Lori-Ann Chevaughn Haye was born in the parish of St. Thomas, and has always shown an interest in the area of Economics. Her motivation for attaining a Bachelor of Science in Economics at The University of the West Indies, Mona is to find creative ways to effect change in her community, Jamaica, and the world.

 

Miss Haye is a past student of the St Thomas Technical High and Titchfield High Schools. While attending the St. Thomas Technical High School she was a member of the Debating Society and Speech, Drama and Key Clubs; but it was while attending Titchfield High that she honed her skills in the field of Business and was a recipient of the School’s Award for Accounting.

 

Miss Haye sees the importance of giving back to her community and has spent many hours assisting younger students with their homework and reading to the blind. She has volunteered at the soup kitchen at the Moses Baker Baptist Church which also has a ‘Feed the Elderly’ programme. Her participation in projects that included donating items to the less fortunate in her community has also benefited the Mustard Seed Communities.

 

Lori-Ann is described as a caring person who is always willing to share her facilities, possessions and talents with the less fortunate. She is a role model and a motivator.

 

Lori-Ann Chevaughn Haye it is with much confidence, that the members of the Governor-General’s Achievement Award Committee of St. Thomas have selected you as a worthy recipient of the Governor-General’s Award of Excellence for the parish of St. Thomas, in the year 2009.

Jeneel Keneisha Thompson was born in Hampton Court, St. Thomas, and was educated at the Duckenfield Primary and Morant Bay and Titchfield High Schools. She was awarded in 1998 as the Lions Club’s second runner up for the Youth of Excellence Award for Academic Excellence and Leadership.

 

Jeneel has always had a passion for a career in the field of Law.  Initially accepted to read for a degree in English and Psychology at The University of the West Indies, Ms. Thompson worked tirelessly, and at the end of her first degree was accepted to pursue a Bachelor of Laws Degree.

 

Seeing the intense need to assist those who do not know their rights, Ms. Thompson was convinced that she made the correct career choice. In addition, she has shown a deep interest in helping those who are less fortunate through her membership with the Lions Club of                     St. Thomas and the Moses Baker Baptist Church.

 

Working with young persons, Jeneel has assisted several students in preparing for school examinations at various levels.  She has donated clothes to the less fortunate and, under the JAMVAT programme, has assisted teachers at the Clan Carthy Primary School. While attending the Norman Manley Law School in Barbados, she participated in the adoption of the Nightingale Children’s Home as a part of the Poverty Law Programme.

 

Jeneel is an active member of the Duckenfield Primary School Alumni and is described as a ‘hardworking, ambitious person’. She has recently completed examinations at the Norman Manley Law School and now waits to be called to the Bar.

 

Jeneel Keneisha Thompson it is with pride and confidence that the members of the Governor-General’s Achievement Award Committee of St. Thomas has selected you as a worthy recipient of the Governor-General’s Youth Award of Excellence for the parish of St. Thomas, in the year 2009.                         

Rohan Bryan, born in Dalvey, St. Thomas, is the second of seven children of parents, Thelma Marriott and Vileroy Bryan. As a child, he lived with his grandmother in Kingston and attended Balmagie Primary School. The early years in primary school were very challenging and at the age of nine he was moved back to Dalvey to attend the Dukenfield Primary School, while under the care of his great-grandmother.

 

Now a trained teacher, Rohan Bryan recalls the many difficulties he experienced after passing the Common Entrance Examination to attend the Morant Bay High School.  School days were often spent assisting his mother, by then a single parent, with raising chickens, gathering produce for the market, and burning charcoal. The burden of adult responsibilities often led to days of deep concern and doubts of ever achieving his career goals.

 

After high school, he worked as a pre-trained teacher at the Port Morant Primary and Junior High and Morant Bay High Schools prior to attending the GC Foster College to pursue formal training in Physical Education. He eventually received his Diploma and began coaching the Morant Bay High School Track and Field Team, where he brought their programme to national recognition. For his significant achievements as a coach, Rohan was rewarded with the National Coaching Award from the Jamaica Track and Field Coaches’ Association. He was also nominated to the National Coaching Panel and received Level One IAAF Coaching Certification.

