Bregje Boetekees awarded Citizen of the Year 2022!

Our own Operations Manager, Bregje Boetekees, was awarded the 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 by the St. Maarten Lions Club. We (obviously) think there is no other person more deserving of this award and are incredibly proud of her! That's why today we put her in the spotlight!

𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐣𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐬: “I feel very honored to have been chosen as citizen of the year by the Sint Maarten Lions Club. The WYCCF is an incredible organization to work for and that our hard work is seen and valued is wonderful. This is truly a team effort and is only possible because our foundation consists of dedicated, passionate, and caring staff who go out of their way to serve our clients. None of our success would be possible without our employees and dedicated board, who truly believe in us and support us to excel. The teams of WYCCF step up even more when “the going gets tough” and showed this again during these last two difficult Covid years. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐖𝐘𝐂𝐂𝐅 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐋𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐂𝐥𝐮𝐛 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞.”

The award is given for her outstanding contributions to the general well-being of St. Maarten and, specifically, the White & Yellow Cross Care Foundation. In her 22 years at the WYCCF (of which the last 14 as Operations Manager), she helped us further professionalize, continuously improving the quality of our care and expanding through several new care products, such as Rehabilitation center, Hospice, and Sister Basilia Center Guided Living.

In difficult circumstances, Bregje might be at her best, as she has demonstrated after hurricanes Irma & Maria, but also during the Covid-19 pandemic. Being on top of all new international and local developments, the WYCCF was able to adjust swiftly and adequately to the risks, always prioritizing the clients' and staff's physical and mental well-being. Outside of the WYCCF, she was also instrumental in developing the St. Maarten Covid-19 vaccination plan. As part of the islands Vaccination Management Team, she took it upon herself to do numerous information sessions and panel discussions and organized several vaccination pop-ups in and outside the WYCCF.

𝐈𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞 𝐊𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫: ‘’ I worked with Bregje from St.Rose Hospital and now here at the WYCC Foundation; she is a very caring person and will try to help you in any way she can. She made sure all of us were taken care of during and after the hurricane. During Covid, she was another example for the entire St.Maarten in educating everyone on how to handle the epidemic. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐦 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐲𝐜 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐬 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫. Congrats, Bregje it’s a well-deserved honor.‘’

We think she thoroughly deserves this award and are immensely proud of her! To many more years!!