Seven Persons Honoured By St. James Parish Council

Seven ‘unsung heroes’ in the parish of St. James, who have given outstanding service to their parish and communities, were recognized on Heroes Day (October 21), by the St. James Parish Council and presented with citations and the 2013 Sam Sharpe Awards.

Those awarded at a civic ceremony, held in Sam Sharpe Square in Montego Bay, were: Madeline Lawrence, for outstanding service in the field of Health; Elez Glen for his work in Tourism; Kenroy Russell for Education; Adrian Frater for Journalism; Inspector Ralph Medley in the area of National Security; Angela McIntosh for her contribution in Sports; and Methelina Scarlett-Jones for Community Service.

Congratulating the recipients, Mayor of Montego Bay and Chairman of the St. James Parish Council, Glendon Harris, emphasized that as a free people, citizens must begin to seek after that which they deserve as a nation, based on the sacrifices and achievements of the country’s heroes and heroines.

“We have to rethink how we approach matters of national development and security.  We must start with our youth, because they are our only hope of a prosperous future. We  can accomplish a lot more if we focus our energy on teaching our children the right and showing them that we will not tolerate wrong doing,” the Mayor said.

He pointed out that the St. James Parish Council continues to focus on the youth through such programmes as the Junior Mayor competition, which was introduced in the early 1990s.

“This competition continues to provide opportunities for leadership development among our young people and has been replicated in other parishes,”  he noted.

The Mayor added that the Council has collaborated with the Ministry of Education, the Transport Authority, the Island Traffic Authority, the Police, school administrators and parent teacher associations, to address the indiscipline of students on public transportation, and “we are pleased that we have seen significant improvement in the parish of St. James.”

He argued that these are  just two examples of the Council’s efforts to ensure that the youth  are  well prepared to become good and productive citizens.

“The values which we inherited from our fore parents must be vocalized and held high.  We must find a way to secure the heritage we possess, so we can leave our young people with much more than what we wrestled from the hands of the colonialists.  We must instill in them the values and attitudes of our heroes and heroine,” the Mayor said.

Messages from the country’s main leaders were read during the ceremony. The Governor-General’s message was read by Custos of St. James, Hon. Ewen Corrodus ; the Prime Minister’s message was read by Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Derrick Kellier; and the Opposition Leader’s  message was read by  Dr. Horace Chang.

The activity was organized by the St. James Parish Council, in association with the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC), under the theme: ‘Our history … Our strength’.