FALMOUTH, Trelawny — Eighteen years ago when Falmouth resident Dawn Henry accepted a temporary job as an administrative secretary, set to last for three months at the offices of the Jamaica Union of Travellers Association (JUTA) Falmouth Chapter, she had no idea that one day she would become the president of the male-dominated chapter.

In fact, in 2014, she agreed to vie for the presidency of the then almost 37-years-old organisation, after she was besieged by members who saw her enormous potential and were convinced that such a vibrant and articulate no-nonsense woman was the tonic the chapter needed to take it out of the doldrums.

The fact that the multimillion-dollar Falmouth Cruise Ship Pier was opened for business, and was expected to provide enormous earnings for ground transportation operators, was even the more reason members of the chapter believed that Henry was the best choice for the job.

When the votes were cast on election night, it was not surprising then that Henry got 164 of the 248 ballots cast.

In an interview with the Jamaica Observer, she recalled that it was two weeks after she started the temporary job at JUTA Falmouth Chapter that she was offered permanent employment.

“I came to relieve a pregnant employee for three months, in April 1999, but after two weeks, then president, Seymour Doctor, and a trustee asked me if I had an interest in being a part of the company, and I said to them ‘yes,’ because I really liked what I was doing,” said Henry, sporting a broad smile.

Starting in the post as acting administrative clerk, Henry later because the acting secretary for the chapter, before her appointment in 2008 as secretary — a post she held until June 2014 when she was appointed acting president.

Five months later she was elected to head the organisation, making her the first woman chapter president of the powerful Jamaica Union of Travellers Association.

In the subsequent years, she has been returned unopposed as president.

Stressing that it was never her intention to lead the chapter, Henry believes that it was due to her hard work and passion for serving members why she was the overwhelming favourite to lead the group.

“It was never an office I ever thought about… I guess persons looking on saw the potential that I had… I believe that getting the presidency was something orchestrated by the members, not myself, because I had never one day spoken about, or thought about being the president of JUTA Falmouth Chapter,” the articulate Henry shared.

“When I was acting as the president, the members come and say that they wanted me to be their president, and that I fit the office…, but I never thought about it. It was something that just fell in my lap.”

Noting that as president she does not get a salary, but rather a stipend, the devout Christian stressed that, despite the challenges that come with the job, she immensely enjoys serving the members.

“It is my passion, I love what I do; I really enjoy serving the members. There are challenges, but the benefits of seeing the members in the system working and making a dollar outweighs all the challenges that I have,” she argued.

As president, Henry single-handedly ensures that the documentation of her members’ vehicles is in line with what is prescribed by the Jamaica Tourist Board, the Transport Authority, and other related agencies; negotiates contracts with players in the tourism sector with a view of securing work for members; and ensure they conform with the policy of the chapter.

And noting that she has no support staff, her job sometimes becomes a “24-hour job”.

“There is always someone wanting information, or I have to go to a meeting… my job entails a lot of discussions with different persons, in terms of getting contracts and jobs for JUTA Falmouth Chapter members and a lot of paperwork. So it’s really a lot of work and it takes a lot of time,” she explained.

In spite of this, Henry also doubles up as a tour operator ,and is oftentimes seen transporting guests from the Falmouth Pier on excursions to various attractions and places of interest across the island.

“I never thought that I would be a tour operator until last year. I had a driver — very competent driver — but somehow I started to think that, as a manager, I must be out there on a day-to-day basis to see what is happening on the outside. I was kind of timid at first, but when I went out there last June I found out that this is something I really like… I am now realising that it really builds me as a person to relate to different nations, get to understand about persons living in other countries,” she explained.

Under Henry’s presidency JUTA Falmouth Chapter has seen tremendous growth in membership in recent years.

In fact, the growth started just before her ascendency — when plans were announced for the development of the Falmouth Pier. According to Henry, the chapter, which now has 312 members, has seen an almost 100 per cent increase in membership since 2010.

And although the vast majority is male, Henry told the Sunday Observer that she is not turned off by that fact.

“It’s a male-dominated business, but I am not daunted. Because of my personality there is no fear, no intimidation. I am a no-nonsense person and it doesn’t matter to me whether the members are male or female or what is their age. I just try to do my job regardless of who the person is, and maintain a certain level of professionalism, so I really don’t feel intimidated. Over the years, I have built a very good relationship with the members,” she emphasised.

Acknowledging that she is a “little disappointed” with the amount of business her chapter gets from the Falmouth Pier, Henry said that her members are still grateful.

“With the opening of the Falmouth Pier we thought that things would be much, much better, that we would have got more business from the pier, but we are still grateful that we still have the privilege to be working with the Port Authority of Jamaica and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines,” she stated.

Adrian “Don” McKenzie, a member of the JUTA Falmouth Chapter for 15 years, said that Henry has done a remarkable job for the organisation since she became president.

“I am with her (Henry) 100 per cent because she is doing a good job,” McKenzie declared.

“Right now it’s time for us to renew the documents for our vehicles, and she is the one who is doing it for all of us. She takes our documents to the Tourist Board, Transport Authority… all that sort of thing, and I don’t see any other president doing that for their members.”

JUTA Falmouth Chapter was founded in 1977 by the late Simeon Archer, who saw the need to organise tour operators in Trelawny in a bid to better serve visitors to the island.

Henry said that since then, the chapter has grown “leaps and bounds”.

“We have really come a long way, and we just want the public to know that we aspire to be the destination carrier for Trelawny and its environs, and that we offer quality service. Our operators will go the extra mile because serving is our pleasure,” she said.