The Flowers Group will be one of the companies joining in the 50th anniversary of Cayman Civil Aviation celebrations this November. "We have been here since the dawn of Cayman aviation, I would not have it any other way," stated Mr. Frankie Flowers.

And indeed the Flowers family has been there from the beginning. Mr. Clarence, the patriarch of the Flowers family, and a number of other locals such as Mr. Benny Ross would steam out on wooden boats to meet the seaplanes as they arrived. Mr. Clarence would then take passengers to land and assist with their luggage. This was back in 1946.

As aviation grew, the Flowers family invested more in the industry. At first the flights into the Islands were periodical, coming more steadily - going from monthly to weekly and finally to daily. This was all done under the banner of CL Flowers and Sons.

Then in 1974 the Flowers formed a new company known as F.A.D.S. - Flowers Air Dispatch Service, which is the principal security, dispatch and ground handling company in the Cayman Islands.

FADS are responsible for the security, ground handling and dispatching of all flights daily including all the major airlines except for American. This entails taking the luggage on and off the aircrafts and Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) also contract them, for security screening of all departing passengers. "It is a matter of pride to be one of the major sponsors of Cayman's Aviation Golden Anniversary. I also have a lot of pride in the fact that we have a national airline," Mr. Flowers proudly remarked.

Mr. Flowers can remember helping his father and brothers with the off-loading of the Lasca freighters by hand in the afternoons. "Everything was done by hand back then. We had a truck that we backed to the aircraft and brought everything down piece by piece," he explained. As the company grew, so did the technology to the point where FADS has kept abreast to the demand with equipment that can off-load wide body containerised aircrafts such as British Airways and Air Canada. The system is also used on Cayman Airways cargo flights and can handle containers up to 7,000 pounds.

The Flowers Family is most proud that they have stayed on stream with the growth of aviation locally and in some instances have exceeded the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and CAA requirements. "I believe in running a safe operation. We have a consultation firm from the UK come in every six months to ensure that training is updated. It seems that at any one time the 70 plus members of staff are constantly in training as we have recurrent training every six months," he added.

Mr. Flowers tells a story on how professional the staff at FADS are viewed within the industry. "I realise this may sound like bragging but it is not meant to be, it shows just how seriously the employees take their jobs," he noted. "A representative from a major airline arrived at the airport. He initially told us he would need to take a week to train our men. The representative observed the guys unload and reload. He then told us, "You don't need me" and left that same day. That is how confident they were in our operation," Mr. Flowers concluded.

Mr. Flowers was quick to add that he frequently receives compliments such as this. He credits his capable and conscientious staff and adds to this the fact Frankie says he loves criticism. "My motto is excellence. Criticism is how we grow. I am always looking ahead," he added.

And the Flowers family is looking forward to the new era of aviation that the destination is preparing for, 'Jumbo jets', and being a part of the next 50 years of aviation in the Cayman Islands.

F.A.D.S. is one of 4 'First Class' sponsors for the upcoming 50th Anniversary of Aviation in the Cayman Islands; other First Class sponsors are Cayman Airways, Texaco Caribbean and Aviation Communications.