In November last year, Jesse James, proprietor of Members Only Maxi Taxi Service was awarded the prestigious Trinidad and Tobago Coalition of Services Industries (TTCSI) “Service Provider of the Year 2014 Award”, and last month, Jesse was invited to London where he was presented with the Ocean Cruising Club’s “Port Officer of the Year 2014 Award” which has been described as the ‘Oscars of the Cruising World’. This is an incredible achievement.
Receiving awards is not new to Jesse because on two previous occasions he has received awards: Firstly in 2001 when he was presented with an award from the largest yacht cruising association in the world, the Seven Seas Cruising Association (SSCA) for “Camaraderie and Compassionate Services” to its members, and this was followed by a second award from the SSCA in 2005 for “Exceptional Service” to its members. Besides receiving these awards, several years ago Jesse and his wife Sharon Rose were appointed the SSCA’s ‘Cruising Station’ in Trinidad. A cruising station denotes a local person or persons to whom an SSCA member can go to get highly respected advice and assistance. Jesse was not appointed by chance, his testimonials are numerous and his support from the SSCA community is massive, and his fame is far reaching amongst world cruisers and yachting visitors. Several articles have been published about him in a host of yachting magazines yet Jesse James remains a humble person giving his wife much of the credit for his gentle manner, his strong beliefs and his ultimate success.
Jesse started out very humbly by showing yachting visitors around Trinidad in his minivan which he also used as his office. He soon introduced regular weekly trips for yachting visitors to the market in Port of Spain and this grew into an active business in which he negotiated special concessions with supermarkets for his visiting groups. Before long, Jesse employed a wide network of handpicked, very reliable drivers and as he became more involved with the cruising community he saw a need for not only a transport service, but also to give sound advice and assistance in other areas like interesting places to visit, how to get medical attention, and so forth. He arranged a wide variety of sight-seeing tours, including hiking, beach visits, cultural and sporting activities, shopping, 24hr airport service, visits to restaurants as well as any special events happening in Trinidad. Jesse is particularly passionate about helping visitors experience the diverse experiences and cultures in Trinidad.
Jesse James is an exceptional person, a man of immense integrity. He goes about his work arranging tours and visits to interesting places and helping visitors when in need. He does it all without subvention, only with the goodness of his heart. The yachting industry salutes Jesse James in recognition of the huge effort and assistance he has given and continues to give to visitors, both yachting and otherwise. Thank you Jesse, your awards are well deserved, you truly are a champion of our nation.
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