The next time a cruise ship pulls into St. Croix, disembarking passengers will be welcomed to the island by the Claire L. Roker Visitors Center, named for the tireless advocate, mentor and pillar of the Virgin Islands’ tourism industry.
“I’m really overwhelmed. It’s something that I never expected in my lifetime,” Roker, 87, told the Source after a dedication and sign unveiling ceremony Friday morning at the Ann E. Abramson Marine Facility in Frederiksted.
Born in Frederiksted, Roker attended St. Patrick’s Catholic School until the third grade, when her family moved to New York. She graduated from Andrew Jackson High School in Queens before working several jobs, including one that took her to the 69th floor of the Empire State Building in Manhattan.
Upon returning to St. Croix, Roker worked for Pan American Airlines for 10 years before joining Farrelly’s Travel Agency as a travel agent. In 1978, she successfully opened Roker’s Travel and Tours Agency. She later worked for Cruzan Rum as a pavilion manager and tour manager.
Gov. Alexander Farrelly tapped Roper for the role of assistant director of tourism in 1987, and she was the driving force behind bringing the Smithsonian’s 1990 Festival of American Folklife to St. Croix. She continued to rise through the ranks and was appointed director of tourism in 1991 and assistant commissioner in 1994. From 1997 to 2005, she was Delegate to Congress Donna Christian-Christensen’s office manager.
In addition to her impressive career, Roker founded the Hal Jackson’s Virgin Islands Talented Teen Scholarship Competition in 1972 and directed the pageant for 40 years. She served as chair of the Miss St. Croix Pageant more than 20 times and has otherwise worked with — or led — too many civic organizations to list.
“It is my hope and prayer that we’re not just putting Claire’s name on the building,” Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. said Friday. “But we’re putting Claire’s attitude in our hearts, that we will figure as a people that it’s time to stop waiting for people to say ‘good morning’ first. We have to be the ones that welcome and say ‘good morning,’ welcoming them to our tradition. We have to be the ones that show them the hospitality, not just in the taste of the food, but the flavor of the attitude that we present.”
Multiple speakers credited Roker as a mentor who, as Deputy Tourism Commissioner Shamari Haynes put it, could always be counted on to tell him “when and how to pull up my pants.” One of the dedication’s more stirring moments came when Sheniqua Robinson asked members of the crowd to stand up if Roker had played a guiding role in their lives. Dozens stood.
“I hope the younger people will pick up from what I’ve done, in terms of the hospitality, that we need to show everybody that comes through these doors,” Roker said. “It’s one of the first places that the tourist sees, and we need to learn how to say ‘hello,’ ‘good morning,’ and ‘welcome to our island.'”
St. Croix Source
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