Excellence above all

From police officers to a lecturer at the University of the West Indies the SOS Children’s Village Jamaica recognized success through their awards ceremony at Round Hill Resort and Villas.

“We are celebrating excellence. There are a number of individuals who grew up in the SOS family and despite early challenges in life; they have made a successful transition into independent living and making a meaningful contribution in society” the national director for the SOS Children’s Village Jamaica Gregory Wint, explained during the awards ceremony.

The SOS Children’s Village Jamaica honoured 17 individuals who have now moved on to be employed in the financial, education, security and hospitality sector.

According to Wint it is important to recognize their excellence in a bid to inspire other children in similar circumstances to do just as well.

“We have committed staffs that are really devoted to these children who see these children as their own and that is what we expect of the mothers and I think that the family- oriented model that we have is very unique” the national director for the SOS Children’s Village Jamaica explained when asked what is their recipe for success.

Michael Sutherland, an employee at the National Commercial Bank was once a child as SOS Children’s Village and gave a warm reflection of his life at the facility that he credits to his success today.

“The loved they showed and are still showing me is one to emulate. Some may beg to differ but being at the SOS Children’s Village Jamaica was a privilege and opportunity in disguise. Not many children in the society can attest what a family is even though we are not biological related I am blessed to have been there” Sutherland noted.

He added that over that he has learnt that being a leader is better than a follower and it was through the lessons that he learnt at the home that he applied in his daily life.

The SOS Children’s Village Jamaica was founded in 1970 by Dr. Harland Hastings, John Rollins and Heinz Simonitsch.

A Smirnoff Dream at Yush party

 

Sounds of the 90s were never as musically entertaining as it was at the Dream Weekend Yush beach party at Margaritaville in Negril over Emancipation weekend.

As one of the signature events of Dream Weekend the mega beach party was a haven for great entertainment and with five premium bars partygoers were able to get responsibly intoxicated by the delicious Smirnoff mix drinks available.

From as early as 10 p.m. ‘Dreamers’ began pouring into the venue to ensure that they had an opportunity to experience this ultra all-inclusive party event which did not disappoint on its bid to keep the crowd dancing until the last song stopped playing at minutes past 4 a.m. Sunday morning.

Every 30 minutes ZJ Liquid along with members of Renaissance and Coppershot sound system interchanged music of the 90s and current hits from dancehall and hip hop but it was the sounds from the 90s that had the crowd in constant frenzy and showed that music from that era is still relevant and appreciated.

Members of the dancehall fraternity showed that Yush was the place to be as Wayne Marshall and Bounty Killer enjoyed the musical spins by ZJ Liquid along with members of Renaissance and Coppershot from the high-level VIP area.

Following a successful performance at this year’s Reggae Sumfest dancehall artiste Aidonia made a special appearance at Yush and his presence was electrifying.

With tracks like Bad People and War Time Aidonia had the crowd rocking to his hits which required him to do several encore. However, was his song Uku Bit which sent the ladies in frenzy and had them gyrating until his 10 minute performance came to a close.

Dancer turned deejay Chi Ching Ching made everyone know that “we party everyday”. Nonetheless, he made some valid points about satisfying with whatever it is one has in life.

“If mi a drink Hennessy and yu a drink Heineken, drink wha yu have! If mi have Clarks and yu have on Nike Air, wear wha yu have!” the entertainer reiterated  in reference to satisfying with what or who you have to much applause from the audience.

ATI close in fine style

It was sounds of musical greatest from several local and international music selectors to bring ATI’s Stages to exhilarating end following days of non-stop partying along the Norman Boulevard strip in Negril.

From Black Chiney, Tony Matterhorn, DJ Karyzma to VJ Elite, Renaissance and Miami-based selector Renegade the ultra all inclusive Stages party delivered on the expectations to provide a variety of musical entertainment for patrons.

Absolute Entertainment, the promoter of the ATI series of parties transformed the lawns of Yaard Negril into a den of entertainment. VIP band holders had an opportunity to experience exclusivity at its best when the air-conditioned Red Bull-sponsored VIP was created to feel as if one was in a nightclub.

The usual pile up of traffic which created hours of traffic nightmare each year in Negril was absent as there were strictly enforce no parking along the roadway. In turn, this was excellent news for partygoers who were able to get to their respective parties in time with little or no hassle.

According to Alex Chin of Absolute Entertainment this year saw each party for ATI being hosted at different locations. This logic, he noted was “to offer patrons a different experience each night, so person did not have to come back to the same venue of each event. We wanted everyone to feel a different vibe every day”.

