Recognition is often high on the list of what employees want from their employer, but all too often that is not acknowledged by business leaders. However, Rainforest Seafoods Limited, the Caribbean’s largest processor and supplier of premium quality seafood, is leading the way by recognising the efforts of its team members.

Four employees were recently selected as part of the Rainforest Seafood Employee Development Programme which will provide them with exposure to all aspects and areas of the business. The employees are Starlette Francis, retail store manager; Terri-Lee Patterson, quality management system coordinator; Louis Reid, sales representative; and Kevin Ellis, plant maintenance supervisor.

According to Brian Jardim, CEO at Rainforest Seafoods, the employee development programme will allow for the selected employees to have regular interaction with and mentoring from senior members of the management team, and it also gives them the opportunity to represent Rainforest at local and overseas events.

 

Elite Employees

 

“The employees chosen represent the elite core of our business. The programme is an initiative to identify and develop key team members for future senior roles within the company. Each team member will be evaluated regularly by their manager and mentee, and we hope that they will continue to grow from strength to strength,” Jardim said.

All participants will be enrolled in a leadership development programme , and will work together on a group project to be completed and presented to the senior management by the end of September 2017. They will also be scheduled to attend new employee orientation sessions to share their journey and passion.

“I am humbled by the recognition. It has opened the door to so many different things and has given me the impetus to learn more about the business and to improve my prospects within the company,” said Francis. She has been employed to Rainforest Seafoods since 2009.

Rainforest Seafoods offers a comprehensive range of the finest quality products, both frozen and fresh, that meet the demands of not only luxury hotels, but value-conscious consumers, and carries over 400 references of fish and assorted shellfish sourced from recognised suppliers around the world.

Jardim is encouraging other team members to improve their performance level so that they too can be selected for the programme.

The development programme participants are selected based on creativity, innovation, outstanding performance in current assigned roles, interest in advancement and development of their career, among other things.

keisha.hill@gleanerjm.com

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20170519/rainforest-seafoods-recognises-employees

The biggest upset in the 2017 Wray and Nephew Contender series occurred last Wednesday night, when Devon ‘Concrete’ Moncriffe, one of the top-seeded Jamaicans and the 2013 champion, lost to Canada’s Larone Whyte by split decision at the Chinese Benevolent Association auditorium.

It was a hard-fought bout that was decided in the final round, and both men gave it their all. At the end, Judge Ransford Burton from Jamaica and Jeremy Hayes from Canada scored 48-47 for Whyte while the other Jamaican judge, Keith Brown, had Moncriffe ahead 49-46.

Whyte, whose parents are Jamaicans and who now lives in Canada, had a strong fan base cheering him on, but so, too, did Moncriffe, who was his usual aggressive self. He had promised before the fight to give spectators a lot to cheer about.

“People want to see action and I am going to give it to them,” he declared at the weigh-in, and kept his word. He was aggressive from the start, and his younger opponent, at age 27, was hard-pressed to keep the 40 year-old warrior at bay.

Moncriffe used his jabs to good advantage, but when he tried his follow-up hooks to the head, he invariably missed.

His dogged determination and never-say-die attitude paid dividends, however, and he took the first two rounds on all the scorecards.

Whyte showed resilience and dug deep going into the third round. He had stated beforehand that he was “ready, ready, ready” and showed it. He kept cool under fire and followed the instructions of his corner to “keep close, go for the body and use the uppercut”.

RICH DIVIDENDS

He bagged the next two rounds, and it was on to the final stanza, where his fitness paid rich dividends. While Moncriffe showed the effects of his 15-month lay-off at crunch time, Whyte dug deep and found the extra spark that gave him a slight but decisive edge, as he convinced two of the judges to give him the round and the fight. After the announcement, he was flocked by nearly two dozen Jamaican relatives, who gleefully shouted, “He is a Jamaican tonight! We are proud of him!”

The two amateur bouts on the card provided excitement and lots of entertainment. In the heavyweight encounter, light-heavyweight champion Ian Darby of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) survived a late surge from Carlos Dwyer of Stanley Couch Gym to win by unanimous decision, while Ricardo Brown of G.C. Foster gym had too much firepower for Frank McKenzie of the JDF.

