Blessed with a visionary mindset, this week's Young Professional Roger N. Frank has intertwined his skills in the corporate world with his passion for Virgin Islands music to help propel VIBE towards the direction needed to succeed in the music industry. Photo: VINO/File

According to Frank, VIBE has become more than a band now and has neatly transformed itself into a brand. Photo: VINO/File

Frank considers himself to be very family oriented and spends much of his time with his ten-year-old son, his mother and other close relatives. Photo: supplied

More importantly for this Week’s Young Professional, Roger N. Frank, part of the skillset required as Band Manager of VIBE [Virgin Islands Based Entertainment], is being a visionary.

Blessed with this mindset, Frank has intertwined his skills in the corporate world with his passion for Virgin Islands music to help propel VIBE towards the direction needed to succeed in the music industry.

“I like seeing things through…” Frank related, “seeing [VIBE] from where it was to seeing it to where it’s at was my aim initially when I got into it… to make it more than what it was.”

His tale begins roughly around the time he left the Territory as a young Virgin Islander, migrating briefly to the United States before returning around the age of fifteen to finish his final two years of High School in Virgin Gorda.

Frank considers himself to be very family oriented and spends much of his time with his ten-year-old son, his mother and other close relatives.

Our Young Professional studied periodically at the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College (HLSCC) while settling into his first job, a public sector post with the then Department of Solid Waste, where he worked for three years.

Following his relatively brief sojourn in the public service, Frank moved to the private sector, initially starting out as a Process Server with the Farara Kerins Law Firm, and has remained there ever since.

Now in the realm of Corporate Sales, Frank currently works as a Small/Medium Account Executive with LIME BVI where he has been for the past three years. At LIME, he serves as the main point of contact to an exclusive list of VIP level customers.

Being good friends with one of VIBE’s lead singers Raul ‘Jougo’ Sprauve gave Frank a chance encounter with what was by then one of the most popular and dynamic musical outfits in the Virgin Islands - the Showtime Band.

“Growing up in the US, I was basically into the hip hop scene,” Frank explained, “and coming back down here it was a little different.” It is this fascination with VI music that eventually led him to become a follower of his friend’s band at the time.

Afterwards, he approached Sprauve and other members about becoming the band’s manager and the group later met and decided that he was the ideal candidate to lead them into the future.

What Frank brings to the table, is a sense of drive and vision that the band may otherwise have been lacking in his absence. His obvious humility would not readily determine this, but he hinted at the quiet and steely efforts that were made over the years on behalf of the band that has made it into the household name that it has become today.

His first venture with the band in 2008 birthed an album release party for 'Showtime Band -  The Family Vol. 3' that created quite a splash. The added presence of US Reality TV star, Buddha of 'I Love New York' at the event also helped to thrust the band towards a completely new level. Frank strongly believes this event allowed the band to set itself apart from other bands in the Territory at the time.

After spending four years with the band, Frank stepped away for period in 2012 before returning to manage the VI Showtime band, which later became VIBE. According to Frank, VIBE has become more than a band now and has neatly transformed itself into a brand.

In doing business with anyone, Frank said his philosophy is always to help persons and meeting the other person halfway allows for a fair exchange for both parties in this instance. He has translated this philosophy fully in managing the band and expressed contentment in stating that VIBE is made up of a good team right now.

Their next event will be a #Selfie Party sponsored by Caribbean Cellars which will be held on May 17, 2014 at Club Opium. It promises to be yet another hit in the annals of VI entertainment, especially considering the craze that has surrounded the popular social media phenomenon.

For Frank, nothing in this world is ever too far-fetched and out of touch.

His advice to other youths is to follow what they love to do. “The world is changing a lot these days and things are becoming more achievable,” Frank stated, “never think that something is too far out of your reach and just continue to strive and just add to yourself… build yourself.”