Mrs Henene Anne Lewis, who was appointed the new Chair of STEP which makes her the first member from the Caribbean region to be elected to this most senior position. She succeeded incumbent Chair Michael Young TEP, who retired from STEP’s Board in November 2012. Mrs Lewis officially took to the office from December 1, 2012. Photo: VINO

Mrs Helene Anne Lewis and her husband Mr H. Anthony Lewis being engaged in dialogue with Premier Dr the Honourable D. Orlando Smith as they grabbed a bite of the cocktail delicacies at Tuesday night's, January 29, 2013, occasion held in Mrs Lewis' honour. Photo: VINO

Legal practitioner Hélène Anne Lewis TEP has been appointed the new Chair of STEP making her the first member from the Caribbean region to be elected to this most senior position, having succeeded incumbent Chair Michael Young TEP, who retired from STEP’s Board in November 2012.

Hélène has practiced law in the Virgin Islands since 1990 and founded the Tortola-based SimonetteLewis, her private firm, in 2007. She became a STEP member in 2000 and served as Chair of the Society’s BVI Branch from 2003–2011. She received the George Tasker Founder’s Award for Outstanding Service to the Society in 2008.

After serving on STEP’s Council since 2010, Hélène was elected to the Board of Directors in July. As STEP Chair, she will preside over the Board and Council, providing collegiate leadership working with officers and other Board members. She will also be a senior ambassador for the Society. Her responsibilities took effect from December 1, 2012 and lasts for a year.

Last evening January 29, 2013, the BVI Society of STEP hosted a cocktail reception in Mrs Lewis’ honour, which was held by and attended by a humble audience at the patio of Maria’s By the Sea. Speaking at the function, Premier Dr the Honourable D. Orlando Smith acknowledged the importance and the role STEP has been playing in the development of the Virgin Islands over the years.

“STEP has been very active in helping us to promote the trust for the British Virgin Islands and in fact they were the group that helped to launch the Virgin Islands Special Trust which has been so good for the Trust as far as the BVI is concerned and they continue to be involved in making recommendations all the time in areas in which they think that the practice here can be improved to make it better for the Virgin Islands,” said the Premier.

The year ahead is going to be a challenging year for the STEP, the Virgin Islands and other similar off-shore sectors, according to Managing Director of the BVI Financial Services Commission Mr Robert Mathavious, who also happens to be the brother-in-law of Mrs Lewis. “I say this because the very, very thing that STEP focuses on the matter of trust will be brought under even greater intensity as the European Union intensifies its search for money and particularly under the presidency of Prime Minister Cameron of the UK,” he said in congratulating Lewis.

Mr Mathavious also acknowledged the significant role that STEP has been playing in the Virgin Islands especially at the level of the Financial Services Commission. Several others who spoke at the ceremony described Mrs Lewis as being an excellent dancer, as a person who will settle for nothing less than the best, very organized and disciplined, among other things. Mention was also made of her role in the formation of the Legal Aid Services in the Virgin Islands.

Speaking with Virgin Islands News Online, Mrs Lewis spoke of her humility in acceding to such a prestigious position being a Caribbean woman emerging to the helm of a society, which had its beginnings of strict English focus.

“The is a very proud achievement, I am very honoured to have been chosen and elected on the board by the members of the council to be Chairman of the Society,” she said adding that it is a very significant achievement since it’s the very first time someone from the Caribbean has been elected to the position of Chairman of a Society that was born in England some twenty (20) years ago and having started out mainly with English practitioners who practice Trust and Estate Law.

In the Caribbean STEP has a developed statute which makes provisions and builds on the basic concepts “So we have an opportunity to promote the products that we have been able to develop in the Caribbean.” She added, however, that more importantly much to the benefit of the Caribbean they are focused on offering educational professional opportunities for persons who work in the trust.

“It has been a crying need in the BVI and people have taken advantage of the opportunity. Many people have taken the opportunity of studying for certificates and certifying for carrying the letters TEP to their names, which brands them as a certified professional who has the highest level of standards of integrity and professionalism to bring to the industry.”

She expressed gratitude to those who sought it fit to hold the honour cocktail ceremony in recognition of her most recent achievement. Present were the Governor William B. McCleary, Premier Dr the Honourable D. Orlando Smith and his wife Lorna, Deputy Premier Dr the Honourable Kedrick Pickering and the honourable Marlon Penn.

“I found it quite humbling that they all thought it important enough to be here and of course I thank my husband and children because they put up with a lot of absences over the years.” While Ms. Lewis functions in her capability, she intends to continue to run her practice here in the Virgin Islands but says that she would have to be doing much more traveling to fulfill her mandates in the STEP Chairman position.