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/sports/20170519/whyte-wins-action-packed-bout

Devon Moncriffe, one of two boxers seeking a second title in the Wray & Nephew 2017 junior middleweight Contender series, bows into competition tonight, when he goes up against Canadian boxer Larone Whyte over five rounds, at the Chinese Benevolent Association auditorium, Old Hope Road in St Andrew. Fight time for this bout is 9.30 p.m. The show gets under way at 8.30 with two amateur bouts.

Moncriffe, who is 40 years old and has a 12-6 record, won the Contender middleweight title in 2013. He and Sakima Mullings, who won in 2014 as a welterweight, are the two former champions in this year’s show. Mullings is already through to the quarter-finals, and Moncriffe is making a bid for his place tonight. He is a natural middleweight, and had to go on a programme to make the 154 pounds junior middleweight limit. Yesterday, he declared that his “training had gone well” and the he was ” in great shape and ready for the challenge”.

One of the biggest problems for him tonight could be the effects of his long layoff from competition. He last fought on October 24, 2015, when he lost by technical knockout to Renan St Juste in Canada. He does not see the layoff as a factor tonight, however, because of the amount of training that he has put in.

“I have worked hard and did not have any problems. I will be ready to go from the first round,” he added.

His opponent Whyte is feeling quite at home in Jamaica, and told The Gleaner that he was happy to be back.

“My parents are Jamaican and I have a lot of relatives here. I have seen many of them since I came in over the weekend, and they will be coming to cheer me on. It will be great to hear some cheers for me in the audience,” he said.

Whyte, who is 27 years old, has had only two professional fights and won them both by technical knockout. His last fight was in December 2015, so like Moncriffe, he has had a long layoff. He does not see his lack of professional boxing experience as a problem, because, like many of the boxers from Canada, he had an extensive amateur career. He told The Gleaner that he has had 65 amateur fights, “learnt the ropes well, and will be putting it all on display on fight night”. Moncriffe’s experience and record do not bother him, he said. “I have trained hard, I am ready, ready, ready, and will be giving it my best shot,” were his final words.

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/sports/20170517/moncriffe-ready-explode

Devon Moncriffe, saddled with the unenviable task to ensure Team Jamaica advances to the second round of the Wray & Nephew White Overproof Rum Contender Boxing Series with a lead, will clash in a pivotal match against Team Canada’s Larone Whyte tonight at Chinese Benevolent Association auditorium.

A three-fight card is on offer with one of two amateur bouts scheduled to open the programme at 8:30 pm.

Another rib-tickling floor show will follow the amateur segment with the showing of selected video clips of previous fights along with a priming introduction of the two main event boxers on the card. The main attraction is set to rumble at approximately 10:00 pm.

Team Jamaica and Team Canada, at present, are locked at three wins each going into the penultimate fight of eight at the first of a four-stage championship showdown of 16 fighters. The major prize on offer is a share of a $3,000,000 Jamaican dollars purse and the title of Jamaica’s Ultimate Junior Middleweight Contender.

Moncriffe, one of two former winners of the Contender title fighting this year, will enter the ring as the fourth seed of Team Jamaica with a ring record of 12 wins against six losses from 18 fights. The other former winner is Sakima Mullings.

Moncriffe won the Contender title in 2013 and will be up against the unseeded Whyte, who is undefeated in two professional fights. Whyte won both his fights by the TKO route. The Canadian got rid of Marko Szalai in two rounds on debut in 2014. He returned one year later to also TKO Isaiah Robinson but has not fought since.

Whyte, however, is expected to be in good competitive shape on his debut Contender clash against the more experienced 40-year-old Moncriffe over five rounds. The 27-year-old Whyte has an amateur ring record of two wins against two defeats.

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sports/moncriffe-whyte-clash-in-contender-bout_99075?profile=1498

Canadian boxer Dave Leblond has set his sights on a possible rematch with Jamaican rival Tsetsi Davis.

Leblond defeated professional debutant Nico Yeyo in what many described as a disappointing “hugging match” in their Wray and Nephew Contender Series bout last Wednesday and is now hoping to meet Davis by the luck of the draw in the next round.

Leblond had lost controversially to Davis in the second match of the season and, after losing an “egregious judging” appeal, was recalled to the competition in place of countryman Ryan Wagner, who was not medically cleared to face Yeyo.

His trainer, Patrice Trudeau, said that he believes the public would be interested in seeing a rematch with Davis. He said their first encounter felt similar to the events of the movie Rocky 4, where Rocky Balboa (played by Sylvester Stallone) was able to win over the support of hostile Russian fans who were cheering for the hometown favourite, Ivan Drago.

