By Paul Brown, Freelance Writer 
Neville Walker, St. Thomas businessman and altruist. - Ian Allen/Staff Photographer
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.
This year's recipient of the 2002 Governor-General's Achievement Award for the parish of St. Thomas, Mr. Walker did not always have life easy and he has had to endure many hardships, even from his tender years.
Today, having toiled while others slept, his accomplishments speak volumes as does his commitment to hard work and his unselfishness toward others.
Mr. Walker is the owner of Morant Villas Hotel, the developer of two small housing schemes in Pamphret, the Morant Bay Shopping Plaza and has significant investments in another plaza in Morant Bay.
"The main thing in life is to push for your goals, to work hard and get your goals," he said.
Born in the district of Moffat, St. Thomas, on June 14, 1939 (the fourth of six children), to Henry and Cherrianna Walker, young Neville had to play his role in ensuring the survival of his family as living conditions for them were difficult.
From age five to six he attended school in Trinityville, walking from Moffat, and from Monday to Friday each week had to walk six miles to and from school to Georgia where his father had a small farm, to assist his parents in the evenings.
Living in Bull Bay, Mr. Walker attended St. Benedict's School and assisted his mother in the shop in the evenings but he had to discontinue his schooling at age 15, as his parents could not continue to finance his education.
After he stopped going to school, Mr. Walker worked as an apprentice in a motor vehicle repair shop as a mechanic. "I was in the trade as a mechanic. I thought I would turn out to be a mechanic," he said.
Mr. Walker emigrated to England in 1961 and got married in 1962 to Marjorie, a union which produced four children. He returned to Jamaica in 1964 and worked with a motor car dealer for four years before launching out on his own by starting a repair service operations at Spanish Town Road, Kingston, in 1969.
A few years later, with financial assistance from a friend and several financial institutions, Mr. Walker acquired a property near the sea in Morant Bay on which he built four cottages and later expanded to what is now known as the Morant Villas Hotel. Also, he constructed the Morant Bay Shopping Plaza consisting of 34 shops, developed two small housing schemes in Pamphret, and has significant investments in another plaza in Morant Bay.
Mr. Walker has been making major contributions to the progress of his community and has assisted many students to attend school. He is a past president of the Morant Bay Kiwanis Club through which he has channelled most of his contributions to the community. During his tenure, he implemented the construction of a water tank at Moffat and the covering of a meeting place for public use.
Through Mr. Walker's initiative, two foot bridges for the communities of Moffat and Morant Bay have been constructed, as well as five houses for indigent citizens, and the Morant Basic School. The Lyssons public beach has been maintained by Mr. Walker over the last two years at a personal cost.
"You have to continue along. Go forward and don't look back. Just go along with what you have to do," is his advice to the youth.
