Daviot Kelly, Staff Reporter

President of the American Chamber of Commerce of Jamaica (AmCham), Audrey Marks, chats with J. Howard Johnson at the AmCham 20th anniversary celebration and awards ceremony, held at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel, New Kingston, on Tuesday, November 7.

It's been 20 years of service for the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Jamaica.

The milestone was celebrated on Tuesday night with a banquet and awards ceremony. This anniversary occasion was even more rewarding as AmCham celebrated the success of the Heal Jamaica Initiative which has manifested itself in the once-troubled community of Grants Pen. The community, which was once the epitome of violence, is now a model of peace and the good that can come when the citizens and police work together for a common goal. The Grants Pen centre now has other facilities including a health centre, a cyber café and a peace park.

The audience in the packed Jamaica Pegasus ballroom was treated to entertainment in all forms. The melodic folk tunes of Harold Davis and Friends kept them entertained during dinner. But a video presentation showing the genesis of the Heal Jamaica programme laid a sombre mood over the gathering. From the infamous Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) report to the completion of construction of the Grants Pen centre, guests got to hear and see some of the challenges that dared to threaten this positive change. The most stirring words of all were from residents and members of the police force who expressed their satisfaction with the programme.

Right person for this job

Who else to speak on the benefits of community policing than the father of community policing himself: Dr. Lee Brown. AmCham's anniversary date was earlier this year, but they wanted to make sure they had the right person for this job. Brown, who is former police chief of Houston and New York City, pioneered the concept of community policing and told of his experiences. Brown pointed out that community policing was a philosophy, not a programme.

He said that in order for it to work, the police and citizens had to jointly identify the community problems, determine the strategies, implement them and evaluate their success. He feels the police have to change all the systems they formerly used to get the best results. Among his suggestions to achieve that were changes in recruitment criteria and new training.

Representatives from various companies were presented with awards for either partnering AmCham or providing sponsorship. The National Health Fund and National Commercial Bank were the two elites in this regard, receiving the platinum sponsors' awards.

Guests to this event included: Opposition Leader Bruce Golding and wife Lorna Golding, Stephen Golding, Les Campbell, AmCham's Executive Director Becky Stockhausen; Nicky and Sharon Feanny; Michelle Hoo-Fat; Lystra Sharpe; Tony and Yvonne Ray; Winsome Callum; Ed Khouri; Robert MacMillan; Leonard and Janneth Mornan-Green, Jassel Dunstan Jojo Paige; United States Ambassador Brenda LaGrange Johnson and husband J. Howard Johnson; and John Leiba.

Sharing a joke are (from left) Dr. Aggrey Irons, Rae Barrett, CEO of the National Health Fund, and Paulette Mitchell. - photos by Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer