Those who were fortunate to attend the IFCBA World Conference in 2000 in Ocho Rios, Jamaica will remember the warm hospitality of our Broker Association hosts. Here’s a lovely article about one of the Association’s past presidents.
Source: The Gleaner
Manzie Porter may be in his 80s but his mind is sharp, as crisp as his appearance – attired in jacket and tie for yet another Zoom meeting, a testament of how one of the enduring ‘elder statesmen’ of Jamaica’s customs brokerage industry is keeping pace with the times.
Porter is a self-described old-school Jamaican with a strong love and respect for God, family and community, timeless values, which, according to him, have helped him in every step of his life.
He credits his parents for instilling these belief and value systems that inspired an appreciation for the importance of integrity in business, which became a key driver for the customs brokerage business he started with his deceased brother Hendricks in the late 1960s.
“Before starting the business, I worked with the public sector in the Correctional Services at the St Catherine District Prison; and then for three months at the Registrar’s General Department,” he said.
“Hendricks was a customs broker. I decided to join him and start a brokerage firm, and we took it from there. We kept it simple, mindful of three goals – that service and the client come first; that we had a duty to conduct business with integrity; and that no matter what, we would always go the extra mile to make the client happy,” added Porter.
Porter Brothers, which was formally established in 1971, was among the first customs brokerage houses to consistently advertise on radio and television and in the print media to build its brand into a household name in Jamaica.
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