Terry Collier
Merchants Export, Inc.
Port of Palm Beach
Born, New York City
Boarding School – St. Mark’s, Southboro, Mass.
College – Rollins, Winter Park, Fl.
Married 38 years, 2 Girls & 1 Grandson
1972-1997 250 acre Farm in the Virginia Allegheny Mountains - 250 beehives and a Maple Syrup and honey bottling operation.
1997-1982 Expanded to a 1200 acre Farm on a river - 200 head of cattle and a 1000 head of sheep, growing corn and alfalfa to feed them.
1982 - 1984 Merchants Export in Ft. Lauderdale
1984 – 1997 Merchants Export in West Palm Beach.
1997 – Present Moved Merchants Export into the Port of Palm Beach, from where most of our cargo ships from, and where I was elected President of the Tenants Assoc.
Maria
Collier
Merchants Export, Inc.
Port of Palm Beach
Born: Santander, Spain
1950-1960 lived in Havana, Cuba
1960-1966 Baltimore, MD
College: Rollins College, Winter Park, FL
Married 38 years, 2 children, 1 grandchild
1966 Moved to St.Thomas, USVI with mother, Isabel Amengual who started Merchants Market , Inc.
Attended Antilles School and worked at Merchants Market.
1972 to 1982 Farmed Virginia farm where we raised bees, sheep and cattle.
1971-present Corporate officer of each of the Merchants companies
1982-present Merchants Export, Inc. Secretary-Treasurer, Administration of Accounts Payable and Bookkeeping. Oversight of island companies’ bookkeeping .
Jeff
Ullian
Merchant Export
Port of Palm Beach
Born New York
College Pace College and New York Institute of Technology.
Business administration major 1967-1972
Ullian Houseboat Company. 1967-1972 While in college worked in family boat business in New York Worked all aspects from Sales to boat prep. Father retired and gave my brother and me the business. We liquidated it in 1972.
Catering….Philip Stone Caterers 1972-1975...All aspects of catering business…Cook, Maitre de. , booking parties etc
Food and Beverage Manager Brunswick Corporation 1975-1977 Managed a catering and food and beverage operation...Bars and snack bar and a large catering hall for Brunswick Corp... Was being promoted to a regional F & B position and move to Skokie Ill, corporate offices. Did not want this position…decided to move to Florida and get into food distribution sales
Food Distribution sales rep…Powell Purveyors...1977-1984 West Palm Beach Fl...Sold a large variety of food service establishments for this period. Was one of top salesman for this company before leaving.
VP...General Manager Merchants Export 1984-present...Hired to be sales manager and to build local business for Merchants. Within two years became general manager and now oversee entire operation and also oversee the managers of The Island Companies. Key duties include negotiating with Freight Company and key chain or corporate accounts. Also act as COO. Overseeing operations at Merchants from sales, operation, purchasing and receivables.
Personal…Married 32 years...3 children 2 grandchildren…Life is Great!
Lou Elias
Merchants Market
St. Thomas, VI
Born: Havana, Cuba
Cornell University BS in Hotel and Restaurant Administration
Inter-Continental, Southern Management, Ramada Inn: 1974-1977 Worked in several capacities as General Manager and Food & Beverage Manager of Hotel Properties in Puerto Rico and Southern Florida.
Merchants Export: 1977-1981 President/General Manager. Managed the Purchasing and Consolidating office which supported the Merchants island operations. Started as a one man, one office operation at a Public Cold Storage and evolved into operating our own Warehouse. Managed all aspects of the Company. Negotiated all purchasing and expanded to direct purchasing from Manufacturers and Growers.
Merchants Market: 1981-1986 VP/General Manager. Managed all aspects of the original Merchants St. Thomas operation. Duties included supervision of operations, personnel, sales and collections.
Crazy Cow: 1984-1996 Owner/Operator. A Diner style restaurant operation open 24/7. A local St. Thomas Landmark.
Coconuts & Rosie O’Grady’s: 1986-1995 Owner/Operator. A Bar & Grill Operation. A 60 seat operation serving Lunch in St. Thomas, VI’s busy Historic Downtown Shopping District.
Merchants Market: 1997-Present. President/General Manager. Manage all aspects of the operation. Helped negotiate and oversee our expansion in 2003 to our current 30,000 sq. ft. state of the art warehouse. Directed the expansion of our product lines to include Restaurant Equipment, Smallwares and Chemicals.
Personal: Married 17 years, one son and recently became a grandfather to Nikki.
Kelvin Felix
Merchants Market St. Croix
Born: Dominica
Morne Jaune School, Dominica
1969 – Moved to St. Thomas. U.S.V.I
1970 -1975 Merchants Market - Meat Packer, then Inventory Control, then Cashier
1975-1980 Merchants Market - Dispatcher
1980 -1987 Assistant Manager, Merchants market St. Croix
1987 – Present Manager of merchants market St. Croix and Vimark Ship Agents
Married, 2 girls and 1 boy (all adults)
Ramon Brunings
Merchants Market St. Maarten/ Island Food Wholesale N.V.
Born
in Paramaribo, Surinam
As a teenager worked on family chicken and duck farm and delivered poultry and eggs after school.
Graduated in 1969 from Surinam Trade and Business College (top of the school)
and in 1970 acquired MBA in accounting.
Worked for a Registered Accounting firm from 1969 through 1972 in Surinam and Holland.
Inspected major businesses in Paramaribo and Wageningen (rice industry) in Surinam and later in the Hague and other cities in Holland.
Started as 3rd assistant and was promoted to 2nd assistant within3 months; worked completely independent reporting directly to the 1st assistant.
Left Holland for St. Maarten in June 1972 and started working for a group of companies ( Food and Wine Wholesaler ; Construction Company; Building material and Glass sales; Boutiques and Rentokil exterminating services….. as administrator …. assistant manager and manager…
Left in 1981 to start family owned Food wholesale business which was very successful ; selling retail and wholesale of produce, fresh and frozen meats and dry goods.
Mainly to public at large, supermarkets and some restaurants
Left in 1988 for personal reasons.
Food wholesale out of Puerto Rico… 1988- 1990: sold mainly containers of produce and meats out of Puerto Rico to Mullet Bay, King Foods , Chinese and other supermarkets in St. Maarten.
Started working for Island Food wholesale in November 1990 as a Controller.
In 1992 promoted to Manager.
Married 4 kids one grandchild.
Roland Webster
Merchants Market Anguilla
Born Anguilla, British West Indies
1972 - St. Thomas, USVI – Carpenter
1975 - St. Maarten, NA – Landseair NV, boat building
1980 - St. Maarten, NA – Island Water World, parts & service manager – responsibilities included the in and out operations of boat repairs, engine repairs pricing, parts ordering , as well as dockside and cradle storage pricing at daily to monthly to yearly rates.
1984 - New York City, US – Bank Street Carpenter – specialty was marble, corian and avonite for kitchens and bathrooms.
1992 - Anguilla, BWI – sub contractor in building construction.
1994 – to present - Anguilla, BWI – Manager Merchants Market Anguilla – outgrew 2 facilities. 2005 - Project Manager for building current warehouse.