From left: F.D. Roosevelt Airport manager Darren Wilson, Government Commissioner Marnix van Rij, Economy and Infrastructure policymaker Susanna van den Groenendaal-Van der Linden and Public Works and Services supervisor Kenneth Andre van Putten.
ST. EUSTATIUS--The public entity St. Eustatius held a swearing-in ceremony for three new civil servants at Vincent A. Lopes Legislative Hall on Friday in the presence of Government Commissioner Marnix van Rij, Governor’s Cabinet staff member Rient Hassell, Personal Affairs staff member Janella Fletcher-Jackson, Government Information Service (GIS) protocol officer Mercedes Lopes-Spanner, GIS staff member Michael Spanner and family and friends.
The civil servants sworn in were Susanna van den Groenendaal-Van der Linden, Kenneth Andre van Putten and Darren Wilson.
Van Rij congratulated the three civil servants on accepting the responsibility required of Statia’s civil servants.
“As all of you know, there is a lot to do here on the island and we are very happy that despite COVID-19 we are able to hire very competent people from the island and from abroad,” Van Rij said. He said their choice to work with the government will add to their personal development and they will enjoy the island life.
Van den Groenendaal-Van der Linden was born in the Netherlands on June 8, 1987, and is a policy maker at the Department of Economy and Infrastructure. Her husband and two young children were present at the ceremony.
Van Putten was born in Trinidad and Tobago on August 22, 1975. He will be supervisor of Public Works and Services. He is the son of the late Member of the Parliament of the former Netherlands Antilles for Statia Albert Kenneth van Putten. The father of two boys and a girl was quarantined in Statia for two weeks and was able to come out in time to be sworn in.
Wilson was born in St. Maarten on May 11, 1987, and has been working as F. D. Roosevelt Airport manager since October 19, 2020, when he took over from interim manager Richard van Dinter, who had been overseeing airport operations since July 2020, when interim airport manager Ric Isarin departed. Wilson’s wife and child are currently in St. Maarten. He hails from Saba.
