Six residents of St. Ann were, on Monday (October 21), honoured for their contribution to community development and nation-building.
The honourees were recognised by the St. Ann Municipal Corporation Civic Affairs and Community Relations Committee, during its National Heroes Day Civic Ceremony at Lawrence Park in St.
Ann’s Bay, held under the theme ‘Celebrating the Good in our Neighbourhood’.
Those honoured are Buel Gloria Clarke and Angella Campbell-Treasure for service to Education; Reverend Nybell Carlton for Religion; Lyndsay Isacs – Community Service; Paul Issa – Philanthropy; and Atadian Laing – Bravery.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mayor of St. Ann’s Bay, Councillor Michael Belnavis, commended the honourees for their selfless and unwavering contributions to nation-building.
He said they have earned the right to be called unsung heroes, noting that each individual has made significant contributions to the parish of St. Ann and has left indelible footprints in society.
Meanwhile, Mayor Belnavis called on Jamaicans to take greater pride in celebrating the work of persons who have charted the course for present-day Jamaica.
“When we think about National Heroes Day, we have a lot to be proud of. We have a lot to remember [and] a lot to give thanks for. These [Seven National Heroes and Heroine] stepped up to the plate, and they did what was necessary to pave the way for us, as future generations, to make our country world-renowned,” he said.
Meanwhile, 2018 Youth Mayor for St. Ann’s Bay, Bobby Francis, in giving the charge to the awardees, urged young people to take note of the positive values and attitudes displayed by the recipients.
“I charge you awardees to understand that it is important for us as young persons to be able to recognise persons who would have been on a journey of heroism, so profound in their own way, that we can call them our heroes,” he stated.
The Youth Mayor further stated that the awardees, by virtue of their deeds, serve to inspire the young people to heed the “call to action and to accept positive challenges laid out before us by society”.
He added that the awardees encapsulate the core interests and values of local government and are the catalysts who will serve to mobilise social transformation.
The event also featured performances by students from several schools from across the parish, who read citations and prose honouring Jamaica’s heroes.
Also attending were representatives of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB), and Jamaica Combined Cadet Force (JCCF), and other uniformed group.
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Jamaica Information Service