see that there are those persons who are still willing to build a career with one organisation for an extended period of time." He used the analogy of the geese that fly in formation to charge the long-service awardees to "know and understand each other and work as a team."

Ambassador Cooper added that customer service is critical to the company's continued development, as it is the "wind beneath Paymaster's wings". He congratulated the awardees for being "among the best of Jamaica's greatest asset, its people".

Emphasising value

President and chief executive officer of Paymaster, Audrey Marks, said that in the first 10 years the company's focus was on volume. She explained that the organisation would now be "emphasising greater value for all our stakeholders". Ms. Marks said, "Our challenge going into the next 10 years is to refine our business model so that it will keep pace with the rapid changes in our society as well as developments in the information/ communication technology sector. We want to place more emphasis on our customers, including making it more convenient for them to access the service from anywhere."

Eleven members of staff were presented with awards for periods of five to nine years, and Ms. Denise Hammond was acknowledged for having served the company since its inception.

Former U.S. Ambassador and chairman of Paymaster's board of directors, J. Gary Cooper, greets Aloun Assamba, while president of the company, Audrey Marks, looks on.

The divas, from left: Lorna Cover, Audrey Marks and Aloun Assamba in their own rendition of a Diana Ross classic.

Latoya Gayle, training officer for Paymaster, looks fabulous in her African-inspired ensemble.

From left: Ambassador J. Gary Cooper with Audrey Marks, Richard Byles and Dr Fletcher exchange pleasantries during Paymaster's 10th anniversary long-service awards at the Caymanas Golf and Country Club on December 2.