                                                                                        

An avid track and field enthusiast, Rohan also finds time to participate in voluntary services with the Social Development Commission while studying to complete a Masters Degree in Education Administration.  He is an associate member of the St. Thomas Senior Citizens’ Association where he assists with their Sports and Wellness Programmes. He co-founded the Port Morant Community Club and the Evening Institute, through which young people are provided with an outlet for creativity and educational achievement.

 

Rohan Bryan, it is with pride that your colleagues and the members of the Governor-General’s Achievement Award Committee of St. Thomas have selected you as a worthy recipient of the Governor-General’s Achievement Award for the parish of St. Thomas for 2009.

The life of Mrs. Verona Blair O’Connor has been one of struggles, determination and achievements, as she rose from humble circumstances, overcame family dislocations, and mastered her ambitions to become a teacher, nurse, social worker and gerontologist.

 

Verona was born in Belfield, St. Catherine in 1947, to Ethel Johnson, who struggled to support her family. Verona attended Troja, Rennock Lodge, Marlie Hill and Ginger Ridge All-Age Schools. At age 17, after successfully completing the First, Second and Third Jamaica Local Examinations, she started her own private “basic” school. She also served as a Pre-trained Teacher from 1965 to 1969 at several All Age Schools in St. Catherine, including—St. Faith’s, Bois Content, Bellas Gate and her own alma mater, Marlie Hill.

 

In 1966, she married Kenneth Lloyd O’Connor. She later attended Nursing School, and successfully completed studies in Midwifery at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital in 1969. She was assigned to work at the Isaac Barrant Hospital in St. Thomas, and later transferred to the Princess Margaret Hospital. Her family joined her to live in the parish.

 

Mrs. O’Connor planted her roots in St. Thomas, faithfully performing her duties in the medical service, extending her skills as a teacher, farmer, social worker and gerontologist, which are embodied in her motto, “From the Womb to the Tomb.”

 

Between 1971 and 2007, she participated in more than 44 training courses, seminars, workshops and conferences, locally and overseas. She received a Post Graduate Diploma from Mata University in 1991; two Certificates of Participation from the International Institute on Aging, from the United Nations, in Malta, in February and April, 1991; and a Certificate in Public Speaking, from the Management Institute for National Development (MIND) in 2004.

 

Volunteerism has been the cornerstone of Mrs. O’Connor’s life and throughout her career she has mobilized people to become involved with their community. She was instrumental in encouraging 15 young men in Bamboo Lane, Duhaney Pen, to participate in a farming project, with the assistance of a RADA Agricultural Extension Officer. The project was successful.

 

Mrs. O’Conner has received many awards for her services including—a Long Service Award from the Government of Jamaica; a plaque of appreciation from the East Jamaica Conference of SDA Churches; plaques and citations from the National Council for Senior Citizens; and a plaque of appreciation from the Portland Senior Citizens’ Volunteer Club.

 

It is her ambition to complete the writing of her autobiography, finish a vegetarian cook book; and to interview and chronicle information about senior citizens in the parish of St. Thomas

 

Verona Blair O’Connor, it is with pride that your colleagues and the members of the GGAA parish committee, have selected you as a worthy recipient of the Governor-General’s Achievement Award for the parish of St. Thomas in the year 2008.

Nona Williams has struggled to achieve her goals; and, today, after two years as a volunteer,  she is the Coordinator/Instructor at the Skills Training Centre in Trinityville, St. Thomas, which provides training for young people and adults in agriculture, food preparation and computer studies...

Dr. Horace Washington Hall, born November 22, 1945 in Morant Bay St. Thomas, is the sixth of nine children born to his father Cyrus and mother Daphne. Young Horace attended Sea Side Primary School between 1952-59, then Happy Grove High School from 1959-1966...

