Michelle Sadler reaping blessings on and off the farm

After initially starting her professional career in the corporate world, 70-year-old Michelle Sadler found her calling in agriculture and community service.

Her journey, consisting of hard work and resilience, has become a blueprint for those with a profound dedication to giving back. Born into a family of 14 children, Sadler learned the values of hard work and perseverance early in life. Her early education in the 1960s was just the beginning of a multifaceted career that would span decades and industries. Sadler attended Excelsior High School, and her professional journey started at Life of Jamaica Ltd., where she worked from 1971 to 1978.

"I went abroad, worked at American International Group for about a year in New York," she recalled. However, her stint in the insurance industry was short-lived as she ventured into something completely different.

"I started selling yams, cocoa, and pumpkin in New York, delivering goods to Korean food stores," she said. This bold move marked the beginning of her entrepreneurial spirit, even though the journey was fraught with challenges. "Sometimes people didn't pay. It was very hard," she admitted.

Returning to Jamaica in 1986, Sadler began the process of purchasing Fletcher Bowman, a manufacturing plant for fresh produce in Yallahs.

"We produce apples, olives, jerk season, sauces, juices, and other items," she explained, adding that running the facility was not without its difficulties. "Sometimes we didn't make anything. Whatever we did, we turned around putting the money back into the business, and started all over again." However, persistence paid off and the business eventually became sustainable and, after acquiring ownership, renamed the entity Stanmark Processors Company Limited.

Expanding her ventures, Sadler, with her daughter alongside her, now operates multiple factories, including in Darliston, Westmoreland, Morgan's Pass, Clarendon and another in St Elizabeth.

"We manufacture ackee and callaloo in cans. We even make the fruit that you put in buns," she shared proudly. The business has been going for more than three decades and has been recognised for its ackee tree-planting campaign to promote sustainable living and for boosting the country's ackee supply.

But despite her business success, Sadler finds her greatest joy in her family and community work.

"I have a good family life with all the children together and even my siblings. It is all for one, one for all," she said. Her role as president of the Lions Club of St Andrew is another feather in her cap.

"We became the number one Lions Club in the zone in Jamaica in several different areas," she said. Through the Lions Club and other charitable organisations, Sadler has made significant contributions to her community.

"We assist with the Diabetes Association of Jamaica, provide food to different places, and support the homeless," she detailed. Sadler shared with THE STAR her secret to staying active at 70.

"You have to try to help out. You have to be doing something that you love to do," she advised. Living what she preaches, her time is divided between her business, the Lions Club, St Vincent de Paul (a charity group that assists the elderly), and being the secretary of her neighbourhood association.

"I spend my time, I offer my talent, and I offer up my resources," she said.