Month: February 2016

GraceKennedy 94th Anniversary Week of Celebrations Ends on a High Note

Sister Sledge’s ‘We Are Family’ was the closing number for the Crowning of GK’s Karaoke Kings and Queens held at GK’s head office on Friday February 19.  The song, delivered in energetic karaoke style, was delivered by a group of GK employees in a spirit of true camaraderie and fun, closing out a week of activities commemorating GraceKennedy’s 94th Anniversary on February 14.

The highly-entertaining karaoke competition saw many hopefuls with talent, bravado and confidence, vying for the grand prize of $9,400.00 each.   At the end of the day, Randy Anderson and Kelly McIntosh, both of GK Foods Supply Chain Unit, were crowned the winners.

In mid karaoke session, GraceKennedy Group CEO Don Wehby cut the company’s Anniversary cake with Anicee Gray-Brown of GK Foods Central, who joined GK in 1994.

The week started on Monday, February 15, with an outside broadcast of RJR 94FM’s Jamaican Morning with hosts Allan Magnus and Paula-Ann Porter Jones.  In his interview, Mr Wehby spoke to the growth of GraceKennedy over the years, the Group’s global expansion while continually supporting Jamaica’s development, and the continued commitment to downtown Kingston including the construction of a new Corporate HQ, which coincidentally started that same day.

 

DW and RJR OB
GraceKennedy Group CEO Don Wehby (right) discusses his company’s 94th anniversary with Allan Magnus (left) and Paula-Ann Porter Jones, hosts of RJR 94FM’s Jamaican Morning during an outside broadcast on February 15, 2016

 

On Wednesday February 17, approximately 60 GK employees took to the waterfront in downtown Kingston for the ‘Harbour Haul’, a voluntary effort aimed at cleaning up a section of the coastline.  In less than three hours, they removed over 1,000 lbs of garbage and plastics from the Kingston Harbour’s coastline.

Cleaning Up

Throughout the week, there were daily giveaways for the company’s employees.

“It’s been a great week. We celebrated as a family, knowing that that is what got us to 94 years, and will take us to 94 more,” said Mr Wehby. “We thank all of our customers for their support of GraceKennedy.”

FIGHT SPORTS LAUNCHES ON DIGICEL PLAY

Digicel Play is taking the fight to the cable TV market with the news that the 24/7 linear channel FIGHT SPORTS will be joining the Digicel Play family on an exclusive basis.

 

The FIGHT SPORTS network is driven by live events, Championship bouts, news, tournaments in all styles of fighting, plus lifestyle, reality, documentary and other fight-related original programming.

 

Particular highlights are LIVE World Title Championship Boxing, LIVE MMA (Mixed Martial Arts), LIVE World Championship Kickboxing, and LIVE Martial Arts, as well as exclusive original series MMA:30 and Wide World Fights, and a top shelf selection of Mega Fights™ featuring the sport’s greatest competitors including Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, Lennox Lewis, Oscar De La Hoya, Mike Tyson, and Canelo Alvarez.

 

Digicel Play is a new frontier in home entertainment, giving customers the power to have their entertainment and access to the internet the way they want it. It is jam-packed with cool features, making it the most attractive home entertainment experience around. As the only true fibre to the home network, Digicel Play turns homes into the ultimate entertainment zones and delivers TV, superfast broadband and telephony, coupled with the best channel and content line-up and the best viewing experience.

 

john-suranyi-digicel-play-dec4John Suranyi, CEO of Digicel Play Caribbean and Central America, commented; “We are single-minded in our determination to bring the best of the best to our customers. When it comes to TV content, Digicel Play is second to none. FIGHT SPORTS adds another exciting dimension to our already compelling sports line-up and we know our customers are going to get a real kick out of it.”

 

“After years of syndicating our series in the region, we are looking forward to creating a new home for all of our current and future FIGHT SPORTS fans!” said Co-CEO Craig Miele.  “We are encouraged to see the growing interest in our business around the world.  From Europe to Asia and now throughout the Caribbean, our distribution continues to grow at an amazing pace with even more announcements to come,” said Co-CEO Richard Miele.

