Clarendon Honours Community Stalwarts at Heroes Day Salute

Four residents of Clarendon, who have given more than 20 years of voluntary service to their communities, were honoured yesterday (Oct. 16) at the parish’s annual Heroes Day Salute.
Valenton Wint, Millicent Douglas-Clarke, Pauline Scoburgh and Jessie-Ann Louise Hill, were presented with plagues and citations in recognition of their outstanding contributions, at the function held at the May Pen Courthouse.
Ethel Brown, cultural committee member described the honourees as “unsung heroes,” who had made significant contribution to their communities.
She explained that, “we chose our honourees on the criteria that they should have lived and worked in the parish for at least 20 years, they should have given voluntary service, which should have significant impact within the community for the last five years and they should not have been recognized or awarded at the national level”.
Valenton Wint was recognized for 20 years of sustained and sterling voluntary service to Spaulding and other communities and for spearheading the drive to provide the Percy Junor Hospital with a desperately needed facelift, among other things.
Mr. Wint currently serves as National Vice President of Red Cross of Jamaica, Chairman of the Percy Junor Hospital Improvement Committee, Chairman of the Spaulding Library Committee, Vice Chairman of the Clarendon Parish Development Committee, Chairman of the Spaulding Primary School Board, member of the Spaulding Citizen’s Association, member of the Spalding Victim Support Unit and the board of Holmwood Technical High, among other duties.
Pauline Scoburgh was recognised for her vibrant volunteerism and faithful and consistent service to the New Bowens community. She is President of the New Bowens Citizens Association, an active member of the community Neighbourhood Watch Committee and Youth Club, a member of the larger Clarendon Neighbourhood Watch Committee and the Clarendon Chapter of the Returning Residents Association.
Millicent Douglas-Clarke was honoured for more than 30 years of teaching and church leadership activities in Coxswain and surrounding communities in North Clarendon, while Jessie-Ann Hill was recognized as a hardworking influential Justice of the Peace and businesswoman in the Osbourne Store community.
Mrs. Hill, who is a founding member of the Osbourne Store Citizen’s Association, is a longstanding member of the Four Paths Police Consultative Committee, a member of the Lay Magistrates Association since 1993, and a member of the board of the Osbourne Store Primary and Junior High School. She was also instrumental in the building of the Osbourne Store Basic School.
The Heroes Day Salute, which organized by the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission and the Clarendon Parish Council, was held under the theme: ‘Celebrating our Heritage. the Strength of our Nation.’
Among the highlights of the function was a parade of uniformed groups; salute, citations and floral tributes to the National Heroes; messages from the Governnor-General, the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition as well as cultural items from Glenmuir and Lennon High Schools.