A LEADING petroleum company in the Caribbean and Latin America last Thursday introduced Lawrence McNaughton as its newly appointed General Manager for Saint Lucia and Dominica.
McNaughton, a Jamaican, is no stranger to Saint Lucia having worked here before at the telecommunications company, LIME. He was introduced to local media personalities at a ceremony marking Sol EC Ltd 10th anniversary at the St James Club.
At that ceremony, he fielded questions from reporters about the company’s rebranding strategy and expansion plans here and in the region and its move to fortify its presence in Saint Lucia. But he was more fervent about his company’s decision to help build the region through the development of its youthful population.
“For us at SOL, one of our major priorities is to help build the future of our region through youth development. As we continue to celebrate 10 years of operations, we have renewed our focus on responsible corporate social responsibility through investment in the present and future development of communities in our local markets.
“We are honoured to use our position as a leading Caribbean company to provide support for initiatives such as the Saint Lucia Jazz Festival’s educational component, the human development programme at St. Joseph’s convent and the social welfare programme at St. Mary’s College that are seriously working in the best interest of local youth. We remain committed to being your leading community partner in Saint Lucia and in the region,” McNaughton said.
The company has a high interest in the development of the youth in Saint Lucia as is evident in the secondary schools it has adopted in the Castries South Constituency, its investment in programmes like the Boys Rehabilitation Project and Boys’ Training Centre Greenhouse Project.
“We’ve had more of a behind the scenes role in the Saint Lucian society through our work and partnerships in the local sector. Now we are pleased to reassert our presence in Saint Lucia through our current rebranding of Shell Service Stations to SOL.
“Our ongoing efforts to grow and solidify SOL’S presence locally and in the region are also being reflected via the regional youth and human development projects that we support. Our local projects will result in an estimated total investment of US$10 million for the year. We are especially proud of our local and regional staff, and our dealers who continue to exemplify the SOL vision in serving our valued customers and communities.
“Our continued progress is a result of our leadership, our dealers and our team members being 100 percent committed to our vision. Being able to make a significant investment in the social and economic growth of Saint Lucia and the region is a responsibility we as a team are happy to take on,” McNaughton said.