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Francis
Xavier Cancino : IN PROFILE |
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hear Francis Cancino reminisce about his early
years in Nassau is like listening to a story of
a golden childhood in another century - the sun
always shone, idyllic days were spent running
barefoot on the beach or body surfing in breakers
by the lighthouse on Hog Island. No TV. No computers.
Not even a telephone in most homes...which makes
it even more incredible that this sports loving
Nassau boy metamorphosed into the President of
The Bahamas' leading office equipment company,
and major local proponent of the 21st Century's
digital office! |
The path from those sandy beaches to the quiet
hum of a computer room makes a fascinating tale.
The Cancino family originally came to The Bahamas
from Cuba in the mid-nineteenth century and became
a melting pot of nationalities - Spanish, French,
East Indian, Scottish and African genes blended
to produce the Cancinos as we know them today.
Born in 1923, Francis left school at age 12, attributing
most of his educational development to his mother,
who tutored him at home and encouraged him to
read.
In 1937, aged 14 but big and strong for his age,
he began working part time at the Post Office,
filling in for vacationing employees. In those
days, government employees could accumulate vacation
time and were sometimes on leave for up to three
months. Francis worked for two months, then was
given notice. At the end of that month, no-one
said 'goodbye', so he stayed... for eleven years.
It was at the Post Office that he made his first
acquaintance with machines, learning to disassemble
and service the office stamping machine. It was
also his formative years here that taught him
"work was never over until the job was finished".
During the thirties and forties, small boats carried
freight and mail from Miami and Post Office workers
were alerted to the mail's imminent arrival by
a blue and white flag being flown at Fort Charlotte,
which could be seen from the roof of the Post
Office, then located at Rawson Square. Sometimes
after 5 p.m. in the winter, when the nor'westers
blew and there was a rage at the bar, the staff
of the mail section had to remain behind and sort
the mail - with no overtime pay!
A dedicated church-going family, Francis met Si
Amoury at their local church gatherings. Si had
an office equipment company and a dire need for
someone with Francis' good attitude and work ethic
to become a technician at his company, S.J. Amoury.
He invited Francis to go aboard for training in
the U.S., to study equipment servicing. At the
urging of Father Brendan Forsythe, the young man
agreed and thus began what Francis recalls as
"the hardest fourteen months of my life".
The NCR (National Cash Register) factory was located
in Dayton, Ohio. The raw, novice technician arrived
there and found that his fellow American trainees
had already served three year's apprenticeship,
whereas he had never even seen inside a cash register
before. He just had to keep up. So - he worked.
For 8 months he worked through lunch; he worked
early; he worked late. "They still"
he said, "knew more when they arrived than
I did when I left". Then, it was 5 months
in Orange, New Jersey to learn Monroe Calculators
- "I survived, they even thought I was good!"
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The only easy one was Dictaphone in New York. He was
placed for training in the Service department "but
the Union threw me out", so the Manager trained
Francis himself in his office and took him to lunch
everyday.
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Looking
back at those 14 months, Francis reminisces "the
intensive training was the equivalent of technical school
or college and taught me the importance of a thorough
grounding. Now, no technician ever leaves the Amoury
Company without basic training and like I had to, my
technicians attend seminars each time new equipment
or upgrades are released. Our Bahamian fellas are always
thought to be really smart when they attend these courses,
as they've all been pre-trained right here!" |
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He also tries to pass on his attitude to his clients.
"In those days, customers were always glad to see
a technician, as their business depended on the machines
we serviced. They trusted and relied on us and because
we had such good rapport, I sold to them well. They
knew that I never left until the job was finished. I
was on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, holidays,
Sundays, with no overtime pay. But I expected that,
work was like a vocation."
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Back in Nassau after his training, he began work
full time at S.J. Amoury, where he found an accumulation
of office machines that no one knew how to fix.
The company at that time was the exclusive agent
for NCR, Royal typewriters, Monroe calculators,
Simplex time clocks, Dictaphone and Addressograph.
Francis added all these machines to his knowledge
bank and S.J. Amoury became the prime supplier
of office machines and supplies to the business
community. As the business sector grew and became
increasingly more mechanised, S.J. Amoury grew
and Francis Cancino grew with it.
In
1974, NCR opened its own branch office in Nassau,
which proved to be a fatal mistake for that company.
The Amoury Company, as it was now called, realised
that it needed to replace its major product, and
aggressively market other equipment lines, so
Francis moved into Sales. In 1979, S.J. Amoury
died and on January 1st, 1980, his former trainee
technician bought the company.
Despite
the dedicated pursuit of his dream, Francis Cancino
did manage to have a life outside his work. |
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He is fiercely proud of his athletic achievements
over the years - first cricket and rugby
and later softball. His scrapbook is bursting
with newspaper clippings, written in the
effusive prose of the 40s: his 'drives through
the covers left nothing to be desired' and
'Francis Cancino provided the pitching genius'
or 'a brilliant run from half field...to
score yet another try.'
His
initial love of machines and sport were,
however, finally eclipsed by his love for
his future wife Leith Hilary Forsythe, whom
he re-met (after a less than romantic initial
encounter at age 6) at a wedding after a
football game against Princeton, where he
was the star scorer for the Nassau team. |
| To
indignant cries of denial from Mrs.
Cancino, he tells "this wild
woman grabbed me and said to her friends
'I saw him first!'." She never
let go and they married at St. Francis
Xaviers in April 1950. They celebrated
their Golden Wedding Anniversary in
April 2000.
His business is now the family business;
daughters Alexis and Francesca and
son Perry, who has recently taken
over as President, are all mainstays
of The Amoury Company. His other son,
Joseph, is an accountant, living in
Florida.
A
Rotarian for 30 years and Paul Harris
recipient, he was always very actively
involved in community and church projects. |
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He has travelled extensively
on business and has visited
countries as diverse as Japan,
France, Italy and Greece and
has seen the Passion Play in
Oberammagau and the beaches
in Rio. He smiles and says "but
the best part of every trip
was when the plane touched down
in Nassau!"
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His sport is nowadays limited
to match watching and the occasional
game of tennis.
He proudly looks back on a full
and successful life, which has
formed strong and enduring roots
for the generations of Cancinos
yet to come.
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