April 28, 2008 – On April 17, certificates of completion of the Core Refinery Training Program were presented to 31 residents of St. Croix during a graduation ceremony held in the auditorium at the Hovensa L.L.C. refinery before a standing room only gathering attended by a large number of relatives and friends of the graduates and officials of the company.
Terry Hogan, Hovensa learning systems manager, began the ceremony by noting that the class was composed of employees from several departments: the Quality Control Laboratory, the Terminal Operations Department, the Technical Services Department, and the Process Operations Department. Her announcement that 26 of the 31 persons in the class had achieved an average of 92 percent or higher received loud applause from the audience.
Jerry Jackson, the president of Local 8526 of the Steelworkers Union, which represents the operations and maintenance employees of HOVENSA, said that he was pleased that some of the graduates were the sons or daughters of current or former employeesand was particularly pleased that one of the graduates, Asim Shillingford, had secured a college degree on the mainland on a scholarship from the local union and had returned to St. Croix to pursue a career at Hovensa.
Jackson told the gathering that the company treats tardiness seriously, even if you are a few minutes late. He urged the parents, spouses, friends and "significant others" of the graduates to make sure that the graduates get to work on time. He concluded his remarks by telling the graduates, "I am hoping that the majority of you will have the success that I have had in working for the company for the past 32 years."
In his remarks, Larry Kupfer, president and chief operating officer, informed the guests of the mission, vision and values of the company. He pointed out that part of its vision is "to be the safest, cleanest and most environmentally responsible refinery for the world." He said, "We want to be the best that we can be."
He stated that the company is "world class" in size being the 11th largest refinery in the world, but it also wants to be world class in terms of performance.
Kupfer went n to tell the audience that the refinery is a safe place to work, pointing out that, based on statistics on employee injuries maintained by the company in accordance with standards set by the U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration, the refinery is a safer place in which to work than the average restaurant, grocery store or casino.
Kupfer also told the graduates that two of his secrets to success have been to maintain a "positive, can-do attitude" and to "be a team player." He urged them to do the same and urged their family members in attendance to remind the graduates of this whenever they displayed a negative attitude about the job.
The individuals who received certificates of completion were:
Wendell Beharry Jeremiah John-Baptiste, Julian Chooran Jr., Hermina Joseph, Peter Cole Jr., Michelle Magras, Desmond Crossley, Lester Mitchell, Mario Cruz, Teresa Mudge, Tristan Vern Donnelly, Lesly A. Rivera, Tayron Estremera, Edwin Rosario, Tawana Farrell, Luis G. Santiago-Tirado, Lionel Farrington Jr., Asim Hasani Shillingford, Lenell Freeman, Daneeze Silcott, Susan Gumbs, Kaleef Sobratti, Andrea Harrigan, Simpson Daria Stevens, Clement Henvillien, Noel Stewart, Racley Hercules, Linden Tang Yuk, Jessica Herman, Lindel Wiltshire and Wendy M. Jarvis.
Hovensa Director of Human Resources Strategies Melinda Andrews introduced Lenell Freeman and Wendell Beharry as the valedictorian and salutatorian of the class. She read a brief biography on each of them before presenting awards to them. In her remarks, Freeman told her fellow graduates, "We must build on each other's strength; we are now a team, so we must look out for each other and learn from each other."
Salutatorian Wendell Beharry said that the training program was one of the most challenging things he had done in his life. He said that they took more than 28 tests during the 13 weeks of training, and, among other things, he had learned to always place safety first.
Mario Cruz was recognized by Technical Services Director Vince D'Ippolito as the top technical service engineer in the class. Four recently hired engineering graduates were placed in the class to familiarize themselves with the processing units and with the process operators with whom they would interact in their work. Cruz, who graduated from the University of Puerto Rico with a degree in chemical engineering told the gathering that "with hard work and determination you can achieve anything." He said that he thought safety was just a word, but he has now learned it is a way of life.
Hovensa Vice President of Environment, Health and Safety Dick Smullen presented an award to Jeremiah John-Baptiste for giving the best safety presentation to the class during its 13 weeks of training.
Anthony Bhola, the principal instructor for the training program, was presented a plaque by the members of the class as an expression of their appreciation for his work with the class. The plaque was made of tempered glass in the shape of a cricket bat and had a metal commemorative plaque affixed to it. Bhola, who is a cricket fan, was obviously impressed by the unique plaque.
