Tag: Order of Distinction

Heart-warming moments for Jamaica

Ruel Grant (left) and Keith Nugent (Photo: Karl Mclarty)

Yes, it was a hot morning, but the joy of family and friends made it all worth it for those of us who attended the Ceremony of Investiture and Presentation of National Honours and Awards at King’s House last Monday.

Members of the clergy, business leaders, musicians, teachers, nurses, volunteers, members of the uniformed groups — how we applauded. Seeing Marcia Griffiths receiving the Order of Jamaica brought many to their feet.

Some were little known, but their bravery was deservedly recognised. Last April Ruel Oliver Grant, a farmer in St Thomas, and internal auditor Keith Yorke Angello Nugent were presented with the Badge of Honour for Gallantry. The citation read: “In the face of grave danger, saving the lives of four females from a burning motor vehicle that exploded minutes later.”

Jamaica Observer Senior Staff Reporter Alicia Dunkley-Willis interviewed the two gentlemen after the presentations. “Both men say the memories of that day will be hard to lay to rest due to the fact that they were unable to save [the driver], 58-year-old Patrisha Brown, a former resident of Warner Street, Port Maria, in St Mary, who remained trapped despite their valiant efforts to free her.”

Tears for a gallant son: Jamaica Fire Brigade Assistant Superintendent Garnett Douse kisses the Medal of Honour for Gallantry which was on Monday posthumously conferred on his 25-year-old son Larenzo. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

She quoted Grant: “I was driving behind a car, but the road had some very sharp corners, so I didn’t really see the car while I was driving, but I knew it was in front of me. When I went around a left-hand corner I see the car capsize in the road. I was seeing the wheels, so I reversed and parked on a side of the road. I ran over and pushed the back door up. I tried the front door, [but] it wouldn’t open, it was closed. When I pushed up the front door, the weight of it brought it back down on me so I pushed it again with more force. I saw people inside cuddled up, crying.”

She noted: “He said in running to get his phone to summon cops he saw Nugent, who had also been driving along the roadway. Mi seh to him, ‘Some people inna di car.’ When mi look in the front of the car, the engine was on fire so he came and was helping. Some other people came, because there was a funeral going on in the district, so we pulled them out — one by one. We pulled out four persons.”

Nugent described for Dunkley-Willis the drama of rescuing the fourth person: “I was trying… Then I started to feel the heat on my chest and I ran off too because I started to hear my wife and aunt screaming, ‘Come! It’s going to blow, ‘ so I ran off. But when I looked, she was standing [in the car]. And the image of her standing there and the thought of her perishing was too much, so I turned back again and I called out, and Mr Grant and one of the first ladies to get out of the car came back and the three of us were able to get her out.”

Another moving moment was Jamaica Fire Brigade Assistant Superintendent Garnett Douse who, on behalf of his late son, Lorenzo Douse, received his Medal of Honour for Gallantry. He had a hard time keeping his composure and kissed his son’s medal. Young Douse, also a firefighter, had been mowed down by a car driven off the road when he was turning off the pump after extinguishing a fire at the Ocho Rios Pier last November.

Wayne Mitchell, his mom Paulette (centre) and wife Tami (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

Well-deserved, Wayne Mitchell, OD

Every year we hear criticisms about the choice of people being honoured. Perhaps the critics do not understand the process by which the recipients are selected. One can go online to the Jamaica Information Service website to download a nomination form, complete it, then either mail or deliver to the division which deals with national honours at the Office of the Prime Minister.

There is a selection committee which evaluates the nominations and then recommends those suitable for national honours. There are still many unsung heroes in Jamaica, so I suggest that the critics look around and see who they can nominate.

Let me say that I applaud the selection of Wayne Mitchell for the Order of Distinction. Because of his youthful appearance, it is hard to believe that he has been in the music business for over 20 years, creating popular dancehall and gospel songs. His Glory to God with Ryan Mark and Tessanne Chin is a classic, gaining 3.9 million views to date on YouTube.

He and his wife Tami have created the successful YouTube series Meet the Mitchells, portraying healthy family life and showing love and respect to their household worker. Mitchell ascribes his success to hard work and consistency, “It is not just about the music, it’s about character.”

