TelEm Group management treated personnel to popcorn and a movie following the company’s end of year General Meeting Thursday.
The unusual venue for this year’s meeting was the Caribbean Cinemas in Simpson Bay, which was transformed into a giant meeting room, complete with powerpoint projector and live audio.
Management chose the venue to put a bit of fun into the last meeting of the year, and also to launch a new TelCell commercial that will be playing at the movies under an exclusive contract signed between Caribbean Cinemas and TelEm Group mobile carrier, TelCell.
During her presentation to staff, CFO Mrs. Etnel said this was just one of the many achievements the company could be proud of during the current year, which has created an important commercial and business impact on the St. Maarten community.
Mrs. Etnel highlighted many of these gains which are being fuelled by a new company vision, mission and core values, also introduced during the course of the current year.
She also thanked staff for their input and personal commitment to many of the projects organized by the company during the past year to attract public and community attention, including the Breakthrough talent search event, The Family Fun Park and a facelift to the company’s visual presence in the St. Maarten community.
Mrs. Etnel said there are many positive signs that TelEm Group and its personnel will reap many benefits from the restructuring process that ended this year and that these benefits will return the company to a profit for the year 2013.
"Congratulations, we have done it again," concluded the CFO at the end of her presentation.
Chief Technical Officer (CTO) Mr. Eldert Louisa gave a brief presentation in which he outlined some of the technical difficulties his division has been experiencing this year with the company’s mobile voice and data network. He attributed much of this to interference and frequency issues first from nearby Anguilla and later from St. Kitts. He explained in detail to staff what is causing the problem and how the company is structurally dealing with these problems in the interest of TelEm Group customers.
Mr. Louisa also informed staff about some of the technical plans for the coming year and assured that the technical division will be doing all it can to meet a number of challenges and projects ahead.
Chief Commercial Officer, Mr. Brain Mingo, gave an outline of the company’s Commercial Road map and touched on some of the products and services TelEm Group would be introducing to keep ahead of the competition locally and also to deliver products and services in other markets outside of St. Maarten.
"We are following international trends by dropping in some areas and continuing to grow in other areas and I am confident we will meet our revenue targets for the coming year," said Mr. Mingo.
The highlight of the general meeting was the introduction of a TelEm Group Anthem that was sung to staff for the first time by vocalist Rosanna Castilla and the distribution of company pins to personnel.
The meeting was then followed with a gesture by the Management team who served popcorn, drinks and candy to personnel while they waited to watch the movie feature presentation, Last Angeles together.
Personnel said they appreciated the information from management and feel the company is going in the right direction considering the competition from other local carriers and outside technologies, such as Skype and Social Media, that are taking traditional revenues away from the company.
TelEm Group has meantime started its annual Christmas promotions with a 12 Day of Christmas Countdown, followed by a Christmas Village Fair on Saturday, upcoming.
The company is also planning a number of fun events with staff to see out the year and bring in the New Year.