LEFT: Governor-General Sir Howard Cooke (left) shares some thoughts with Grantley Stephenson, chairman and CEO of Kingston Wharves Limited, during the 60th anniversary dinner held at the Hilton Kingston hotel. The Governor-General was special guest speaker at the function.
RIGHT: Keith Gooden, accountant at Kingston Wharves Limited, is presented with his trophy for 36 years of service by Judith Stephenson, wife of KWL Chairman Grantley Stephenson. - CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS
THE 60th anniversary dinner of Kingston Wharves Limited (KWL) was a glitzy and memorable affair at the Hilton Kingston hotel on November 18.
Hundreds of shipping industry personalities attended to salute the achievements of the Caribbean's premier multi-purpose port facility and to hear the inspiring words of guest speaker, Governor-General Sir Howard Cooke.
In his address, the Governor-General recalled the early days of 'finger piers' in downtown Kingston and applauded KWL for modernising Jamaica's shipping industry upon moving operations to Newport West in the 1960s.
"Today, port workers need more brains than muscles to operate the precision equipment I see at Port Bustamante," Sir Howard said. He added that when Kingston Wharves was formed in 1945, some naysayers claimed Jamaica "was not ready" for a number of things, including self-government. The Governor-General noted that KWL has shown the country how much can be achieved through vision and determination.
Grantley Stephenson, chairman and CEO of Kingston Wharves, welcomed his guests at the function with a quotation from Sir Winston Churchill, who said:
"Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey, but far from discouraging you, this only adds to the joy and glory of the climb."
The KWL chairman said "What makes this anniversary milestone so worthy of celebration is that our climb has been marked by significant contributions to the industrial development of our country, Jamaica."
Stephenson told the gathering: "Today, we can say with confidence that the lessons we have learnt from the past, along with our modernisation and expansion programme, the professionalism of our staff, and our principles of corporate governance equip us to successfully tackle the tasks ahead."
He gave assurance that "The KWL board of directors, our board committees, our dynamic management team and our professional, dedicated members of staff are working as a unit that is focused on taking KWL to new heights of success."
Commenting on the imminent establishment of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy and continued globalisation, the KWL chairman said:
"Our role will continue to be a pro-active one in all of these developments because we see opportunities in every challenge.
"We are, therefore, positioning the KWL Group to ride the wave of the future through:
Massive investment for long-term development and business growth
Organisational restructuring for improved efficiencies."
Special awards were presented to past chairmen, valued clients, and to Everard Cox, the first registered worker of KWL at its formation in 1945, who rose from timekeeper to operations manager and member of the board of directors.
Long-serving workers of Kingston Wharves Limited who received awards at the anniversary dinner were:
| Keith Gooden | - | 36 years |
| Alrick Mitchell | | 35 years |
| Junior Vernon | | 33 years |
| Levine Bruce | | 32 years |
| Vilma Davidson | | 34 years |
| Hugh Drummond | | 34 years |
| Terrence McCleary | | 29 years |
| Donald Beckford | | 26 years |
| Patrick Montague | | 27 years |
| Anthony Ferguson | | 25 years |