Trudeau compared Leblond to Balboa.

“We see it as a love story with the Jamaican fans,” Trudeau told The Gleaner. “Before the fight, we were live on Facebook telling Canadians that Tsetsi is a crowd favourite in Jamaica and we were comparing Rocky 4 with Tsetsi being Drago.”

Trudeau said moments before the fight with Davis, they faced direct hostility from fans but said that had changed during the course of the match.

“We had a guy come into the dressing room and tell Dave to his face: ‘You’re gonna get a whipping’, so we saw how much he was a favourite,” he said.

THE UNDERDOG

“But in the live video, I said ‘You know what? We’re gonna do just like in Rocky 4. Maybe we’ll make people start cheering for the underdog, the guy that’s a new fighter and has the fire in him to prove he’s a good boxer.’

“It was an underdog story. People were cheering for Dave more than Tsetsi at the end of the fight. We’re blessed, we’re really loved.”

The Gleaner reached out to Davis to get a response on how he would feel about a possible rematch, but he declined to speak.

Leblond said that if he does not get to face Davis in the competition, he would still welcome a chance to have a match later this year, even in Canada.

He continued that he hopes not to face another fighter like Yeyo, whom he described as “frustrating”, because of how much time he spent holding him to prevent being hit.

“It was impossible to have a plan against Yeyo,” Leblond said through translator Trudeau. “Everything we had set up was impossible to do because that guy just held on. That threw us off and, of course, it was frustrating.”

Trudeau said they have to now make a game plan in case they encounter another match like last week’s.

“We’re gonna work on something else. This fight was harder than Tsetsi. Tsetsi knows how to fight. This guy (Yeyo) was very difficult and unorthodox because he’s a young boxer.”

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/sports/20170515/leblond-wants-davis-contender-quarter-finals

MARSHA Burrell Rose is a woman on a mission.

The 44-year-old development and marketing manager at Food for the Poor (FFP) told All Woman that ever since childhood, she has had a desire embedded within her to help people.

Growing up in Portmore, St Catherine, and witnessing her mother’s unwavering service to others, she knew that her life would also be devoted to serving others.

“Our house was that house in the community where all the children would come, and no matter what it was, my mother always had something in her house to give to people. So it was embedded in us to always give back,” Burrell Rose pointed out.

And so, it came as no surprise that when she started her business, Restaurant Divine, alongside her husband Jomo in 2010, she made it her point of duty to give back to the homeless in Silver Slipper Plaza, Cross Roads, on Saturdays.

What is more, even after the business closed down some three years ago, they continued their service to the homeless.

“In the process we started Divine Intervention, a small outreach group where we would feed the homeless, not just with physical food but with spiritual food. We developed a friendship with these homeless people in Silver Slipper Plaza. So when the business closed, we decided we would still offer our feeding. We go to them and speak out about God. We saw these people in a different way. You see them on the road and drive past them every day, but when you speak to them you see the different personalities. From this interaction we knew we wanted much more for them,” she explained.

This led Burrell Rose to reach out to FFP, which gave her the task of raising funds locally to help people with housing and basic amenities.

Now at FFP for three years, Burrell Rose, in her role as development and marketing manager, has led the charge in building over 100 homes through one of the main projects, which is the 5K Run/Walk, which she helped to implement.

“We’ve built over 100 houses since the inception of the 5k. The main focus of the 5k is twofold — to show what we’re doing at FFP and to raise funds. The aim is to build awareness and get help in the form of funding to build over 100 houses each time,” she said.

Burrell Rose also pointed out that she often gets emotional about her job, especially when she sees how uncaring some people are about helping others in need.

“I can’t understand how someone can take up $100,000 to buy a carnival costume, but can’t take up $1,200 to register and donate for a race. I get very emotional when I have to beg people to sign up for a race. It’s for us! Yes, it’s FFP, but when you go to the hospitals and you lie down on the bed, it’s a bed that FFP donated. When you need a wheelchair for your mother, it’s the same thing. Some of these people who have money, they send their children to the top schools and we’re the ones that help to fund them. It touches everybody!”

