Business Spotlight Sitting from L: Alvin Blaize - Field Officer, Celina Hercules Manager, Eugenie Samuel - Senior Accounts Officer Standing from L: Samantha Pologne - Loans Officer, Keitha Dubois - Teller
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elina Hercules, Manager for the past five years of the St. Lucia Workers Credit Union Ltd, was all set to showcase the Credit Union as it was chosen for this issue’s Business Spotlight, she however became bashful upon being the ‘face’ of the company as Business Focus is about Faces. Though at the helm of the operation, she modestly stated that she would prefer the piece to be centered on the business as opposed to her, only divulging minimal information about herself: One of the founding members, and as of January 2010 a Monroe College
BUSINESS FOCUS
DEC 2009
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graduate with a degree in Business Management. It is clear that being in the limelight is not her thing. However, when it came down to talking the hard facts of the Credit Union, she was completely ready to disclose that information. When the St. Lucia Workers Credit Unions Ltd opened for business 27 years ago – it started with $20 000, compared to the figure it runs on today: $22 000 000 with 7800 members. According Hercules, Credit Unions have been growing steadily over the last 25-30 years, starting out as virtual unknowns, meaning they target a
niche market and credit unions need to have a niche markets. For instance if one was employed with the public sector, one would be a member of the Civil Service Credit Union. The St. Lucia Workers Credit Unions Ltd in the same vain, targets private sector members. When it started, she says, it was mainly Cable & Wireless [now LIME] employees who comprised the membership, but they soon expanded to include other members of the private sector. Thought credit unions do not offer the complete suite of services that a bank