Linette Cresser has worked in the areas of accounting and auditing at Jamaica National Business Society (JNBS) for 61 years. And she has loved it.

A very private person, Cresser has remained focused on continuing her work with Jamaica National and is decisive in how she approaches tasks. She says her eyesight is not what it once was, but she still does a full day's work on a special assignment which is her current focus.

"I started out at the Brown's Town Benefit Building Society," said Cresser.

The year was 1948 and the recently married 25-year-old had just left a civil service job at the Alexandria Hospital.

World War II had brought hardship to Jamaica, with high taxes and a direct hit from a major hurricanein 1944 limiting economic opportunities.

But The United States had become aware of the strategic importance of Jamaican bauxite in 1942, and by the end of the war in 1945, economic conditions in the island had started to improve.

The beginning

In 1948, the same year the Empire Windrush took its first set of post-World War II Jamaican migrants to England, the Brown's Town Society became part of a collaborative network of independent societies based in the main towns of the island.

Having just a few hundred members and depositors, these member-owned entities formed the basis of the country's modern building-society movement.

For the young business-school graduate just starting out in her career, the transformation of her work environment and her country were all in the future. She began as an accounting clerk.

Cresser enjoyed her work, staying at the Brown's Town Benefit Building Society until 1957 before moving on to the St James Benefit Building Society (SJBBS) in Montego Bay. Her husband, Clinton, worked with the Government and she followed when he was transferred to St James.

"I started there on April 1 as the senior accounts clerk."

Best time of my life

Cresser was in a big new town, in a new job she loved, in a country that was on the cusp of achieving its independence.

Combined with the joy of her family life, which included two healthy sons, she says, "It was the best period of my life."

It was also the start of a period of tremendous transformation for the building-society movement in Jamaica.

In 1967, the Manchester Mutual Building Society merged with the Westmoreland Building Society.

This was followed in 1970 with the new entity's merger with the St James Benefit Building Society, Brown's Town Benefit and St Ann Benefit.

In December of that year, all of these building societies became the JNBS.

In this early post-Independence era, the role of mutual building societies in fostering savings and mortgage loans had entered a new phase of development, which, when linked with the emergence of the bauxite-mining sector and rising export initiatives, would result in higher levels of savings and increased home ownership.

"It was wonderful," said Cresser.

"Yes, there were challenges, but you got something to do and you did it."

The building society mergers created some challenges, as the different systems used by the societies had to be integrated.

"It was stressful and we worked long hours, but we felt like a closely knit family with managers, such as Oliver Clarke, Osmond Hudson, Paddy Morris, Larkie Hall, and other executives of the new Jamaica National. You simply did not feel stressed out at the end of the day."

The new JNBS took on the growing Kingston market by opening a branch at 88 Harbour Street in 1971. Elon Beckford was appointed manager, followed by John Hudson and Llewelyn Bailey, who played a big role based on her accounting background.

Up to that point, JNBS's head office was in Savanna-la-Mar.

In 1973, however, that office was moved to 10-12 Grenada Crescent in New Kingston.

"I was appointed internal auditor and transferred there," said Cresser. In 1975, Cresser was appointed chief internal auditor.

A part of her job involved visiting the branches to ensure that their systems and compliance were in order. With her staff of one or two assistants, she travelled the length and breadth of the island. "It was quite pleasant."

Cresser dismissed legends of branch staff quaking in their boots on the arrival of the chief internal auditor.

"I don't know why they would have felt intimidated."

Officially, Cresser retired from her post as chief internal auditor on April 30, 1984, but, for someone with her history, energy and talent, that was a formality.

She has continued to serve the organisation in other strategic areas.

When the need arose, she served as a relief manager, filling in when managers went on leave.

The current assistant treasurer of the Jamaica National Pensioners' Association, Cresser was, up to very recently, working on a project to streamline back-office operations. This involved shifting member files from the branches, sorting and merging them by relevance, and ensuring that they received the appropriate attention and imaging.

Has not embraced technology

Cresser was doing this along with another experienced JNBS retiree, Dorothy Duncan.

Oddly, for someone who has consistently embraced change, Cresser has eschewed computeri-sation, opting to follow a manual audit trail.

"I know that it has brought dramatic changes to the workplace," she said, "but I have not embraced the technology."

A vivid memory for her of state-of-the-art technology from the early days was of four departments sharing one hand-cranked (totally manual) Burroughs adding machine.

"We calculated manually, and if there was a penny out, you had to find it."

Those early days were not easy ones, but as children, she said, "We had been taught the value of appreciating what we had. It is the way we were brought up."

Looking back over her life, the auditor said she feels a sense of satisfaction from having had a closely knit family, while also being able to help shape the systems, which underpin the modern JNBS, now the largest in the Caribbean.

"It was no hardship," said Cresser.

"I think I have done well with my life."