World’s oldest Managing Director?

Apr 17, 2014 News

…Helena McAllister turns 100!

By Rehana Ahamad

She turned 100 years old yesterday, and believe it or not, Helena Maude McAllister remains the active Managing Director of Max Housing and Facilities, which has a few locations across the country.
She visits the branches regularly and has dialogues with tenants on how to improve the rented living quarters.
Kaieteur News had a very pleasant and interesting sit down with Mrs. McAllister, in the company of her two sons, Godfrey and Hilton Jr, last Friday.

A polished Helena Maude McAllister

The two boasted that despite her age, their mother, who resides in the top flat of the family’s three-storey apartment building, climbs the stairs, unaided.
With the help of her Secretary, Ms McAllister, who is well-spoken, even at this age, continues to manage the family business without the input of her three children. They reside out of Guyana.
Godfrey McAllister told this newspaper, “I live in Jamaica, my brother lives in England, and my sister lives in the United States. We talk to our mother every day on the telephone or Skype. We call her every day, and sometimes one of us might have an idea of how to improve the business.
“When we tell the secretary, she goes full out and says, ‘No, it must be approved by Mrs. McAllister herself.” So really and truly, she does it all. We have to seek her approval before any changes can be made to the business.”
The man said that up until two months ago, his mother had been cooking and cleaning for herself.
“It was because she had a fall. Nothing was damaged or anything, but we wanted to know that she was safe. It wasn’t easy to get her to agree to have a caretaker. We had to insist and insist until she finally agreed to have somebody come in and cook and clean for her,” Mr. McAllister noted.
The giggling Centenarian said, “I am on holiday right now.”
She noted that being a “devoted Christian,” her favourite pastime is to attend her Bible classes every week. Mrs. McAllister, a former ‘Sunday School’ teacher, boasted that she is also able to read the Bible even without her spectacles.
The woman’s son shared one instance when his mother even amazed a Magistrate. He said that just recently, she had cause to appear in court over a tenant owing her some money.
“When the man called the case, he almost fell out of his chair. When my mother stood up, the Magistrate practically begged her to sit. After she didn’t want to, he volunteered to stand and carry out the case. I think he was surprised at the way she presented herself at that age,” Godfrey McAllister said.
Reflecting on her life as a child, Mrs. McAllister said that she lived a very quiet life with her parents, Alberta Bunion and James Yard. She was the youngest of three sisters and two brothers.
“I don’t really have anything much to say about back then. My life basically revolved around school, home and Church. We would go to school for eight ‘o’ clock, come back at three ‘o’ clock, do our home works…and we would have to finish that in time to have dinner and prepare for Church meetings at seven ‘o’ clock…Then when we come back at eight ‘o’ its straight to bed,” Mrs. McAllister said.
The grandmother of two noted however, that life began to get very interesting when she got married at the age of 29, to Hilton McAllister.
“I remember we rode our bikes to the Registrar’s Office, and after we got married, we came back and had a small lunch at my sister’s house.”
But, McAllister said that this did not go down too well with her Church members. They insisted that a proper reception would have to be held.
Unknown to she and her husband, McAllister said the Church members gave her an extremely special surprise. They organised a truly “proper” wedding reception.
“We couldn’t believe it. We had such a nice wedding and we didn’t even know anything about expenses or so. It was very nice to see all of our friends and church members gathering to wish us well.”
After getting married, Helena McAllister became the silent force behind her “go-getter” husband.
“Our father was the brain and engine. He was a businessman with great ideas, but it was our mother who made those ideas work,” Hilton Jnr. told Kaieteur News.
Godfrey McAllister added, “At first, I thought that mommy was kind of like the weak one, but I remember one night waking up to hear a woman’s voice in our house. I had never heard this voice before, but as I batted my ears to hear more, I realized it was my mother. The next morning I woke up looking to find this newly discovered monster, but she was all jolly and nice again. That’s when I realized that she wasn’t as silent and easy, as we thought. She was the force that made everything work.”
He added, “No matter what amount of money our father made, our mother made it suffice. She literally prayed over it and made it work.”
Mrs. McAllister said that from the days of riding to the Registrar’s Office on a bicycle, she and her husband had the opportunity to travel to many countries, including England and Canada, during their
65 years of fruitful marriage. Her better half, who eventually became blind, died a few years ago. He was in his nineties.
Today, Mrs. McAllister said that she takes pride in taking care of the businesses her husband has left in her care, and will continue to thank God everyday for being kind to her. She advises that young people read the Holy Scripture and learn from it, understanding that nothing can happen without God.
McAllister celebrated her birthday in grand style last night at the Pegasus Hotel in Kingston, Georgetown. President Donald Ramotar and Opposition Leader, David Granger were invited to the event.