White and Yellow Cross Care Foundation operations manager Bregje Boetekees received a surprise visit from the president and members of St. Maarten Lions Club, who named her Citizen of the Year.
PHILIPSBURG--Bregje Boetekees, operations manager at White and Yellow Cross Care Foundation (WYCCF), has been named Citizen of the Year by St. Maarten Lions Club. She received the award in recognition of her extraordinary exemplary service to the community.
St. Maarten Lions Club outgoing President Linette Gibs surprised Boetekees with the Citizen of the Year Award during a ceremony at WYCCF. In making the presentation, Gibs said: “This award is highly justified, taking into consideration your outstanding contributions to the general wellbeing of our island and to the White and Yellow Cross Care Foundation in particular regard to the care of our seniors. You deserve to be recognised for the beautiful work that you do.”
Born in Curaçao as Bregje van ’t Hof, Boetekees started to work with White and Yellow Cross Care Foundation 24 years ago as a quality nurse. She was later promoted to the position of Department Manager and then appointed as Operations Manager of St. Martin’s Home in 2008. In this capacity, together with her team, she was able to develop numerous care products and services in the areas of elderly care, psycho-geriatric day care, rehabilitation, guided living at Sister Basilia Center and, as of late, a hospice.
Just after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Boetekees took on a proactive role in the management team to tackle this unwelcome guest. Her primary responsibility was to educate the local population as much as possible and provide the necessary opportunities for persons who desired to be vaccinated. She became a very active and vocal participant in several discussion forums, including accepting an invitation to host an information session for the members of the St. Maarten Lions Club.
In consultation and collaboration with government, Boetekees was instrumental in setting up a COVID-19 vaccination unit in the White and Yellow Cross and has been actively involved during the past two years to ensure the success of this project.
Well known for her boundless energy and her positivity, Boetekees takes a keen interest in her support staff team and maintains an open-door policy in her work environment. She demonstrated her very strong sense of responsibility after Hurricane Irma by taking it upon herself to accommodate and assist those staff members who had been confronted with uninhabitable housing situations. She followed up to ensure that they were assisted with the repair and reconstruction of their homes.
Her staff describe her as “a loyal, sincere, empathetic, hardworking lady. She knows all the seniors at the White and Yellow Cross by name.”
In accepting the award, Boetekees thanked St. Maarten Lions Club for the unexpected honour.
“I immensely enjoy what I do,” Boetekees said. “I would not have chosen any other career than this one. I love this island and I love the people.”
She commended the St. Maarten Lions Club for the great volunteer work and the essential role that service organisations play in the community.
