Up Front
Berna Thompson Cummins: AnAchiever, and a Woman of Many Roles
Berna Thompson Cummins
As a teacher, a businesswoman and a politician,Berna Thompson Cummins has had a storied life and her record ofpublic service is marked by many distinctions.
It may be difficult to assess for whichshe is most known. To some past students at Triple C, she willalways be known as a good teacher, who sometimes used the "paddle"to administer a dose of discipline.
Others may point to her as first female president of the Chamberof Commerce, or to her time as an elected member of the LegislativeAssembly, from 1992-1996.
And still others will adjudge her first on the basis on her roleas a businesswoman, part of the ownership and management structurein AL Thompson's Building Supplies Limited, better known as ALThompson's Home Depot.
She became a teacher, through a "knack for Spanish",which she speaks fluently. She recalled that before she went touniversity, the love for teaching began through two associates,Aloma Ebanks and Catherine Parsons.
"Aloma was teaching Spanish at the time, so she had me helpingher.
Catherine used to do English, so they had me like an assistant,and I got interested in teaching then. When I went off to school,I was really going for business, but I didn't take business courses,I ended up taking Education courses"
Actually, she said, she took administrative courses, and whenshe came back began teaching at Triple C. That was in 1971 andshe taught for five years before taking over as principal.
"I had started my second year as principal, when our motherdied in 1977 and I resigned and came to work in the store fulltime. She left teaching in 1978.
Yet today, she speaks fondly of those days "At Triple C,I loved that; in those days you could paddle and I had a paddle.A lot of my students, they will tell you, she was the best teacher.Paddle was a last resort -- nothing above the shoulders and ithad to be done with a witness.
"I made teaching fun, and I enjoyed it. In fact I would goback today, but I would have to go back and take a refresher course."
Her involvement in education includes stints on the board of directorsof the Community College, which she is now serving as Chairman.
Though she left teaching to help with the family business, Bernahad been exposed to business as a child, growing up with the family'slumber business around her.
What is today the vast enterprise of AL Thompson's Home Depotbegan as a lumber business by her father, who had worked as acarpenter with the United States Navy in Colon in the Panama CanalZone. This was 1946 when he married their mother and took herthere. He worked there for nearly five years. On return to Cayman,contrary to the pattern of other men at the time, he never wentto sea.
"He started in South Sound, across the street from Smith'sCove. He built this boat and a guy from Honduras came with lumberand he traded the boat for the lumber (believe it was mahogany)and he sold it bit by bit. By the time he was finished, the guycame back with another load and that's how he started the lumberbusiness," she related.
From there the business moved to George Town to the Thompson Building.She recalled that her father bought the property and "builtthe first and second floors, which were completed in April, 1966and then about three or four years later he added the third floor."
The lumber yard was located at what is now Cayman Village, whichthe elder Thompson converted from a lumber yard, into a shoppingplaza. As the business, grew, there was no room for expansiondowntown , and in 1988, AL Thompson's "left town completely"for its present Sound Way site.
At the time, skepticism about the wisdom of that move was rife."People said they didn't see how the business could survive,because who would come all the way up there," Berna remembered.
The business now occupies some 80,000 square feet of space, whichwas slowly expanded from an initial 25,000 square feet.
Along with her brother Altee, Berna keeps a hand in the business,"the way it has been since 1980, right after our mother died,"she said.
"When our mother died, my brother and I took over, but wegrew up with the business. Our parents taught us the formula forlumber, how to weigh nails, what are the different sizes and howto do everything. And I guess (not bragging) when you sorta havea knack and can make decisions and take leadership, then it wasn'ttoo difficult to take over the reins and do what you have to do.
Though she says she is not as active as she used to be, but sheand her brother work together. "Altee does all the buildingmaterials and I do the garden and house wares, and I deal withthe staff."
"A lot of the decisions I leave up to Al, but major decisionswe do together," she said. Like their recent purchase fromgovernment of land left over from the roundabout, near to thestore, which perhaps will be used to accommodate the new entranceto the store. "I'm the hard one, and he's the easy one."
One project she is actively handling now is the construction of10 housing units, as accommodation for staff.
Her foray into politics came as a result of her active contributionin business. She recalled that she was very active in the CaymanIslands Chamber of Commerce and served of its Council for eightyears before becoming president, 1990-1992.
She also served at the time on the board of the Port Authority,and "so many" others, like on the Labour Review committeefor introduction of Labor Law in 1984. She had served on othercommittees, she noted, and recalled that the employees assistanceprogramme was started during her tenure as president of the Chamber.
"So I was very active, and everybody kept saying why don'tyou get into politics, you have a good business sense and in Decemberthe Queen announced that I had gotten an MBE so I thought if I'minvolved and helping why don't I just continue and then I gotinto politics and won the election. That was 1992. I actuallyreceived the award in June 1992," she recollected.
Like teaching before it, she also enjoyed politics. Berna attributesa political legacy to both her father and mother - her fatherwas a Vestryman, and "we're probably the only father-daughterteam historically to have served," she mused.