 

GraceKennedy Makes Champs Dreams Come True

This year, GraceKennedy will give away more than $10 million in cash and prizes to Jamaicans islandwide between January and March. This campaign gives Jamaicans the opportunity to chase their dreams with the winnings. Each month, one lucky shopper will become a millionaire. Additionally, other lucky shoppers can win weekly cash prizes, Champs tickets and phone credit.

 

Customers will benefit from this promotion by popping the can, peeling the label, or tearing the packet of select Grace products so as to identify a code which they can text in to win prizes. The specially marked labels can be found on Grace Cock Soup, Vienna Sausage, Tomato Ketchup, Baked Beans, Butter Beans, Corned Beef, Classic Mackerel, Tropical Rhythms, Lishous, and Jus Quench. Entries for the Pop, Peel and Tear campaign are entered by texting the codes to 44GRACE or 444-7223.

Images sourced via Google Images

Customers can also submit any five Grace labels to be entered in the competition. Labels may be dropped off at the supermarket, or mailed in to GraceKennedy, 73 Harbour Street. All purchases of Grace products contribute to the Grace Athletic Fund.

A unique aspect of the promotion is the Grace Athletic Dream Fund, where Grace Foods will donate $5 million to be shared equally among the three winning schools, one per county. This money will go towards the development of their athletics programmes.

The Grace Athletic Dream Fund offers a level playing field for high schools to have the opportunity to win. Once entered in the GraceKennedy ISSA Boys and Girls’ Championships, each school has an equal chance to benefit from the fund.

 

Champs source_Gleaner
Source: Jamaica Gleaner Online

 

The grand draw for the three winning schools will be held on Saturday, March 19, at the National Stadium on the final day of Champs.

“With more than $10 million being given away in cash and prizes, I am happy that so many Jamaicans will be able to get a piece of the pie,” said Gilroy Graham, senior general manager for Grace Foods and Services.

Source: Jamaica Gleaner online – Monday, February 8, 2016

GraceKennedy Money Services Continues its Caribbean Expansion into the Turks & Caicos Islands

GKMS

GraceKennedy has announced that effective today, GraceKennedy Money Services (GKMS) will be expanding operations into the Turks and Caicos Islands through GraceKennedy Money Services Turks & Caicos Limited (“GKMS Turks & Caicos”). GKMS is a member of the GraceKennedy Group and authorized agent of Western Union.

With this new market, GraceKennedy through GKMS, now serves as Western Union’s agent in eleven countries across the Caribbean, including Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands and the most recent addition, the Cayman Islands in November 2015.

According to GraceKennedy Group CEO, Don Wehby, “As we mark our 25th year of

Don-Wehby-3
Don Wehby, CEO, GraceKennedy Group

representing Western Union in the region, we are pleased to offer Western Union services in the Turks & Caicos Islands. This expansion is aligned with GraceKennedy’s strategic vision of becoming a Global Consumer Group delivering long term consumer and shareholder value, through brand building and innovative solutions in food and financial services, provided by highly skilled and motivated people. With two and a half decades of expertise in the money services industry, we look forward to meeting the needs of customers in the Turks & Caicos Islands.”  Mr Wehby is also Chairman of GraceKennedy Money Services Caribbean, SRL.

 

 

Michelle Allen
Michelle Allen, CEO, GraceKennedy Money Services

 

 

According to Michelle Allen, Chief Executive Officer of GKMS, “We are excited to offer customers in the Turks and Caicos Islands Western Union services.  We are committed to providing our customers throughout the region with reliable, convenient and innovative money transfer solutions.”

 

 

 

She continued, “We will also continue our investment in robust compliance systems, which are critical to our business, allowing us to protect our customers while meeting all regulatory requirements.”

GKMS Turks & Caicos will initially have one operating location, ‘Your Choice TCI’, located at Payless Warehouse Limited, 7 Hospital Road in Providenciales.  The company plans to add more locations over time.  ‘Your Choice TCI‘  will open Mondays to Saturdays from    9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Over the past 25 years, GraceKennedy Money Services has delivered a wide range of Western Union products and services aimed at enhancing customer convenience and experience. These include the ability to receive and send international and domestic money transfer services for a loyal customer base.