COLE BAY, St. Maarten – The Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset invited Mr. Anastacio Baker to present at the general meeting on Monday, January 27th . Mr. Baker, in his former capacity as Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (COCI), served as the ideal guest speaker for the month’s theme of Vocational Service. As owner and managing director of several family owned businesses on the island, Mr. Baker was able to provide vital information from both the COCI aspect, as well as a small business owner himself.
In 2014 Mr. Baker was elected to the board of the St. Maarten Chamber of Commerce and in 2015 elected as the Treasurer thereof. In 2016, he was elected as Vice- President of the COCI and re-elected in 2017. Mid 2017, Mr. Baker left Princess Juliana International airport to take up the fulltime position as Executive Director of the St. Maarten Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In 2019, he resigned from the position in order to focus on the family businesses fulltime. Throughout Rotary, there is always a desire to build connections and promote entrepreneurship. Therefore, given his recent position held within COCI, he was able to provide up to date information on the closures and openings of registered businesses, as well as information about the focal point of newly registered businesses from 2017 to 2019. Mr. Baker also provided vital information into the status of the economy, as well as viable small business opportunities that have not yet saturated the economic market.
Rotary Foundation Chair, Michelette Boasman, as a business owner herself, saw the importance of inviting Mr. Baker to speak to the membership about the benefits and challenges of owning businesses locally, as there are entrepreneurs within the club. “Mr. Baker, as a young and local small business owner, served as the ideal guest presenter to provide key information on various ways to assist small businesses as well as the importance of them to our economy”, Boasman added.
The club would like to thank Mr. Anastacio Baker for his presentation, insights and advice, especially with few small business ideas provided. The Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset meets every second and fourth Monday of the month at Carl N Sons Unique Inn and Conference Facilities in Colebay at 7:30pm. The club can be contacted via email at rotarysxmsunset@gmail.com or via the official Facebook page at facebook.com/rotarysxmsunset.