Mrs. Millicient Williams, social worker, has been working all her life in the Correctional Services rising from the position of secretary to being in charge of one of the four regional divisions in the island. She was a part of the St. Thomas Committee that selected the first winner for that parish in 1992...

Olga Scott Shrowder was born at Victoria de las Tunas in Cuba in 1925, daughter of Jamaican parents Isaiah a carpenter and housewife Vashti, who returned to Jamaica in 1926 when she was one year old and the family resided at Rose Garden District, Long Bay in Portland.  She married the late Lincoln Shrowder as overseer of the Public Works department, Morant Bay in 1954 and the union produced three daughters two of whom ultimately death in infancy...

By his own admission, Neville Walker is well-known in his community. And rightly so. He has made his name as an investor, businessman and philanthropist of no mean order in St. Thomas...

Born in Clarendon, for the last 48 years Evelyn Saunders has served the Parish of St. Thomas. Of modest beginnings she received elementary education, and in further studies obtained Third Jamaica Local Exam Certificates...

Gloria May Brown-Fairweather was born on January 7, 1948 at Woodside in the parish of St. Mary. She is the second child of Hezekiah Brown, a tailor and Pearl Stanbury, a farmer. Growing up in a home with eight brothers and five sisters had its difficulties, but nonetheless, she enjoyed the benefits of a loving and caring family. An early private school education prepared her for acceptance to the ...

Remia Renia Gordon was born in Arcadia District in the parish of St. Thomas on March 1, 1956, and is the first of nine children. Being born in a home of uneducated parents there was not much financial support for the household. The relationship between her parents quickly fell apart and her mother became a single parent when her father migrated to England. For most of Remia’s early years, her ...

Millicent Moodie is a loyal and dedicated citizen of Jamaica who in her youth, struggled to lift herself from extremely difficult economic conditions. She was determined to gain a career but with the odds against her in Jamaica, she migrated to England where she had the opportunity to qualify as a Health Professional. But paramount on her mind was her desire to work and render service in her own ...

Sometimes the desire to achieve overrides all others, even when one is hindered by poverty and intense misfortune. Sometimes when you think you can't survive on even the smallest amount of money, there is someone else to prove otherwise. Just ask Anesta Amber. This 72-year-old Trinityville, St. Thomas nurse, mentor and community helper has most recently been using her pension money to help those ...

Florine White, nee Scott, like many of her contemporaries, often had to curtail her studies to assist in efforts to support the family.  Born in Port Morant on June 16, 1916, Florine was one of two children whose father, a tailor, migrated to Panama, leaving her mother who worked as a seamstress with the responsibility of supporting the family. From an early age, young Florine resolved that ...

Herman Johnson was born in Mt. Vernon, St. Thomas in 1935 the tenth child of his farmer father and housewife mother. He grew up in the steep mountainous area of Mount-Vernon accessible only by footpath and `bridle roads.` He attended Mount Vernon elementary school which was non-functional at certain periods due to unfavorable weather and lack of staff. His attempt to acquire a secondary education ...

Gerald Young Sang was born in Kingston 1939 one of the ten children of Ansang and Gladys Young Sang. He attended Franklyn Town Primary School and Kingston College. At age 14 he was forced to leave school to work with his father in the bakery maintained. On the death of his father he took over the baking business which was on a small scale. Shortly after the business improved immensely. In later ...

The seventh child in a family of ten, Derrick Roy Shand was born on May 19 1951, into a peasant family. His parents, Advira and Ernest Shand of Resource, Manchester were a higgler and a carpenter, respectively. In 1956, in search of betterment for his family, his father migrated to England, but five years later the tragedy struck.  His father died, leaving a sick wife and eight relatively ...

Born on October 6, 1929 in Jambos Pond, Glengoffe, St. Catherine in very trying economic circumstances, Rachael Blake, nee Clayton struggled hard to become a professional. Her mother, a housewife and her father, a shoemaker taught young Rachel the virtues of hard work and conscientious effort.  They made tremendous sacrifices to enable Rachael to attend the St. Boniface elementary and then ...