Clarke COUNCIL MEMBERS of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) yesterday elected Chairman and Managing Director of the Gleaner Company, Oliver Clarke, as their new president.
Mr. Clarke replaces Citibank country officer, Peter Moses, who did not seek re-election after serving for three consecutive terms.
During a closed-door Council meeting at the PSOJ's headquarters at Hope Road in St. Andrew, the island's top private sector body also re-elected Peter Melhado as a vice-president, Hayden Singh as honorary treasurer, and William McConnell as honorary secretary. Former PSOJ president, Senator Douglas Orane was elected a vice-president, as well as Desmond Blades, a former president of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC).
A statement issued following the Council meeting said that after the election, Mr. Clarke expressed gratitude to the outgoing president and other officers, including vice-presidents Richard Byles and James Moss-Solomon, for their contribution to the development of the private sector.
Mr. Clarke also commended Mr. Moses for his contribution to the PSOJ, particularly his astute leadership of the initiative towards the consolidation of private sector associations, as well as his stance against crime and violence in Jamaica.
The new PSOJ president is a chartered accountant by profession and an eminent business leader. In 1970, at the age of 26, he was credited with uniting the Westmoreland Building Society started by his late great grandfather, and a year later was involved in the merger of four building societies which became the Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS). In 1976, he became general manager of JNBS. During the same year, The Gleaner's board of directors invited the then 32-year-old Mr. Clarke to head the company, and later he succeeded the late Hon. Leslie Ashenheim as chairman of the board.
The PSOJ said during Mr. Clarke's 25 years at The Gleaner, the repute, growth and diversity of the publications have been enhanced, and the print technology transformed from the old letterpress system to the modern offset press, as well as computerisation of the production plant.
Following the Council meeting, 1998 Scripps Howard Spelling Bee champion, Jodi-Ann Maxwell was asked to address the membership on her perspective of Jamaica's future.
Expressing optimism about the future of Jamaica despite the social and economic ills, she said, among other things: "I do not see Jamaica as a failure. I see Jamaica as a work in progress." In addition, she said she believed that "I can be a catalyst of change" by being purposeful.
In outlining a dream reminiscent of the "I have a Dream" speech made by the late United States civil rights activist, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, she said she has a dream of Jamaica in which former hostilities would be forgotten and forgiven, and that "my generation can and must make a difference" if they were to be assured of a better future.
