Five Persons, One Group Awarded for Meritorious Service in Westmoreland

Five persons and one group from the parish of Westmoreland were awarded for meritorious service in the fields of education, politics, religion, culture and community development, at the parish’s Heroes’ Day Civic Ceremony, which was held recently at Norman Square in Savanna-La-Mar.
Citations and plaques were presented to Hortense Evans and Cynthia Fox for their contributions in the field of education; Eric “Tony” Meyler, for his work in politics; Rev. Carlton Wilson for service to religion; Corporal Balfour Gore for community service and the Grange Hill Jonkunno Group for culture.
Hundreds of residents from across the parish, participated in the function, planned by the Westmoreland Heritage Committee and held under the national theme: ‘Embracing Our Heritage.Out of Many One People’.
Several students from schools within the parish and representatives from uniformed groups, gave fitting tributes and salutes to the National Heroes, in a function which was highlighted by the messages of the Prime Minister, read by Mayor of Westmoreland, Councillor Delford Morgan and that of the Opposition Leader, which was read by Trevor Brooks.
In reading the citation to veteran politician, Eric Meyler, who served Westmoreland with distinction for over 40 years, Mayor Morgan described him as “a son of Savanna-La-Mar and a gem in the political history of the parish of Westmoreland”.
“Besides serving as a political representative, Mr. Meyler was selected to represent the parish council of Westmoreland on several national committees,” Mayor Morgan said, adding that the awardee was later selected by the Office of Disaster Preparedness to be trained by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as a trainer, where he finished at the top of the class.
Sponsored by the USAID, Mr. Meyler conducted classes in Jamaica, Barbados, Antigua and Trinidad and Tobago, and was also selected as one of the representatives among eight Caribbean nationals to attend the University of Tucson in Arizona to further study disaster management.
“After serving in this organisation, Mr. Meyler was named as the Jamaican expert on disaster management and he began working closely with ODPEM, attending and lecturing at seminars and training sessions in St. James, Manchester, Clarendon and Kingston. The record will show his involvement and tireless work in helping to design the newly constructed cenotaph which now proudly stands in the civic park in the centre of the town square,” Mayor Morgan noted.