Her mother, she said, apart from being a businesswoman, was verycivic-minded. She recalled going to the Legislative Assembly withher mother and other women "in 72 or 73 when the United Nationscame for a review of our constitution."
"My dad enjoys politics. I get it from both," she said,of her own love for it.
"What I enjoyed most in politics was dealing with the public- you don't have too much privacy. The last years in politicsI had to quit grocery shopping - couldn't get out of there, wasalways stopping to talk to someone," she recounted fondly.
She noted that some of the things that people expected from theirpolitical representatives -- paying their mortgage, paying theirrent and finding money for diapers - are "not really whatyou were elected for and you have to draw the line."
Berna's own way of drawing the line, was to point people in thedirection they could get help. When I was in politics, it wasn'ta matter of giving and helping them financially. A lot of timespeople wouldn't know here to go or who to turn to for help."
To help them get this help, she said, "was very rewarding."
Of business and politics, she said: "I do enjoy both, becausewhen you're making decisions you have to look at it from a businesspoint of view. I've always maintained that why shouldn't governmentbe a business? Why should they be operating at a loss, just becauseit's government? A lot of people don't see it that way, but governmenthas to provide certain services, and if those services aren'tmaking a profit or holding their own, then they need to restructure.And government can be successful. I agree there are a lot of thingsprivate industry can do, but government has to provide some services,"the outspoken Berna said.
Yet she noted that "government cannot provide everythingfor everybody all the time. I have heard of people getting pensionjust because they went to sea, without question of real need.These are the things I worry about," Berna said.
Being a member of boards such as that of the Community College(of which she is now the Chairman), and the National Museum (whichshe served as Chairman for eight years) has shown her "thatnothing is free, and in the end government has to pay and we thepeople pay government. So it comes back to us. I really believeit's too much of free this and that."
How to change that? Berna points to a practice at the CommunityCollege, where the $35 paid to each director per meeting is putback into the community college board of directors fund, whichis offered as a scholarship at the end of the year. "Formerseamen who are not needy could do the same," she suggested.
Aside from teaching, business and politics, Berna is also wellknown for serving on public boards, such as the Trade and BusinessLicensing Board.
"I served on the Trade and Business Licence Board, actuallywhen it was first formed as the Chairperson and I fell under Mr.Donovan Ebanks, the deputy chief secretary, and we would reportto him. We didn't have a lot of guidelines, but we had a lot ofgood people from different industries who were very aware."
She recalled dealing with two major issues while there.
"One was Island Companies being bought by Nuance. Well theprevious Immigration Board had heard that and they said yes, nextthey said no, then yes, and finally it went to court; and thejudge in July of 1997, (or 1998) I believe, I think I took overin 1998, that it should go back to the new Board.
Well we had over 400 objections, written and verbal, petitions,so we
decided, we'd have an open meeting, in the Town Hall. We had about40 people but unanimously the board decided that it was a multi-nationalcompany (its profit in one year was 14 million) and that we didn'tneed that in Cayman."
Noting that the owners feel that they has the right to sell, "andwe are not saying that they don't; however, they do not have theright to sell to infringe on other people in the community. Ifthat is granted, it will be a very, very serious precedent. Thatwill be opening the gate wide for any multi-national company tocome in."
The matter will be heard by Executive Council on February 14.
She cited the second issue as that of Esso and the oil companiesand the meaning of pure bulk storage. Noting that all the dealersare not as contented as the public would be led to believe, sherecalled one telling her that if he sells a condom, Esso getseight percent. "That's not Esso's and Texaco's role,"she emphasised.
Berna is also known for her role as a ponsor of FC InternationalFootball Club. That association, she said began from the club'sinception in 1993. She said she got involved because two formerstudents were on the team and invited her participation.
Her contribution is more time than money, Berna says, as wellas coordinating the Club's Raffle, which sponsors its summer footballcamp and involves children aged 5-15. "One summer we had168 students and a coach from Brasil.They learn the skills andlearn about soccer and its wonderful. That's how I got startedin football, but I do enjoy sports - several, except cricket,"Berna remarked.
With the same passion that she speaks of her public life, Bernaalso enthuses about her family. Married (for a third time) toSteve Cummins, Marketing and Sales Director at Morritt's Tortuga,and now living in East End, she speaks of the calm she finds awayfrom George Town.
"Oh I love it. It's so peaceful. Once you hit Frank Sound,it's a different feeling altogether," she says with delight.
She has three children - a 25-year-old daughter who is followingin her footsteps and is now a teacher's aide at St. Ignatius CatholicSchool, a 23-year-old son, who is a certified sky diver and haspursued Economics and Business at the University of Tampa, andanother son, 16, who attends Florida air Academy.
Berna has received numerous awards and accolades for her publicand business contribution, including being conferred as a Memberof the British Empire (MBE) in June 1992.
Asked what has meant most to her in her public life she said:"I would have to say my MBE and I also got Woman of the Year- the first - in February 1990."