Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer
President of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC), Mark Myers, presents Red Stripe's Maxine Whittingham Osborne with the Best of the Chamber Award.

Daviot Kelly, Staff Reporter

The movers and shakers of Jamaican business were wined and dined last Thursday at the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC) annual awards event at the Hilton Kingston hotel.

For 26 years, with one night of pomp and fanfare, the JCC has honoured companies and individuals for sterling work in the previous calendar year. Red Stripe took the Best of the Chamber Award for 2007 - washing away the competition.

GraceKennedy and Ammar's (and Azar's Ltd) were recognised for more than 40 years of unbroken membership. Other winners included Sameer Younis and Jamaica National Building Society (Community Services Award - Individual and Company, respectively) while Manchester took the Best Parish Chamber Award.

Tales of triumph

Guest speaker, Jamaican-born Dr Carl Blackwood, a leading aerospace engineer, would later inspire all with his tales of triumph. His work as a professor and researcher aside (he was involved in developing the first global positioning system (GPS) navigation equations), it was his work as a human rights activist that raised eyebrows. He is still hobbles from a severe beating from the police years ago in Trinidad while he was leader of a student reform movement. He said he still dreams of a society that is fair and tolerant and is better for the younger generation.

Guests included: Francis and Marjory Kennedy, Ed Khoury, Tony and Yvonne Ray, Glen Christian, Llewelyn Bailey, Lloyd Distant Jr, Donna Duncan-Scott, Denise Forrest, Carol Pessoa, Keith Collister, Yvonne Wilks, Carmen Patterson, Garth Kiddoe, Frank Rosheuvel, Wayne Lawrence, Custos Radcliffe Walters and wife Norma, Winston Lawson and Philmore Ogle.