He shared, “I am happy that my mother is alive to see this. Nobody is prouder than she is.” His mother, my schoolmate Paulette Mitchell, and her late husband, Wycliffe Mitchell, have raised a strong family. Congratulations to her for nurturing a son who has become a role model for fatherhood as well as an accomplished artiste. Kudos to you, Wayne Mitchell. Let no one rain on your parade.

National Day of Spain

We gathered last week to celebrate the National Day of Spain hosted by Ambassador Diego Bermejo Romero de Terreros and his wife Julia de Bermejo. He serves as Ambassador of Spain to Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Dominica, and St Kitts and Nevis. The ambassador remarked on Spain’s continued investment in Jamaica’s tourist industry and expressed his commitment to our developmental initiatives.

Spanish hotel operators in Jamaica include the Grand Palladium, RIU, Secrets, Iberostar, Excellence, H10, Melia, and Bahia Principe. State minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Alando Terrelonge thanked the ambassador and his Government for their strong partnership with Jamaica. It is remarkable that the Spanish hoteliers plan to build 2,000 houses for hotel workers. Our outstanding hotel workers deserve no less.

The Spanish Foundation of Jamaica continues to sponsor educational, environmental, cultural, and community development initiatives. These include support for Spanish teaching and learning, Project Star and the Social Development Commission as well as empowerment of young women.

Invest in Braille

In celebration of Blind Awareness Month this October, media personality and author Dr Terri-Karelle Reid has teamed up with the Digicel Foundation to launch a campaign aimed at improving the educational prospects of blind and visually impaired students in Jamaica.

Dubbed Follow the Trail, Invest in Braille, the focus of the partnership is to address the severe shortage of Braille machines at the Salvation Army School for the Blind, Jamaica’s only school for the blind and visually impaired. Currently, there are only 26 Braille machines available to serve the over 130 students enrolled at the institution.

So far, several companies and individual donors have committed to the initiative, including NCB Foundation, Sandals Foundation, Hospiten, INAMI Management Services Limited, and Pia Baker. Please join them and assist our blind students.

Source: Jamaica Observer https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/heart-warming-moments-for-jamaica/

Despite the storms, give thanks, Jamaica

CCRP Living Legacy Awards recipients at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel. From left: Pixley Irons, Dr Lilieth Nelson, Dr Blossom Anglin Brown, and Steadman Fuller.

On this National Heroes’ Day, despite distressing news, let us remember the people who continue to bring light and hope to Jamaica.

Among those who will receive national honours today are my friends, whose talent and professionalism have made our country proud. Natalie Thompson, Order of Distinction, Officer class (OD), is an accomplished cinematographer, her latest work being No Time to Die. Andrew Mahfood, Order of Distinction, Commander class (CD), is not only a business leader, as managing director of Wisynco, but also the dedicated chairman of Food For the Poor Jamaica. Arthur Hall, OD, and Earl Moxam, OD, are journalism legends. Justine Henzell, OD, is the hard-working co-founder of the Calabash Literary Festival. Kudos to colleagues PB Scott, Order of Jamaica; Neville Garrick, CD; Colette Roberts Risden, CD; Dr Edwin Tulloch-Reid, CD; Dawn Azan, OD; and Lenford Salmon, OD.

Last week CCRP honoured five stalwarts who have served beyond the call of duty: Dr Winsome Anglin Brown; Pixley Irons, OD; Steadman Fuller, CD; Dr Lilieth Nelson, CD; and Dr Margaret Dingle Spence.

Dr Brown is the former director of The University of the West Indies (UWI) Health Centre, through her leadership, the health centre was the first in the region to be named a voluntary counselling and testing centre for AIDS. She was instrumental in making The UWI the biggest blood donor group in the country. She was head of the Department of Community Health and Psychiatry and coordinator for graduate studies and research at The UWI. During the pandemic she served as deputy chair on the Campus Emergency Committee.

A former president of Lions Club of New Kingston, she unstintingly supports the blind and is a volunteer with the Foundation for International Self Help Development (FISH) clinic. She is a perennial committee member for international sporting events, including the Cricket World Cup.

A number of Jamaicans will be recognised for service to the country at the Ceremony of Investiture and Presentation of National Honours and Awards.

