Quarterly Membership Meeting
The Saint Lucia National Trust held its first quarterly membership meeting for the year on Sunday 25thApril, 2021. The meeting was held virtually on Zoom and live on our Facebook page and was the second time the SLNT had used the Zoom platform for a quarterly meeting. A number of important items on the agenda were discussed including the impact of Covid-19 on the SLNT, the Cabot Development, the PINL Interpretation Centre, the Queen’s Chain Policy and membership matters, including the formation of a membership committee.
Our Corporate Services Manager, Mrs. Jeannine Compton–Antoine, in her presentation on the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on the operations of the SLNT, highlighted the financial impact that the pandemic had on the SLNT since April 2020 to present. Mrs. Compton-Antoine informed members that due to the severe financial impact, the SLNT was forced to undergo a restructuring exercise which led to a reduction in the staff complement by 50% and also a reduction in the salaries of those staff who were retained. Recognizing our financial woes, a call to members was made to renew their membership, promote membership and to encourage donations to the SLNT to aid the organization on its journey back to stability.
Our Chairperson, Ms. Alison King gave an update on the Cabot Development and provided highlights on the archaeological report on the Anse Lavoutte site prepared by Antiguan Archeologist, Dr. Reginald Murphy. At the time of the Quarterly meeting, the report was being reviewed by the SLNT and comments have since been sent to the DCA. Dr. Murphy has since returned to Saint Lucia to conduct further investigations; see article on the Archeological investigations at Anse Lavoutte.
Our Director, Mr. Bishnu Tulsie, presented on the critical issue of the Queen’s Chain and access to it and suggested that a more structured approach to its management needs to be developed. The establishment of a committee to discuss this matter further was proposed by our Chairperson with the aim of developing a proposal to be reviewed and approved by members, for subsequent submission to the Government.
Finally, a decision was made to form a membership committee to review membership retention, engagement, categories and fees. This committee comprises two volunteering SLNT members and a member of staff. The two SLNT members are Mrs. June Frederick and Mrs. Joanne De Lima-Michel and the member of staff is Mrs. Jeannine Compton-Antoine. We look forward to the recommendations from this committee and we also encourage other members to share suggestions and recommendations for the Committee’s consideration, with the aim of making a more resilient organisation for the benefit of us all.