SMN News learnt that some six candidates submitted their resume to the president of the EPIC Ida Zin Ka Ieu who already submitted her choice to the majority on the board.
The source said three of the candidates are from St. Martin; they are Vanessa Williams, Kate Richardson, and Silivane John. SMN News learnt; that first vice president Daniel Gibbs is trying to get his colleagues on the EPIC board to vote for Kate Richardson, but his efforts they said has fallen on deaf ears.
SMN News further learnt that the board of the Tourist Office is scheduled to meet this Wednesday where they would be informed of the president's choice. SMN News further learnt that of the six candidates there are only two persons who fit the profile for the job description. The board it is understood would be given the opportunity to see the profile of all six candidates before they vote for the candidate who is scheduled to fill the vacation position on September 1 2010.
While researching the information pertaining to the tourist office SMN news discovered based on the selected candidate's profile that the president of the EPIC seems to have made a wise choice when she selected one of St. Martin's best in the person of Silviane John to take the helm of the tourist office. John is currently working at the Pole Economic (sector Tourism) alongside Stephanie Bessier on Strategies and Policies for Tourism.
Since the Union Pour les Progres took office they already chose two foreigners to fill the position of director of the tourist office. It appeared that both candidates were unable to manage the tourist office causing them to leave the job. The first foreigner to be brought in was Yann Claeysen then Corinne Picaut both of whom left St. Martin with a huge paycheck and benefits that our locals never managed to obtain even though many of them applied for the positions in the past.
It appears that the members from the UPP council has finally realized that St. Martin has qualified people who understand our region. It is not clear if these council members woke up or if it is a new political strategy they are using since many of them began campaigning for the 2012 elections.
For the sake of information we have decided to profile Silviane John so that our readers would be able to judge for themselves the capabilities of a local professional who is on St. Martin. If hired it is clear that the Collectivity and the Office du Tourisme would not have to endure unnecessary expenses to relocate this person. John holds a Bachelors Degree in Business Administrations from the University of Virgin Islands and an Associate's degree in Business Management from the University of St. Martin.
John has worked for the Office du Tourisme under the helm of Romeo Fleming from 1993 to 2003. She was also the technical advisor to Mayor Albert Fleming when he represented St. Martin overseas. John then worked at the University of St Martin from 2003 to 2009 as marketing and promotions manager. She then returned to the French side to work on the strategic plan for tourism. Besides being a local this dynamic mother also has international connections as she lived in the United States of America for over 20 years. The candidate we understood has strong connections with the Caribbean nations and she could be instrumental in bonding the islands.
One of the decisions new director would have to take is to regain the American market, and to rebuild its relations with the Dutch side tourist office if they are to enhance tourism on the French side. Promoting St. Martin in North America would have to be their number one priority if the French side is to survive the current financial crisis.