He further added that the line-up of music selectors was much more varied than in previous years. This he noted was to ensure that the events did not become monotonous when you have the same disc jockeys playing at every event.

“One of the complains that we had was that there was too much of the same music selection being played at each event, so we decided to change it up a bit this year and added others into the mix and it has worked well so far” Chin explained.

Dubbed the Pathway to Paris the final party Dolcè offered a fashionable close to four days of untamed entertainment.

ATI Photo Highlights

Well this young lady seem to know a lot about aerodynamics

Designer Ernesto and his models at ATI  in Negril

Elephant Man at ATI's Stages party in Negril

ATI beauties

Keeping it simple at ATI party in Negril

Naked Fun at ATI's Impy Skimpy

More party space, less clothes equated to a great vibe at the ATI’s Impy Skimpy kick-off party in Negril over the Emancipation weekend which set the pace for what was an excellent weekend of partying.

The usual pile up of traffic that almost became synonymous with the staging of the annual events in Negril was absent on Friday night as there were strictly enforce no parking along the roadway. In turn, this was excellent news for partygoers who were able to get to their respective parties in time with little or no hassle.

Not even the presence of Olympic and World champion track star Usain Bolt could have the party vibe ending quickly as Tony Matterhorn had the capacity filled Wavz Beach dancing to hits of his own along with Vybz Kartel and Beenie Man.

With more party space than was available last year to jump start the ATI party, loyal fans and newcomers to ATI took advantage of the open space that filled rapidly as music thudded through the speakers and the invitation of selectors encouraging persons to come in and share the vibe.

Among the list of ATI activities that are expected to offer an exhilarating experience over the July 30- August 2 weekend are Tempted Glow, Pretty in Pink, Wildsides, Stages and Dolce.

With Hyperlink selectors at the helm of earlier musical entertainment, female patrons were the epitome of bare as you dare as many skimpily clad ladies and their enthused male counterparts were given an opportunity to excite their entertainment crave.

 As avid party goers toss their shoes aside and massaged their toes in the sand DJ Kentucky took patrons back to basics with the classics of hip hop and dancehall favourites.

 

Now 10 years-old ATI has shown how much they have matured with the excellent production and quality of parties that the offer to their patrons and drawing thousands of Jamaicans and tourist to the town of Negril annually to participate is what is described as the best parties in one weekend.

 

Sumfest on the Beach

An energetic dose of great entertainment was injected in the Cornwall Beach venue in Montego Bay when the weeklong music festival Reggae Sumfest hosted their beach party to kick start the musical activities.

It was not a ‘bare as you dare’ type of party on the beach but the Errol Lee and the Bare Essentials Band undressed the crowd’s appetite for excellent entertainment and it helped to keep the night interesting as they did their set at regular intervals of the show. The group’s aptitude for performing held the Sumfest crowd’s attention and had patrons dancing to reggae, soca and dancehall.

Early bird performers such as the group Soul 4 Soul and new artiste Notorious powered their way with their vocals to entertain locals and tourist alike who came out for a great package of upcoming dancehall and reggae acts. Thug Ras did a short but effective stint onstage while Mixing Lab had emcee Ms. Kitty dancing to his beats.

In her first appearance on the Reggae Sumfest stage 2010 Magnum Queen of Dancehall winner Bumpa gave an excellent performance which earned her a place in the music industry.

“It was good” an outspoken Bumpa told The STAR after her performance. “It’s not my first major show but it is my first time performing on the Sumfest stage and it went well, I still have a lot of work to do but overall I am pleased with the performance and the response I got from the crowd” the female artiste concluded.

Life is not as dread anymore for the Magnum King of Dancehall Press Fyah who had the crowd rocking to his single Life So Dread. His smooth but effective take on his musical endevours continue to see his fan base grow as he displayed his onstage versatility in mixing a bit of his deejaying skills in his performance.

Dance Xpressions gave an energetic dance performance while comedians Ity and Fancy Cat had locals and tourist rolling on the sand with laughter which earned them and encore. Brown Sugar closed the beach party in fine style as she showed with her powerful vocals and stage presence.

Burning problem in MoBay!

With the absence of a fireboat, shortage of protective gear, limited personnel and the absence of a refilling plant breathing apparatus the St. James Fire Department is having a difficulty meeting its obligations.

 

Serving a population of just over 184,854 in St. James, the fire department continues operate with a meager contingent of just 174 personnel. In addition, only eight of 13 fire-fighting unit are in working condition.

 

With their proposed new home at Barnett Street still an empty lot, and its other locations below par frustration and discomfort is arguably the primary features facing the parish’s firefighters.

 

“We are really having some challenges,” said a despondent Dolfin Doeman, the acting superintendent in charge of the St. James Fire Department.

