Robert Lalah, Staff Reporter

The eight coaches and administrators who were yesterday named persons of the year at the Gleaner Honour Awards function. With them are Professor Gerald Lalor (left), Governor-General Kenneth Hall (centre) and Oliver Clarke (right), chairman and managing director of The Gleaner Company. The eight were also co-recipients of the award in the education category (training).

Eight hard-working men, who in their posts as coaches and administrators helped create some of the most memorable moments in Jamaica's sporting history, were yesterday given the recognition they deserve when they were recognised with the 'Man of the Year Award' at the 27th annual Gleaner Honour Awards ceremony at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel, New Kingston.

Stephen Francis, Raymond Graham, Michael Fennell, Maurice Wilson, Neville 'Teddy' McCook, Glen Mills, Fitz Coleman and Dennis Johnson were the big winners at the event that saw 24 Jamaicans being honoured for their work and achievements in various fields.

"Through these eight men, we recognise the vast number of coaches and administrators in Jamaica who work tirelessly with our athletes to propel them to sports greatness at every level...a celebration of the best of Jamaica," said the newspaper's editor-in-chief Garfield Grandison, at the gala luncheon attended by Governor-General Professor Kenneth Hall and Her Excellency Mrs. Hall.

Grateful for Recognition

Fitz Albert Coleman, who responded on behalf of the co-recipients, said: "We're very grateful for the recognition. It's sometimes easier to pay negative attention to coaches when athletes underperform, so what The Gleaner has done today is no small deed. We really appreciate and are grateful for this."

Stephen Francis is best known as the coach of sprinting star Asafa Powell. Francis has also helped to improve the lives of several University of Technology students in the classroom, as a lecturer in the accounting department.

Neville McCook has been associated with track and field in Jamaica for the last 42 years. The 67-year-old was bestowed with the Order of Jamaica (OJ) for his contribution to sports at the annual Heroes' Day function at King's House in October.

Glen Mills has been coaching for more than 36 years. Over the last 19 years, Mr. Mills has been head coach of the national senior track team, having taken the baton in 1987 from Herb McKenley.

Both as an athlete and a coach, Fitz Coleman's contribution to sports and the development of Jamaica's athletes has been outstanding. Some of 54-year-old's major accomplishments came by way of the performance of athletes whom he coached, many of whom excelled on the world stage, including Usain Bolt and Jermaine Gonzales.

By 1961, Dennis Johnson was the number two ranked sprinter behind Frank Budd of the United States and ahead of Harry Jerome of Canada. That year, Mr. Johnson performed a feat that to this day hasn't been surpassed, when he equalled the World Record four times while attending the University of San Jose State in California.

Raymond Graham has been widely recognized for the outstanding work he has done to raise the standard of Jamaican runners. His peers voted him Coach of the Year in 1998, when St. Jago High School won the third of four consecutive Girls' Champs titles under his tutelage.

In the sporting arena, few can claim to have a contribution longer or more distinguished than that of the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) president, Michael Fennell, who on the 1st of August, was awarded the Order of Jamaica (OJ), the nation's fourth highest honour. Fennell ran for and won the post of vice-president of the Jamaica Olympic Association in 1973. In 1977, he became president of the association. Mr. Fennell is also currently the second vice-president of the Pan American Sports Organisation, which organises the Pan-Am Games.

Maurice Wilson, with only a very limited number of Classes Three and Four athletes to choose from, managed to guide Holmwood Technical High School girls to four consecutive Girls' Championship titles.

He is one of Jamaica's most successful junior coaches, who fashioned the development of one of Jamaica's most successful juniors, Anneisha McLaughlin. Wilson, who was a member of Jamaica's coaching staff at the 2004 Athens Olympics, has coached two other individual World Junior medalists. Entertainment at the event co-chaired by Karin Cooper, the Gleaner Company's Corporate Affairs Manager, was provided by Rupert Bent and Cindy Breakespeare.