LINDA Stewart-Doman, a senior instructor in hospitality at the Falmouth Vocational Training Centre (VTC) in Trelawny, is the 2005/6 instructor of the year at the HEART Trust/NTA.

She was selected for the award over Robert Lindsay, of the Kenilworth Academy in Hanover, and Richard Mitchell, of the Runaway Bay Hotel and Training Institute in St Ann.

A graduate of the University of Technology and an outstanding employee in Jamaica’s hospitality sector, Doman was presented with the award at the recent annual recognition and long service awards ceremony of the Trust, held at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston.

As the HEART Trust/NTA’s instructor of the year, she will attend the annual conference of the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education (ICHRIE) to be held in Dallas, Texas in July 2007. ICHRIE is a non-profit association for schools, colleges and universities offering programmes in hotel and restaurant management, food service management and the culinary arts. Doman also received a laptop computer courtesy of HEART’s Information Technology Centre.

She has been an instructor in hospitality at the Falmouth VTC for the past three years. Before that she was a trainee manager and training officer at the Half Moon Hotel in Montego Bay and did a stint as front office manager at Beaches Sandy Bay Hotel.

Doman holds a Master’s in Educational Leadership from the Central Connecticut State University, graduating with an outstanding grade point average (GPA) of 4.0. She also holds a first-class honours Bachelor of Science degree in hospitality and tourism management from the University of Technology, Jamaica.

A firm believer in life-long learning, she plans to pursue an Executive Masters in Business Administration in 2007.

“I believe in hard work and determination and I have a passion for excellence. I am a team player and my goal is to be a world-class instructor, with emphasis on imparting knowledge and coaching others to achieve their best,” noted Doman after receiving the award.

She said that being named instructor of the year has been an overwhelming and humbling experience.

“The Instructor Quality Service Programme (IQSP) at HEART is an extremely rigorous exercise, which examines every possible facet of the National Training Agency’s excellent corps of professionals. To be able to stand tall at the end is surely a wonderful achievement for me,” she said.

Doman added that she intends to build on this success by continuing to positively engage and challenge the many trainees who attend the Falmouth VTC. She wants them to strive to be comparable or better than their counterparts anywhere in the world.

A family woman, Doman is married to Everod Doman and is the mother of their three-year-old son Raheem. She also serves her community as a past president of the Junior Chamber International in Montego Bay, and as a certified first aider and trainer.