When Mirurgia “Mientje” Brown drives down the familiar road to Oyster Bay Beach Resort (OBBR) each morning, she sometimes shakes her head in disbelief. “I never thought I’d drive the same road for thirty years to come to my job,” she says with a smile. “But I’m ready to come to work every day. It’s like coming home.”
From Mullet Bay to Oyster Bay
Brown, known to nearly everyone as Mientje, joined OBBR on September 25, 1995, just weeks after Hurricane Luis devastated St. Maarten. At the time, she worked in accounting at Mullet Bay Beach Resort, via a company called Sunquest.
“Luis had damaged everything. Then Jan Borsje, who was General Manager at Oyster Bay, called Mullet Bay CFO Abdallah Andruous asking if anyone in accounting was looking for a job. Twenty days later, I was at work here,” she recalls.
She began as Financial Controller. The controller was sick, so they needed someone fast. “The lady in finance from St. Kitts came one weekend to train me, then one more time, and that was it. I was on my own.”
In those early days, OBBR had just 40 units and about 40 employees. “Every pay-check had to be written by hand! Payroll was in cash. I’d make the calculations, go to the bank, write up the envelopes and stuff them.” Two years later, the resort computerized its systems, but she still remembers the days of handwritten cheques.
Growing together
From those 40 rooms, OBBR has grown to 178 units and around 150 employees year-round, with more during high season. “We moved from being a traditional hotel to a timeshare resort,” she explains.
She also remembers the literal rough road to work. “The road to the hotel wasn’t even paved. Jan and I went to government to beg for it to be paved from Bishop Hill Road down to the resort.”
Today, Brown is Director of Operations and Human Resources, filling in as Food & Beverage Director since last year. “From the beginning, after work, I’d help with clean-up. Today, I continue to be a hands-on manager.”
Has she ever thought about quitting? “Oh yes! I’d say, ‘I’m so done with this.’ But then I just stick with it,” she laughs.
What keeps her going after three decades? “The way the owners treat us. They treat us like family. The resort owners inspire loyalty.”
One owner once told her: “You’re the glue of this company.”
“That meant a lot to me,” she says. “I asked him why, and he said, ‘You tackle every small problem. You look for a solution.’ That’s who I am.”
She laughs remembering a classic Jan Borsje moment: “A guest once complained she saw a mouse. Jan said, ‘A mouse? We don’t have mice; we have rats! That’s why we have so many cats here!’”
Lessons in patience and people
“This job taught me patience,” Mientje admits. “Once, a guest threw water on me because they weren’t happy with something. In real life, I’d never stand for that, but on the job, I dealt with it professionally.”
She credits Borsje for teaching her hospitality’s finer points. “Jan and I would walk into a room. I’d see five things wrong; he’d find twenty. He was my example, a hospitality king.”
Building the next generation
Mientje worries about the island’s changing work culture. “People used to love what they do. Now, it’s mostly about money. Hospitality isn’t a field for introverts, you have to love people. You can have a degree, but without the right attitude, I can’t teach you.”
She hopes to see more on-the-job training for young people. “Not everything needs to be formal like NIPA. We need something in-between, with incentives from government. Give people second chances.”
Her father, Police Major Louis Brown, checked homework every evening. She laughs remembering her first job at sixteen: “I had to work because I ran up a ten-thousand-guilder phone bill. My father said, ‘Well, you’ll have to pay it off!’ So I worked at Pelican and Summit Hotel. That’s how it all started.”
Looking ahead
Now, as she reflects on thirty years, she dreams of a future where she can balance work and family. “My perfect goal is to work during high season and spend summers in the U.S. with my children and grandchildren, but I still have three more years to go.”
She looks out toward the bay. “St Maarten has everything,” she says. “Our problem is maintaining it.” Thirty years on, Mirurgia “Mientje” Brown still walks into work as if she owns the place because, in every way that matters, she does.
Brown is not alone in her long service. Oyster Bay Beach Resort is home to many who have spent decades building its reputation. Among them are Francisca Anatol (Housekeeping Supervisor, 42 years), Hubert Philips (Driver, 42 years, retired January 2025), Martha Wattley (Assistant Manager of Housekeeping, 40 years, retired May 2023), Bernice Fleming (Manager on Duty, 40 years, deceased February 2023), Marian Prosper (Reservations, 41 years), Ingrid Capellan (Maintenance Dispatcher, 37 years), Brenda Brandy (Front Desk Clerk, 36 years, retired August 2024), Lorenzo Bryan (Maintenance Manager, 33 years), Ursula Illis (Property Manager, 33 years), Loraine George (Housekeeping, 33 years), and Bernadette Thomas (Housekeeping Supervisor, 32 years).
OBBR is owned by Pearl Development N.V. with managing directors Joshua Gold and Michael Dolente. Resort General Manager is Ricardo Perez.
