Excerpt from the Jamaica Observer column published on Monday, November 14, 2022
Many of us have seen this: history being rewritten by mediocre successors in organizations; they take credit for the vision and accomplishments of their predecessors. I remember attending a function where the founder, one of Jamaica’s most brilliant women, was seated anonymously at her brainchild’s event while newcomers were preening themselves at the head table. I had to intervene, leading the lady to her rightful place after persuading a reluctant person to take a seat in the audience.
This is why we at CCRP (please know us by the acronym now), an organization for seniors take great care to research and prepare citations annually for our Living Legacy Awards ceremony. What we have discovered each year is that most high achievers are humble individuals; it is not until you insist that they share they life’s journey that you realize how much they have contributed to Jamaica.
Take Winniefred Chambers-Dyer. With a UWI degree in nursing administration, she gave 33 years of service to the Kingston Public Hospital retiring as Deputy Matron. After retirement, she was re-employed to KPH as Operating Theatre and Renal Unit Manager with responsibility for the efficient management of 15 operating theatres. She assisted in establishing the Eye Clinic at the Jamaica Society for the Blind (JSB), was a member of the Prevention of Blindness Committee of the Ministry of Health and was a member of the team which amended the current Opticians’ Act. One of her most challenging assignments was her trip to Montserrat during the island’s Soufriere Hills volcanic eruption in 1997, when she served as team leader of six nurses.
Then there is Beryl Chevannes, a UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador. Her career in nursing and midwifery was the foundation of her career, leading to her appointment as Executive Director of the National Family Planning Board. She has served as a Consultant to Futures Group International providing technical assistance in the development of A National Youth Policy and the preparation of a national strategic plan for youth development. Mrs Chevannes has served in several roles including as an Examiner with the Nursing Council of Jamaica, Lecturer in the Maternal & Child Health Diploma Course of the Department of Social & Preventive Medicine at UWI, and External Examiner for Nursing & Midwifery with the Nursing Council of Nassau, Bahamas.
We usually see Howard Hamilton on the sports news as president of the Jamaica Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, authoring the publication, “My Journey With Thoroughbreds”. This dynamic Jamaican headed the Shell Company and created the Sports Development Foundation (SDF) in 1991. The SDF has built sporting infrastructure around the island and also supported administrative capacity in several sports. Serving as Chairman of the then Metropolitan Management and Transport Holdings, Mr Hamilton oversaw the development of bus depots in Portmore and the Corporate Area, including the Metropolitan Transport Centre in Half-Way-Tree.
Gary ‘Butch’ Hendrickson is in his own league as a Jamaican philanthropist. He received a special Award named for the late Michael Fraser, a generous board director of CCRP. Hendrickson has been heard warning his 1000 strong team “Make the money please – you know I plan to give it away.” With his colleague Glen Christian, the model Union Gardens School was created. His National Baking Foundation has donated millions to early childhood education and more recently to the UWI STEM Project. Hendrickson sponsored the “Bold Ones of Manufacturing Project” which gave small manufacturers a marketing boost including mobile fixtures for expositions, the production of promotional videos, exposure at JMEA EXPO shows. Two of those companies, AMD Packaging and Spur Tree Spices are now listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange. He created a mobile training classroom complete with teacher and driver and the Jamaican Made Christmas to promote local organizations. He lends his organizational brilliance to the Council of Voluntary Social Services as their Chairman as well as to several high-powered boards. Meanwhile National Baking continues its 70-year journey, now creating an ultra-modern facility in Montego Bay and widening its range of products.
This column has dubbed Eleanor Jones an ‘Angel of the Environment’. The former UWI Lecturer grew impatient with the conferences exploring environmental problems and so she left academia to co-found Environmental Solutions. As we constantly weigh the balance between development and environmental protection the company’s initial mission was applying disaster risk management and environmental conservation to the wider public sphere, encompassing Government, private sector and civil society. More than 30 years on, ESL has one of the largest environmental labs and consultancies in the Caribbean, certified to the ISO/IEC Standard, and is continuing to expand through volunteer and community activism. The brilliant Eleanor Jones remains a well-loved empathetic individual, high in EQ as well as IQ. She is also very proud of granddaughter Rachel Jones who has joined the Reggae Girls World Cup Team, playing for the first time against Paraguay over the past week.
Next week, I will continue to share with you the achievements of more legendary Jamaicans.
Jamaica Highlights 