Sales and marketing manager at Dolphin Cove Jamaica, Paul Andrew Norman can be described as honest, people oriented, self-driven, focused, passionate about excellence and high standards and a strong believer in God.
These character traits have helped to mould him into being a man, who has given his life as a vessel of service to his church, community and nation.
Previously, Mr. Norman has worked in managerial positions in various companies and has over 25 years of experience in operations along with sales and marketing.
However, his life has seen him being actively involved in his church, Calvary Tabernacle, United Pentecostal Church (UPC) in St Ann’s Bay, St Ann where he serves as Sunday school director and oversees the Calvary Tabernacle children’s choir. In addition, he is also a preacher of the gospel and has been invited on many occasions to speak at churches outside of the Pentecostal arena. Mr. Norman enjoys singing and he is one of the lead singers of the Calvary Tabernacle, UPC Mass Choir and also the Men’s Choir.
Mr Norman’s service is nowhere limited to the church, but extends throughout the community of St Ann to schools and groups that have sought his spiritual guidance and inspiring speeches. Among those groups is the probation office in St Ann’s Bay, where he has been invited to participate in workshops for teens.
Mr. Norman also serves as a member of the guidance committee at the Steer Town Primary and Junior High School in St Ann. During the time that he served as PTA President for York Castle High, he received the Parent of the Year award for that region, along with several other awards and acknowledgements from York Castle High School.
He has received several corporate and community awards for his outstanding contributions.
“My friends marvel about it (being active in the church and the community). I do well at work and I’m still involved in church, I’m very involved in the community, very involved in my friends’ lives and I still maintain contact with my relatives and still find time for fun,” Mr Norman explained in an interview with The Times.
INFLUENCE OF FAMILY AND HIGH SCHOOL
Mr Norman was the last of six children for his parents, Robert and Ann Norman. They were pastors of the Wesleyan Holiness Church in Knoxwood District, St. Elizabeth.
“They (my parents) were people oriented and they cared about people a lot. Because of that, people were always at our house,” Mr Norman said, while adding that this helped him to connect with people and relate to them from an early age.
His love for service, the community and his skill for planning and organizing events ultimately came from his parents.
Of all the educational institutions that he attended, he gave high praises to St. Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) from which he graduated in 1980. He pointed out that the school had great impact on his life.
“It (STETHS) taught you to be balanced… The teachers that were there then connected with us as students. The things I hear children complain about now in school, we never had that in school with our teachers,” he added.
THE MOVE TO ST ANN
Mr Norman moved to St Ann in 1983 and lived with his eldest brother, Hopeton Norman who also played a major role in his life.
“He (Hopeton Norman) reprimanded, guided and corrected, counselled and trained me. I think I have taken some of his attributes, because I am always guiding, training and moulding people,” he said.
It is a pleasure for Mr Norman to assist the youths in preparing application letters and resumes, especially for those entering the field of tourism. He has also guided many to excellence in the corporate sector.
In addition, it is a delight for him to assist students at all levels with school assignments relating to tourism.
CAREER PATH
After moving to St Ann, Mr Norman worked in several jobs. He worked at Campbell’s Mechanical and Car Rentals as a clerk and at the age of 24, he also started his own business as well in St Ann’s Bay called Norman’s Auto Parts Specialist. It was broken into twice and on the third occasion that the business was robbed, he closed it down.
He again ventured into creating a business, which is now operated by his wife, Sheila Norman. She operates ‘Exotique Hats’, which offers the finest in hats at 64 Main Street in St. Ann’s Bay.
Mr Norman and his wife celebrated their twenty-ninth wedding anniversary on June 27, 2016. Their union has produced two children, St Paul and Sheena.
TOURISM
Mr Norman’s career in tourism has seen him working at various companies. He worked briefly at Tropical Tours, then moved on to work as operations supervisor at Tourwise Limited, sales manager at Sandals Resorts International and sales and marketing manager at Chukka Caribbean Adventures.
He credits persons at Sandals such as Deanna Marshalleck, David Roper, Theodore Duffus and Joseph Zellner, who helped to support, guide and influence his career path in sales at that time.
Mr Norman is employed at Dolphin Cove in Ocho Rios, St Ann, where he has been working as a sales and marketing manager for over four years.
Mr Norman said he proudly executes his responsibilities for marketing Dolphin Cove and Yaaman Adventure Park (formerly Prospect Outback Adventures, which is now operated by Dolphin Cove Jamaica Limited) to visitors from overseas as well as to the Jamaican market inclusive of hotels, villas, schools, churches and the corporate sector.
“It has been very good working there as I get to use my skills and abilities to perform my task. I enjoy meeting targets,” Mr Norman proudly said.
In his quest for knowledge after high school, Mr Norman did several courses to improve his marketability, including his theology course at the Caribbean Bible Institute.
One of his favourite scriptures is Philippians 4 verse 13 which states that “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me, while his favourite quote is: “Your attitude determines your altitude.”
Mr Norman enjoys interacting with his family as they visit various resorts and attractions. He also enjoys travelling.
ROLE MODELS
According to Mr Norman, he strongly believes that the men in the church should be role models.
“I strongly believe that we as men should be role models, because of the good examples young women see in us as men in the church. It should be a pattern of what they should look for when they are ready to choose a husband. As male leaders in the church, we should conduct ourselves in a way that young men in church would want to pattern our leadership styles,” he explained.
