A multicultural and multi-national daughter of the soil, Gladys Samuel Potter, was born in Grays Hill to a Dominican Republic mother and St. Lucian father.
She is a graduate of the Ottos Comprehensive School and the Business Studies Programme of the Antigua State College. Working nights and attending classes during the day shaped her sense of industry and her drive to work for what she wants.
Gladys recognised the value of professional development to her progress and successfully completed courses in risk management; a Chartered Director’s course under the auspices of the Caribbean Governance Training Institute; and the Antigua & Barbuda Investment Authority’s Mind Your Business course.
These prepared her to take on a management position in a multi-business operation comprising a service station, restaurant and auto-body repair shop. There she managed personnel issues and also the business’ financials.
For thirteen years, from 2005 to 2018, Gladys worked for a gaming-software company, where she held supervisory and management positions. She did several tours of duty overseas on the company’s behalf, including assignments in Bulgaria and in The Philippines, where she trained staff in the area of risk management.
A past vice president of the St. John’s Cooperative Credit Union, she also served as chairperson for the organization’s Human Resources Committee.
At the same time, Gladys and her husband, Mark, were involved in a number of personal business ventures, including the family-run farm, for over 20 years; and, since 2018, she has been famously known as the proprietor of an ice cream parlour and restaurant.
But Gladys is just as famous for her volunteerism and community service – particularly to the benefit of the youth and the elderly.
She is a past president of the Mary E. Piggott Primary School’s Parent Teachers Association. During her tenure, considerable funds were raised to outfit the school’s remedial reading department, construct outdoor seating, and purchase school supplies.
In 2016, she inaugurated the Shine Your Light Expo, a yearly exhibition to highlight the talents of artisans, food and beverage manufacturers, performing artistes, and more, as a springboard for them to monetize their skills. And since 2017, she has hosted an annual Senior Citizens Dinner in her community and garnered nationwide support for this event that benefits the elderly.
Gladys heads up the UPP’s Welfare Committee, providing assistance to the elderly and the needy, and is actively involved in the Party’s Women’s Forum. Her colleagues describe her as a hard-working team player who creates solutions, not problems.
She is an active member of the Mountain of Fire and Power Ministries, where she nourishes her faith. A dedicated family woman, she is the mother of three sons and a daughter, all of whom she describes as “amazing.”
Gladys Potter, affectionately called “Amalia,” is the genuine article: sincere and committed to developing her community and country. Her empathy for others and her ability to create partnerships for community-development projects embody the UPP’s “People First” philosophy. Her aim is to be the refreshing breeze that blows away the current staleness of “business as usual” and brings lasting change to Rural South.
