Four Teachers Honoured by Kiwanis

Four teachers from western Jamaica, who also served the Kiwanis International Clubs as Faculty Advisors for a combined 67 years, have been awarded for their exemplary and dedicated service to the Movement.

They were lauded and presented with gift packages at the Kiwanis Clubs of Division 25 100^th Anniversary Service Leadership Programme Youth Awards Ceremony, held at the Montego Bay High School, in St. James, on January 21, under the theme: ‘Serving the children of the world’.

Lieutenant Governor of Kiwanis Division 25, Lisa Golding, told JIS News that the awardees were selected and specially trained by Kiwanis International.

“The Kiwanis Service Leadership Programme is anchored in the schools by our teachers, who act as Faculty Advisors for Kiwanis International.  They are usually specially trained by the Kiwanis to represent the parent body in the respective clubs and to guide them into carrying out their community service and also to do their administration,” Mrs. Golding said.

She informed that they were specially honoured and awarded for their invaluable service within the five parishes of Trelawny, St. James, Hanover, Westmoreland and St. Elizabeth.

The four awardees are:  Velma Cohen from the Albion Primary and Junior High School, who has worked with the Kiwanis movement and specifically with the Builders Clubs for over 20 years; Nella Perrier, Principal of the Supreme Prep School in Montego Bay, 12 years; Janet Fearon from the Sandy Bay Primary K Kids Club,  five years; and Sonia Leebert from the William Knibb High School in Trelawny, 30 years.

In his address at the ceremony, Mayor of Montego Bay, Councillor Glendon Harris, noted that for hundreds of years, Jamaicans have demonstrated their leadership capabilities at various levels of the country’s governance and even in other lands.

“I implore you as youth leaders to remember that you are here at this time because you have been given a leadership role to play … it is going to be in your hands to ensure that you achieve this.  Be reminded also that it is not what you achieve in life that will ultimately determine your success in life, but what you give to others, ultimately making their lives and environment better,” Mayor Harris said.