She added: “I get very emotional about my work because I see it every day — we get the phone calls, persons want to kill themselves because they have kids and can’t care for them. Some of us will say, ‘Why should I help a mother with five kids who knows she doesn’t have the money?’ However, understand that you have the mentality to think about that, but she doesn’t. She’s just seeking a way to get out. It is two different Jamaicas. I tell people all the while, don’t compare your life or your mental thinking with others, because you don’t know what it is like. When you work here it’s no longer a job, you’re on a mission,” Burrell Rose explained.

Also a devout Christian, Burrell Rose said she is committed to doing everything to the honour of God and keeping God as the centre of her life. Coupled with her role at FFP, she also pointed out that on the last Saturday in every month, her family still visits Silver Slipper Plaza to share food and the word of God.

“My husband and I are committed to doing this, and we bring our daughter who’s seven along with us in order to let her see the other world that’s out there and be grateful for small mercies,” Burrell Rose said.

She is also passionate about premature babies and giving support to mothers who have delivered such children.

“Having a premature baby has shifted my thoughts and how I am today to be grateful to God for life. That was an experience that drove me closer to God and I started a Facebook group called Support for Mothers with Premature Babies, because having gone through it, I want to be there for persons who had the same experience,” she said.

Burrell Rose lives by the reminder that without God you’re nothing.

“On this mission I want people to see the changes in me and ask what is it I’m doing, and I can say it’s God. I want people to know God and I must be able to tell them about God without actually saying it,” she declared.

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/all-woman/marsha-burrell-rose-_98370?profile=1606

FORTY poverty-stricken families will have the comfort of new two-bedroom houses from Food For The Poor (FFP) Jamaica later this year, thanks to donations committed thus far by individuals, companies and others during the charity organisation’s third annual 5K Walk/Run held on May 13 at Emancipation Park in St Andrew.

At the Walk/Run event, Andrew Mahfood, chairman of FFP-Jamaica, announced that the charity intends to construct 100 houses in total from the event’s proceeds, and that they are grateful for the 40 houses already committed.

“When you hear us say that we want to build 100 homes, that’s just a drop in the bucket. We need to build 10,000 houses because there are tens of thousands of Jamaicans who we have seen and are now on our waiting list, who are desperately in need of houses,” Mahfood said.

Mahfood strongly believes the goal of constructing 100 houses from the event will be achieved as individuals and organisations are still committing to the 5K.

Approximately $46.5 million was raised from the first 5K Walk/Run in 2015 and $53 million in 2016, with over 100 houses built.

“No charity can survive without the support system of their nation,” Mahfood said.

“We are happy that individuals, the private and public sectors, groups from all 14 parishes, members of our diaspora, and people living outside of Jamaica decided to support us through contributions, pledges and donations through the Internet.”

Marsha Burrell Rose, marketing manager, said that National Bakery, Jamaica Public Service, National Commercial Bank, ReMax, Black Ink Marketing and Event Solutions Limited, CIBC FirstCaribbean Bank, Red Stripe, Running Events, Rototech, Supreme Ventures, Zoukie, Hi-Pro and Coldwell Banker have committed houses from corporate Jamaica. Other donors include Yohan Blake and Michael Hylton.

All funds committed by these individuals and organisations were matched equally by FFP-Florida.

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/40-homes-to-be-built-by-food-for-the-poor-this-year_98852?profile=1373

As we heard the crack in Zoleka Mandela’s voice, describing her pain and that of other parents who have lost their children in road crashes, we pondered on the reason for the careless behaviour on our roads. We note statistics revealing that some 115 deaths on our roads and many more seriously injured.

“Worldwide, more young people are killed on the roads than from any other cause of death. Each day 3,000 children are killed or injured on the world’s roads,” said the regal Mandela.

Convener of the the National Road Safety Council (NRSC) Dr Lucien Jones has brought the passion of his Christian ministry to bear on his work. This combined with the business wizardry of Earl Jarrett resulted in the visit of Mandela and FIA (Federation Internationale de l’Automobile — translated International Federation for Motor Vehicles) racing superstar Jean Todt. Last week, UN Global Road Safety Week, they joined with Prime Minister Andrew Holness, UNICEF Jamaica Country Representative Mark Connolly and Road Safety Ambassador Yohan Blake in a special appeal to stop the madness on Jamaica’s roads.

