Fairplay Management Services Ltd. was incorporated February 6, 1986. At that time, we incorporated a Company to provide all the services that was available in Anguilla including Banking Insurance and Real Estate. We started out as General Agent for Netherland Antilles General Insurance Company NV, and in 1988 we became agents for Occidental Life Insurance Company of North Carolina. We still represent both companies and control a significant share of the life, general and health insurance market on Anguilla.
Between 1989-1992, most of the European and North American Insurance Companies that serve the Eastern Caribbean, pulled out following a number of hurricanes. This left a capacity void and I moved very quickly to persuade the management of NAGICO to fill that void. I was appointed General Agent for Tortola, Dominica and later Antigua. The expansion was extremely successful and was the spring board from which we developed the Fairplay Commercial Complex between 1992 and 1994. This was a EC$5 million construction expansion. We spent another 1.5 million US$ in the development of the new business.
This expansion largely defined The Valley as the commercial capital of Anguilla and in the following years The Valley has come a long way forward in the development of new commercial establishments.
At present, the Fairplay Commercial Complex houses our Corporate Office, the Insurance Agency, the Jewelry and Perfumes store, Kimmey’s Fashion Boutique (the clothing store), ScotiaBank Anguilla Limited, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) local office, the Public Utilities Commission, Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL) Corporate Office, Carter & Associates Legal Firm, Blazing FM Radio Station, Mr. Cool Electronics, Family Health Centre, Caribbean Eyecare, Beauty Within Boutique & Health Store and the Dominion Faith Ministries church.
In February, 1992, we added Fairplay Jewelry and Perfumes and in August, 1994, we added Fairplay Food Centre that we kept until 2010 and Kimmey’s Fashion Boutique that is still operational.
During that period, we represented the Independent Grocers Association, a number of major houses in the perfume duty free market, citizen watches and levi dockers in our clothing section. We continue to be market leaders in most of these areas today.
In 2002, we begun the development of the Royale Caribbean Resort and to date have invested over US$60,000,000.00 of family resources and
7US$3.1 million of national bank funds, and inspite of devastating effects of the recession on the banking industry and the world economy, we are still very much positively engages in negotiations for the completion and opening of this Resort.
During the last thirty (30) years, I was also blessed to serve several years as Executive Secretary of the Anguilla Chamber of Commerce, a founding member of the East Caribbean Institute of Democracy and served on its Board for six (6) years as Country Project Supervisor for the Government of Anguilla with CDB/US Aid Basic Human Needs Project. I was able to continue my missionary work across the Caribbean from Jamaica to Trinidad.
Over the years as God bless the Fairplay Group of Companies, we contributed heavily in Education from the very beginning I developed my no place in the world for a dumb black child mission, to date we have provided twenty nine (29) full and partial scholarships. We contributed to pre and primary education, boat racing, social programmes and help to the elderly and less fortunate, we provide annual sponsorship for the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School (ALHCS) annual road race, and this year we will partner with the Police to help paint the Police Headquarters.
The Fairplay Group of Companies made significant contributions to relief in the aftermath of Hurricane Luis in 1995 here in Anguilla and again after Hurricane Lenny in 1999.
Our Companies also provided relief supplies overseas – to St. Kitts in the aftermath of Hurricane George in 1998 and to Dominica in the aftermath of Hurricane Erika in 2015.
Over the last thirty (30) years, my staff and I have been actively involved in the design stage of many of the products we represent. As a result, we have always have goods and services designed to meet the needs of the Anguilla market.
As we look back over the last thirty (30) years, you can imagine there were many challenges, set backs and successes. But we must now focus our attention on the future of the Company, in doing so, we will use the experience we developed over the last thirty (30) years to help us chart our course for the next thirty (30) years.
The blueprint for these ideas has already been given to our next generation of leaders:
1) Expansion and development of the Insurance section of our company to meet the growing needs of Anguilla and the Eastern Caribbean to include mergers and acquisitions where necessary;
2) Over the last six (6) months, we have been actively persuing the development of an Investment Banking joint venture that would hopefully be able to provide the funds in the not-too-distant future, for Private Sector Investment in the Easter Caribbean;
3) The expansion of the Royale Caribbean brand in the Eastern Caribbean as we expand our involvement in the hotel sector;
4) Become actively involved in the exploration and exploitation of the Anguilla economic zone. We have already register a company that will sparehead this venture once we identify financing;
5) The development of high speed ferry service with links to cover the region from Jamaica to Trinidad to facilitate the movement of people in numbers big enough to force a meaningful integration of the region. A significant amount of research has already gone into this venture as well.
There are big ideas and no doubt will be very hard, but if they were easy they would have been done already. I am confident that we have the human capital within the company to take on ideas and win. It is at this point I will begin to accelerate my climb down from the day to day management of the company and allow a new generation of leading to take over.
Firstly, I want to thank His Eternal Majesty, the God of Gods and King of Kings who have been my shield and defender all these years, who remained faithful to me and bless all my endeavours inspite of me.
I want to thank my beloved wife, Mrs. Vincia Gumbs who have always given me the support and freedom to grow the Fairplay Group of Companies, she made me her hero and was always my greatest cheerleader, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I want to thank my children for sharing me with the world and appreciating the sacrifice, you are just the best. To the greatest staff in the Anguilla Private Sector, some of whom are no longer with us, without you, we would not have been here where we are today.
We owe the greatest debt of gratitude to our loyal customers who put their confidence in us over the last thirty (30) years, you are the reason why we go to work each day.
To the many companies that we now represent or have represented in the past, we thank you for working with us and look forward to growing and improving our relationship.
May God continue to bless the Fairplay Group of Companies as we face the future, and may God bless Anguilla.
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