 

“We just have to looked at each problem and work through it”.

 

As it relates to the shortage of staff, “what we have had to do is to rotate staff, giving persons additional hours to work” Doeman revealed.

 

In a bid to address the lack of a breathing apparatus refilling plant, the fire department have had to solicit the services of private companies which is proven to be quite expensive.

 

Following the April 2 (Good Friday) fire, which destroyed a section of the Barnett Street Police Station, Montego Bay’s Mayor Councillor, Charles Sinclair lashed out at the shortcomings of a fire station for the city.

 

“The absence of a fire station in Montego Bay right now the fire department operates from different locations which is unfair to the persons who have respond to fires. You can’t have a part of the fire department on Fort Street and one at Freeport, that don’t mek any sense. I’m calling on the Minister Robert Montague and the prime minister to honour the reconstruction of a fire station for Montego Bay,” the mayor stressed.

 

According to deputy commissioner Neil Findlay with responsibility for administration at the Jamaica Fire Brigade it will cost over $200 million to construct the proposed new fire headquarters on Barnett Street.   Money from the Tourism Enhancement Fund was earmarked for the purchase of a fireboat to protect the tourism capital’s marine coast however there is still no fireboat.

Clean up the filth of crime in Jamaica

“We are going to clean up the crime in Jamaica” Finance Minister Audley Shaw stated which continues to stifle the prospects of new investment in Jamaica.

The recent stand off between the police and armed criminals in West Kingston some three weeks ago that reaped havoc on the country’s image internationally, is the not the kind of portrait which readily attracts investors and the Minister of Finance is well aware of this.

“In recent days we have sent a signal, that we are going to be totally intolerable with the levels of crime that has be going on for far too long” Shaw said at the official opening of the 30 th annual Caribbean Insurance Conference at Ritz Carlton Golf and Spa Resort in Montego Bay.

“It’s going to be a multifaceted approach,” the minister charged, “so that no community is left behind and that self-appointed crime lords do not set up themselves as mayors and prime ministers within communities. That can’t work …regardless of the political consequences!”

The formal and informal commerce in downtown Kingston suffered heavily in the aftermath of the May 24 raid into Tivoli Gardens to served an arrest warrant to Michael Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke for his extradition. Coke, the reputed 'area don' for West Kingston, is wanted by the United States for drug running and gun smuggling.

“We are country that have far too much potential, we have too much capacity for success for growth to allow a few hundred misguided people to hold the country to ransom. The time has come for the change!” Shaw stated unapologetically to the group of business professionals.

The Insurance Association of the Caribbean is hosting its 30th annual Caribbean Insurance Conference, which is the platform for professionals in the insurance industry. Operating under the theme “What Lies Ahead” the conference will run from June 13-15. Approximately 500 delegates from Europe and North America and other territories in South America and the Caribbean were present at the conference.

Tourism stakeholders fuming

 “We are too small and too poor a country” Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association president Wayne Cummings said in reference to the continued practice of government dividing the Jamaica’s tourism product across  various state agencies.

Addressing hoteliers and other stakeholders within the hospitality industry at the JHTA’s 49^th annual general meeting at the Half Moon Conference Centre, Cumming discussed the dismal figures of cruise ship arrivals which was partly due to the Port Authority of Jamaica’s ability to package and market this aspect of tourism.

“I said it before and I will say it again, we are too small and too poor a country to be splitting the tourism product across ministries and agencies. With the best will in the world the Port Authority does   not have the machinery to leverage the tourism marketing spend to convert it sufficiently for it to make sense”, the JHTA president echoed.

He has therefore summoned the government to place cruise tourism back into the Ministry of Tourism and for it to be marketed by the Jamaica Tourist Board. As there has been no policy statement from the Ministry of Transport and Works that “convinces us that Jamaica is anytime soon going to speak directly to cruise vacationers, convincing them that we love them as much as stop over guests”.

On the other hand, Montego Bay and Jamaica at large’s continued surge in criminal activities and improprieties did not escape the wrath of the JHTA president.

"While Jamaica has had major challenges with crime and violence through its independent
history, the last 30 years have provided the most prolific example of what not to do
when the State unofficially provides support for criminal enterprise for political gains"

As the tourism capital of Jamaica and the second city, Montego Bay has recorded over 100 murders since the start of the year. The city is also the epicenter of the notorious lottery scam.

"Sadly we are nor faced with independently powerful camps that are exacting dominance and
jungle justice as show of force to protect their ill-gotten gains" Cummings continued,
the JHTA reiterates that the continued growth of the sector and other legal productive ventures
are at real risk".