With the celebration of its 25th Anniversary, the Anguilla Electricity Company (ANGLEC) is now looking towards its future development. The statutory organisation celebrated its 25th year of operations on Sunday, April 3.
The first activity saw Directors of the Board, Management, and Staff, attending the Sunday morning service at the Central Baptist Church at Rey Hill. The service was conducted by Pastor Dwyane Adams who welcomed them, on behalf of the congregation, and commended the company for its beneficial work to Anguilla over the years.
The second activity for the day was a combined staff award ceremony and luncheon – at the Anguilla Great House – chaired Mr. Elvin Richardson, Information Communications Technology Manager.
Two staff members Mr. Sylvan Brooks, Systems Engineer, and Mr. Timothy Richardson, Senior Shift Operator, were each awarded for 20 years of service. Twelve others, awarded for 25 years of service, were: Mr. Justus Connor, Maintenance Supervisor; Mr. Franklyn Gumbs, Operations Superintendent; Mr. Stephen Richardson, Network Operator/Engineer; Mr. Raph Petty, Senior Shift Operator; Ms. Laurel Carty , Senior Accounts Clerk; Mr. Ivor Ible of the Technical and Distribution Department; Mr. Renford Carty, Facilities & Maintenance Officer; Mr. Steve Hodge, Network Operations Engineer; Mr. Frankie Fleming, Stores Controller; Mrs. Sandra Rogers, Human Resources Assistant; Mr. Clarence Lake, Electrical Engineer (in training); and Mrs. Linda Gumbs, Custodian.
The awards were announced by Ms. Erimel Franklin, Manager of Human Resources, and were presented by Mr. David Gumbs, CEO of ANGLEC, assisted by Ms. Marva Richardson of the Human Resources Department.
ANGLEC’s Chairman, Mr. Harold Ruan, commended the awardees and spoke about the growth of the company since 1991 when it transitioned from a Government-run department. He called on the staff to work diligently as the company sought to further develop itself to service the island better. He praised former Chairman of ANGLEC’s Board, Mr. Fabian Marcel Fahie, for his role in the inception of the company in 1991.
In thanking the awardees for their service, Mr. David Gumbs, who has nine years as CEO of ANGLEC, described the company as having been an Anguillian story with humble beginnings (from the Ice Plant days running for some two hours a night.) “When we recognised where we came from, and the achievements we have had, it gives us the encouragement to move forward,” he stated. “We have a long way to go as an organisation and ANGLEC is a bedrock of this island…Everywhere you go, and turn, we are there to keep this island going and for that I want to thank you. Even though many of us have not been here for 25 years, many of us have been around for a very, very long time and I think… that speaks a lot about ANGLEC.”
Mr. Gumbs went on: “ANGLEC has grown from 6,000 to approximately 9,000 customers; from 10 million kilowatts in sales, to nearly 80 million kilowatts in sales. I mentioned 500% growth in our demand, but if you look at what we sell, it is much more than that 500% – it is closer to 800%.” He added that the focus was now on renewable energy in the future, pointing out that work was in progress on such a plant at Corito – next to the ANGLEC power station.
Former Chairman of ANGLEC’s Board, Mr. Fahie, told the gathering that ANGLEC was now at a new starting point and that all the previous successes of the company provided confidence that all the new challenges would be met going forward. “I want to encourage you to approach the situation with gusto, enthusiasm and passion, because if ANGLEC had been a thing of beauty for the last 25 years, the next 25 years should be even more beautiful,” he said.
ANGLEC’s anniversary celebration had as its theme: “Twenty-five Years of Service: Looking Back with Gratitude – Looking Forward with Renewed Focus”.
