Customs Officer talks his way to the top

Patrick Hutchins has been a Customs Officer for the past six years. He works on the northern Grenadine island of Bequia, and that may have served as a source of inspiration for him as he spoke his way to the top in the recent Inter-ministerial Public Speaking competition at the Peace Memorial Hall.{{more}}

Hutchins beat three other contenders on his way to the title.

The prepared speech was on the introduction of the Value Added Tax and that category gave Hutchins the big leap.

Second in that section was Foreign Affairs Commerce and Trade’s Administrative Cadet Omari Williams.

Williams also won the impromptu segment with his presentation on ‘Public Officers Could Do Better to Improve the Image of the Public service.’

Hutchins’ impromptu speech was on the topic ‘Would you recommend the Public Service as a career?’

The other competitors were Casana Sutton whose impromptu topic was ‘Should the use of seatbelts be mandatory?” and Cornlene Samuel whose topic was ‘How should HIV positive persons be treated in the workplace?”

The Inter-ministerial Public Speaking Competition was part of a week of activities marking Public Service Week.