At Source, we are proud of the team we have assembled; our team members have migrated from related fields and some simply had the desire to learn something new, work hard, have fun and remain dedicated to finding solutions and exceeding expectations. Source’s Mission and Driving Principals influence our daily decision making and remain the force behind our growth and success. Today we are celebrating our 15th anniversary and also a key member of the Source team.

Larry Rogers has been in the shipping and logistics industry for more than 70 years and is currently the Director of Caribbean Services at Source Global Purchasing & Logistics. Larry’s long and storied career began as a clerk at Java Pacific Line, a large shipping company in New York City. His hard work, dedication, and client-driven attitude propelled him to an eventual executive level management job in international shipping with clients all over the world.

I had the pleasure of knowing Larry and his family as a young boy growing up in New Jersey. I still remember our families sitting on the beach and listening to Larry tell stories of his trips around the world in sheer awe of his life. To reconnect some 45 years later and work together is a complete dream come true.” says Chandler Greene, VP/GM of Global Strategy. “In addition to learning a great deal from him, he also makes one hell of a Rum Punch!”   

In 1982 he and his wife Nancy purchased the land they called Tamarind in Leverick Bay on Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands. They had sailed the Caribbean many times and decided to build their dream retirement home on the island they had visited many times and come to love so dearly.

Why name their property Tamarind? A tamarind tree is considered sacred and the one that sat for hundreds of years in the middle of their lot had to be removed in order to construct their home. The removal of the tamarind tree was considered to be bad luck and many tried to persuade Larry and Nancy to build around it. Considered a compromise and an offering to the bad spirits, the tree was removed, seeds replanted and the property was named Tamarind.

Larry quickly realized that getting and shipping the materials he needed to build their home was a huge challenge. At that time, there were no regular, direct deliveries to Virgin Gorda except a small feeder ferry service from Tortola on local boats. Larry used his decades of experience and island contacts to make his dream a reality and at the same time, start one of the first regular shipping services on Virgin Gorda called Tamarind Consolidated after the now-infamous tree. With the assistance of his friends, island “belongers,” and Leonard and Yates Construction Co., Larry landed one of the first 20-foot containers on the beach in Spanish Town, Virgin Gorda. The rest, as they say, was history.

BVI island tourism and the supplies needed to support this important revenue stream grew rapidly.  It soon became obvious that Larry could no longer continue to work in New York and manage his fledgling business.  In 1983, he resigned from his job as Executive Vice President of Omnium Agencies, Inc. then handling shipping services between the United States and Brazil and Tamarind Consolidated became the BVI’s first and only full-time freight consolidators, combined with procurement and building supplier needed to assist the islands to grow to what they are today.

For the first time the people on Virgin Gorda were able to purchase and order products they needed from Larry to be consolidated in Miami, FL and delivered to Virgin Gorda, among other B.V.I. destinations within a few weeks of placing their orders. Several customers have since said that Larry started an Amazon-like service to the B.V.I.’s long before wifi and smartphones were on the market. Larry and Nancy lived part-time in Leverick Bay for over 25 years and became as much a part of the island as the “belongers” they served.

At that time Crowley Liner Services was providing regular shipping service to St. Thomas and the U.S. Virgin Islands from the east coast of the US. I introduced them to a barge operator and the ship M/V Captain Johnny that began direct service to Virgin Gorda by discharging cargo on the beach using a bow ramp,” says Larry. 

Larry eventually sold Tamarind Consolidated, Inc. in 2003, but he couldn’t stay away from the industry or the people he loved. Several years later, Larry and Nancy sold their home in Leverick Bay and started a similar service to Nevis and St. Kitts. To do this they established Tamarind International, Inc. and that was where Source and Tamarind crossed paths. After Hurricane Irma many of Larry’s old B.V.I. connections had requested he resume his services to the B.V.I.’s to expedite recovery efforts. They did just that but without being able to resume full functionality, Tamarind and Source consolidated to better serve the islands in May of 2018. With the addition of Tamarind International, Source Logistics is now strategically positioned to offer the builders, businesses, hotels, and residents throughout the Caribbean a new, cost-effective way to purchase and receive what they need, when they need it.

This year, Larry Rogers will celebrate his 87th birthday and one of the most successful careers in the shipping business. To this day, when you walk the streets of Tortola and Virgin Gorda you understand how well respected and widely known Mr. Larry Rogers is. Whether it is a glance and smile or a big hug, Larry Rogers is still well respected and loved.

“Larry reminds us every day that the people we help are not just clients, but multiple generational family friends. At 87 years old he still works every day and visits the islands with me regularly. It is an honor to continue the legacy he has built from years of serving the islands and of course, sitting down and enjoying an occasional Rum Punch or two or three…” says Chandler Greene.  

Headquartered in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, Source Consulting, LLC is a global sourcing and logistics company providing procurement and consolidated shipping services to builders, developers and homeowners across the globe, including the Caribbean and Central and South America. The Miami-based warehousing operation serves as the hub for all materials to be consolidated and exported directly to their clients throughout the Caribbean and Americas. Domestically, Source has an Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina based design center offering a wide selection of premium building-related materials and kitchen and bath design and installation services.

 

Interested in what the team has been working on in Virgin Gorda? Check out our blog on our recent renovation at The Baths on Virgin Gorda.