Gillian Bristol, a Grenadian national, recently rewrote history when she became the first CARICOM national elected to lead the 80 year old staff association at the Washington-based Organization of American States. Surrounded by throngs of colleagues, Bristol was sworn in Wednesday as President of the OAS Staff Association, at the helm of a “Dream Team” swept into office on a five-pronged platform to address staff welfare matters, chiefly: representation; job security; fairness in the workplace; participation and inclusiveness; and respect. Bristol then turned to Secretary General José Miguel Insulza and Assistant Secretary General Albert Ramdin and all members of staff, inviting them to “have a talk,” about creating a positive environment conducive to constructive engagement and interaction in the spirit of collegiality. The new President intimated that the conversation necessarily embraces all stakeholders, including the member states, a few of which were represented at the installation of the new Staff Committee. “Our ambition must be to achieve a synergy that inspires the best from us, transcends our differences, and builds on our commonalities.” Strengthening the Staff Association is already a top priority, as the new President signaled her Committee would go to work at once to strike up more focused, strategic alliances , for starters with two major international staff associations—the Federation of International Civil Servants Associations and the Washington International Staff Associations. Along with the President, the new Staff Committee comprises the following members, all based at headquarters in Washington: Luis Batlle, Rosana Martinelli, Jane Mohan, Bruce Rickerson, Patricia Quiroz, Luis Villalobos, and Lucrecia Zea-Yonker. The OAS Staff Association was established in 1928 for the Pan American Union, the forerunner to what twenty years later became the OAS. The Organization of American States has grown to 35 member states, including those of the CARICOM that began joining in the 1960s as they gained independence. Reprinted from Caribbean Net News caribbeannetnews.com