Fuller, an avid proponent of lifelong learning, has been a pre-eminent figure in the Jamaican book industry for almost 50 years. An entrepreneur and philanthropist, he is chairman and managing director of the nation’s leading booksellers, Kingston Bookshop. His wife of 40 years, Sonia, has been his business partner as director of administration.

Fuller has served as custos for the parish of Kingston for over 13 years. He is chairman and co-founder of the Kingston and St Andrew Development and Homecoming Foundation Limited. He is a recipient of the Mico Gold Medal Award and is chairman of the board of both the Tulloch Primary School in St Catherine and Mona High School in St Andrew. Fuller’s community outreach sees his entire staff preparing hundreds of seasonal care packages for the imprisoned as well as back-to-school bags for needy children.

Irons exemplifies mentorship, service, and community involvement, whether in his own enterprise or in his participation in a variety of service and developmental organisations. His company, Iron’s Mechanical Services, is sponsor for scores of sporting events in St Ann. Irons was also affiliated with the Land Divestment Committee and the Rural Electrification Programme as a board member.

A dedicated Rotarian, Irons received the Rotary Service Above Self award three consecutive years. He is a passionate advocate for youth development, serving on the HEART/NSTA Trust’s Management Advisory Council and other youth-oriented interventions. Irons is the volunteer convenor of the CCRP Northeast Chapter. He says none of this would have been possible without his wife and family members.

Dr Nelson is an award-winning educator, published poet, musician, and entrepreneur who possesses a dual passion for the arts as well as the sciences. She has served as musical director of the University Singers, working with musical stalwarts Noel Dexter and Marjorie Whylie, among others. On the science side, Dr Nelson was a beloved teacher of chemistry and general science in Jamaica and The Bahamas.

Dr Nelson’s invaluable contribution to Jamaica’s energy sector includes the production of the Energy Coordinators Handbook for the Ministry of Mining and Energy in 2012. She has also served as managing director of Jamaica Laboratory & Industrial Suppliers Limited. She is the dynamic president of the Business and Professional Women’s Club, Jamaica branch.

Dr Spence, renowned expert in both clinical oncology and palliative medicine, has brought relief and dignity to Jamaica’s cancer patients. She is the senior medical officer of the Hope Institute Hospital, Jamaica’s only dedicated oncology and palliative care unit. She is also an associate lecturer in the Department of Medicine at the University Hospital of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica, and is currently the acting head of the Department of Radiotherapy at the Kingston Public Hospital.

Dr Spence’s fellowship in international pain policy at the University of Wisconsin focused on improving opioid accessibility in Jamaica, resulting in the immediate release of morphine tablets in 2012, not previously available.

She is currently working with the medical school at The University of the West Indies to develop a diploma in palliative medicine and to have palliative care medicine recognised as a medical specialty in Jamaica.

Farewell, dear Heather

Heather Arnella (right) and her daughter Dr Aimee Norman

We said a fond farewell to a star of the Digicel family, Heather Arnella (nee Hodgson) last week. Heather will always be the truest expression of active love. She was a lady of brief words but countless generous deeds.

Heather served as chairperson of the Governance Committee for the Digicel Jamaica Foundation and led by example. She travelled extensively as the group administrator for Digicel and was the go-to person not only in Jamaica but for the company’s international locations. Nevertheless, she remained humble and approachable. She respected everyone and stood up for humble folks. No wonder there has been such an outpouring of love for this warm-hearted lady who found time for everyone.

How she managed so many projects and still maintained her joy of life was amazing. Our dear fashionista friend Heather always carried herself beautifully, but it was her inner beauty that made her shine even brighter.

Her love of family, especially her dear daughter Dr Aimee Norman, and her mother Sybil Hodgson, was inspiring. She adored her grandchildren and would flash out photos on her phone as soon as anyone asked about them.

At the thanksgiving service, the tributes of Digicel Chair Denis O’Brien; CEO Oliver Coughlan; a reading by her son-in-law Evangelist Renaldo Norman; the blessings of Rev Al Miller, her pastor; and the music of Ashe brought comfort to family and friends.

Rest in peace our unforgettable Heather.

Source: Jamaica Observer https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/despite-the-storms-give-thanks-jamaica/