Community Stalwarts Presented with Governor General Award

Four community stalwarts from the County of Surrey have been presented with the prestigious Governor General award for outstanding service to their communities.
The awardees are Kevin Brown from Kingston, Dr. Polly Bowes-Howell from St. Andrew, Captain Jonathan Patrick Lamey from Portland and Rev. Remia Renia Gordon from St. Thomas.
Governor-General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Howard Cooke, made the presentations at a ceremony held on Wednesday (Sept. 29) at the Jamaica Crest Resort in Fairy Hill, Portland.
The Governor General award is presented yearly to 14 Jamaicans, one in each parish, who have achieved upward mobility from humble beginnings and have given worthwhile and outstanding service to their communities.
Sir Howard praised the awardees for the successes they have achieved and for the contribution they have made to nation building.
He noted that the lives of the awardees were excellent examples for other Jamaicans to emulate as they had demonstrated very powerfully, how success could be achieved through hard work and determination.
The Governor General exhorted the audience to always aim to achieve high standards in whatever field they were involved, as it is in so doing, that they would maintain the tradition of excellence that Jamaicans were known for.
He thanked the sponsors of the award for the support they have been providing over the years and urged Jamaicans to always be patriotic and be kind and loving to each other, adding that the vast social and economic development, which the country had achieved so far, should make every citizen proud to be a Jamaican.
During the ceremony, the Custodes of the respective parishes read a citation on the achievements of each awardee. Custos of Portland, Roy Thompson read the citation for the Portland awardee; Rev. Cannon Weevil Gordon for Kingston; Marcia Bennett for St. Thomas; while Dotsie M. Gordon, read the citation on behalf of Custos of St. Andrew, Rev. Dr. Carmen Stewart.