“The scale of this crisis is bad enough. But what is perhaps even more shocking is how little is being done to prevent it. We have the solutions, but too often they are not being put in place. The measures we need to save lives are simple: safe crossings for kids going to school; sidewalks to separate pedestrians and the vulnerable from vehicles; enforcement against drunk driving; and action on speeding.

“Action on speed is the focus of this fourth UN Global Road Safety Week, and it is a great example of exactly what needs to be done. With effective policing and measures such as road humps and traffic calming we could save hundreds of thousands of lives worldwide each year.

“We’re facing a man-made epidemic and we have the vaccine — we’re just not using it. Can you imagine having a vaccine for a killer disease and not using it? Imagine leaving children to face illness or death and not acting. Yet this is really what we are doing. In failing to use the low-speed vaccine around our schools we are failing our children. It is their lives at stake.

“I’ve seen it in my own country. In my work with the Global Initiative for Child Health and Mobility we launched a project in one of South Africa’s poorest communities — Khayelitsha in Western Cape.”

Her words are familiar to our local situation: “In Khayelitsha you see the kids by the road each morning. Little ones, five- and six-year-olds, with their brothers and sisters, terrified to cross the road as the traffic bears down on them at 80 km/h.

“Early in the morning you see them trying to cross in the dark, taking their lives into their own hands. You don’t need to search too hard for what needs to be done. The answer is quite simple. Our children, our little ones, hundreds of them walking to school each day, should not face traffic at more than 30 km/h.

“Faster than 30 is a death sentence,” she emphasised. “For the sake of our children, low speeds are non-negotiable. It’s not just my own country; the story I witnessed in Khayelitsha is one repeated each day around the world. Millions of children are facing this horror every single day and we are failing to protect them.”

Mandela’s 13-year-old daughter Zenani was killed by a drunk driver in June 2010, and so she commented, “When the policies are not in place, it’s our families and our children that suffer.”

She evoked the courage of her grandfather: “I take inspiration in the life of my grandfather, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. We would all do well to listen to his words. ‘We must not despair. We must not accept defeat. We must not forget that it is in our power to change the world.’ ”

In response, Prime Minister Andrew Holness noted, “There is no amount of enforcement that is going to be as effective as behaviour change,” and urged the more frequent use of the Agent Sasco and Tessanne Chin road safety music video. He pledged, “We are committed to using all the utilities at our disposal to reduce road crashes by 50 per cent by 2020.” He has been an engaged NRSC chairman, and so we are optimistic. Everyone can take the pledge to #slowdown and #savelives.

JEF’s ‘Pathway to Prosperity’

There was a dynamic buzz at the Montego Bay Convention Centre, May 4-6, 2017, generated by the Jamaica Employers’ Federation annual Business & Workplace Convention, chaired by Wayne Chen, with the theme: ‘People, Purpose, Growth… The Pathway to Prosperity’. Jamaicans were once again challenged to leverage our countless attributes to lift the country to a place of power in the world. Large or small, companies are learning that our contribution to community development is a must for our mutual survival.

Farewell Keith Binns

Family and friends gathered at Boulevard Baptist Church last Saturday to say farewell to a wonderful gentleman, insurance expert Keith Binns. Karl Barth noted, “Laughter is the closest thing to the grace of God, and so we can say that Keith graced countless lives with his special gift of laughter.” At the Caribbean Community of Retired Persons, Keith added his special sparkle to our events. We extend condolence to his wife Lurline and family. Rest in peace, dear Keith!

lowriechin@aim.com

http://www.lowrie-chin.blogspot.com

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/opinion/zoleka-mandela-8217-s-impassioned-plea-to-slowdown-savelives_98893?profile=1096

Prime Minister the Most Honourable Andrew Holness (centre) with an Open Letter, to which his signature is affixed. It urges action on reducing and enforcing traffic speeds to a level safe for children in Jamaica, as well as prioritising low speed zones in residential areas and near schools. The Prime Minister signed the Open Letter during a #SlowDown event hosted at his office on May 10. Also pictured at fourth left is United Nations (UN) Special Envoy for Road Safety, Jean Todt, while at third right is Ambassador, Global Initiative for Child Health and Mobility, Zoleka Mandela. Students from Mona Heights Primary School (from left) are Rayanna Clarke, Shanoy Smellie, Ashantea Davy, Kindah Jonas and Anna-Lise Daley.

Source: Jamaica Gleaner, Monday, May 15, 2017 publication on page C12.