By Karen Cadien, ContributorIN THE rough world of business, where egos gorge on image, Billy Heaven's quiet, easy-going nature offers up a fresh alternative.
His personality belies the fact that he can be both stubborn and outspoken. But when you first meet him, what you notice first are his generosity and calm demeanour.
An art and craft teacher first, then an accountant, Mr. Heaven is now the chief executive officer of the Culture, Health, Arts, Sports and Education (CHASE) Fund. This is a public sector organisation with unlimited potential to make a difference in the development of Jamaica.
The unrepentant patriot can be heard regularly on local radio shows espousing his commitment to the greatness of Jamaica, Mr. Heaven is of the view that the country "has passed its worst", in that it has overcome approximately "four years of negative growth some three years ago".
POSITIVE GROWTH
"We have had positive growth when you look at the performances in all sectors, except manufacturing. All have displayed growth and potential for even more growth," he says with conviction.
He believes that Jamaica is "about to launch its take-off into greater things as a nation". He arrived at CHASE in July 2003, after working as a consultant with the Jamaica Co-operative Credit Union League to develop a small business system for the credit union movement, in order to facilitate small and micro enterprises across the country.
Mr. Heaven brought to the company, a wealth of business experience grounded in academic qualifications which include a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and a Master's degree in Business Administration.
MANDATORY CONTRIBUTIONS
The CHASE Fund, which receives mandatory contributions from the lottery licence holder, Supreme Ventures, provides funding in five key areas of society culture, health, arts, sports and early childhood education.
A breakdown of the allotment to each sector sees sports development receiving 40 per cent of all the funds, followed by early childhood education, which receives 25 per cent, health with 20 per cent, and the area of culture and arts, the remaining 15 per cent. One hallmark of the CHASE Fund, which officially began operations in January 2003, is its quick turnaround time for applications, he said. "The process is very simple and also, friendly. It is not a process that will drive away anyone, discourage or frustrate anybody. Once the project is approved you can get the funds within days," the CEO explains.
Persons, he says, should not be deterred if their applications are rejected because they have the option to re-apply. "A lot of times persons are turned down not because their project is not feasible or viable. Projects are often turned down based on a constraint on the availability of funds, so you can always re-apply," he notes.
"In absolute dollar value there is a great demand on the fund. Overall, we will be overwhelmed soon by the level of demand placed on us for funds," he predict. "The challenge has become how to match the supply of funds with the demand." Another challenge is the ability to assist projects worthy of support because not all projects can be assisted at the same time.
With a staff of five, the CEO does not see the increasing demand on the fund corresponding with an increase in the staff complement. That staff oversees the monitoring of projects that have been approved. "Projects pertaining to early childhood education are closest to my heart," Mr. Heaven says. "The fact that children benefit is important to me. Also, it is my firm belief that better education is going to give us a competitive advantage on the world stage eventually," he says.
"Unless we start building from the level of early childhood education, Jamaica will not be able to achieve this goal," he adds.
Mr. Heaven cites the partnership between HEART/NTA and CHASE, where over 850 teachers will benefit this year from expanded training in early childhood education, as one of the most significant projects being undertaken.
Another project of note is the provision of Internet access by the Jamaica Library Service (JLS), which received $10 million to equip 68 branch libraries with the necessary technology to provide this service. "This project is one that gives students and individuals across the country access to the Internet and computer services," Mr. Heaven explains.
BUDDING GUITARIST
A man of varied interests and pursuits, the CEO of CHASE has been a Doctor of Philosophy candidate for the past two years. He is a budding guitarist, who keeps his guitar on-hand at his office located on Grenada Crescent in New Kingston.
While describing himself as a "great Ludo" player, Mr. Heaven is also an keen domino player. He recalls playing competitively while he was the financial controller and then, executive director at the National Development Foundation of Jamaica (NDFJ) between the years 1988 and 2002.
He also played a fair amount of cricket in his "younger days." "I played at the school level and was a member of the team for NDFJ. We were involved in some league cricket albeit minor league," he says, joking that he was selected for his prowess as a batsman.
TEAM SPIRIT
Admittedly, he participated for the main purpose of exercise, but he also maintains that the extra-curricular activity was vital in building team spirit off the field, which spilled over into the success of the company.
"An interesting part of the exercise was that the company's messenger was the captain of that team, so on any given day on the field, the executive director was taking instructions from the messenger as where to field and if and when to bowl. So it was very good for the company as well as for the guys who played," the CEO says.
CHASE will also play a pivotal role in the upcoming Cricket World Cup (CWC) in 2007, as the fund will sponsor the CWC Secretariat at a cost of $40 million. A member of the Liguanea Club, exercise remains a priority for the CEO, who utilises the facilities to play squash and swim.
This erstwhile arts and craft teacher, who graduated from Mico Teachers' College and taught in the public sector from 1978 to 1984, is married to Rosemarie, general manager of the Life Insurance Companies Association.
- JIS
