Ms. Strachan was pursuing typing and shorthand, along with correspondence courses in English to become an Executive Secretary. But the straw business became her focus and she decided that she must equip herself to be the best at it.

Fascinated with the industry after a trip to the straw market with her friends, she started her career in the straw industry in 1955. Ms. Strachan worked as a straw vendor for the first time when her grandmother, the late Deacon Pearl Moxey, asked her to to look after her stall, located at the Emerald Beach Hotel, Cable Beach.

In 1968, Ms. Strachan was elected president of the Straw Vendors Association. She organized incorporated self-help programs into the industry and promoted straw vending as an integral part of the tourism product.

Under Ms. Strachan’s leadership, the Straw Market Thanksgiving and Carol Services were started. These traditions continue today. Ms. Strachan was also instrumental in forming the New Providence Handicraft Cooperative Society, an organization to promote local straw work through interaction with suppliers of raw material and straw items from the Out Islands, and to facilitate overseas exports.

In 1987, Ms. Strachan was appointed to serve in the Senate.

As a straw vendor, Ms. Strachan has traveled the world, promoting the Bahamas and its handicraft industry. Today, she still works out of stall #48 and entertains many friends who continue to visit the Bahamas and the straw market to see her.