New Fortress Energy awards community heroes ahead of Christmas

New Fortress Energy (NFE) has announced the six community members who are recipients of its Community Hero initiative that was launched in the communities of Old Harbour Bay, Jamalco Refinery Council Communities in Clarendon and in Montego Bay, where it operates its liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants.

The recipients are Adrian Townsend and Hilda Johnson from Old Harbour Bay; Florizel Thompson and Pastor Lloyd Hall from the Refinery Council Communities in Clarendon; and Sandra Brown and Mavis Dowdie from Montego Bay.

Appropriately titled ‘My Christmas Wish’, the NFE Community Hero is an initiative that was recently launched to recognise and reward unsung heroes in the communities who, out of their love for people and their districts, are making a positive impact in one way or another. The recipients, who were nominated and voted on by community peers, were unaware of their nominations and in complete awe when they were awarded.

Training facility

Townsend, a welder, not only trains unskilled and unattached youth in the community for free, he is also using his personal funds to build a welding training facility to formalise his training programme. On receiving his plaque and J$150,000 worth of vouchers to shop at any Courts store islandwide, Townsend said; “Wow! I was not expecting this at all when I was asked to come to the community centre. I’m passionate about helping young people gain a valuable skill, and even though I was not doing this to be recognised, it is very encouraging to know that my fellow community members value what I’m doing.”

The remaining recipients echoed similar sentiments. Pastor Hall, who community members said has spearheaded several upliftment projects to help young people, added; “This is a very good programme and I cannot thank New Fortress Energy enough – not simply for the award, but importantly, because I know that this programme will help motivate others to continue their selfless work to serve, as well as encourage others to take their roles as community members more seriously. We are each other’s keepers, so we need to do what we can to uplift each other.”

According to votes by community members, retired basic school principal Hilda Johnson founded the St Worth Basic School over 50 years ago and has spent her years giving back to her community in several ways; Florizel Thompson, a farmer, has been instrumental in community development in Mitchell Town – helping the indigent and lobbying for funds to help with the bee farming programme; Sandra Brown, a shopkeeper, is described as a role model and community stalwart whose work includes sourcing support from businesses and Food For The Poor to help senior citizens and the less fortunate; while Mavis Dowdie, a retired public service worker from Bogue Village, is described as a tower of strength. She has been an integral voice and hands in several upliftment projects in the community for several years.

Unsung heroes

For their part, Verona Carter, vice-president of public affairs for New Fortress Energy, said; “We have been working in these communities for about four years now and we have seen first-hand the passion, the pride and the commitment from several community members who use their time, energy and, in many cases, their personal funding to help uplift and serve their communities. These are the unsung heroes that this initiative was developed to recognise, and we are heartened by the testimonies from the community members who voted for them. We’re very proud of the recipients and wish them all the very best as they continue to be an example to others.

“As we have said, New Fortress Energy is in this for the long haul and our involvement and investment in the communities in which we operate is testament to our commitment to help secure a sustainable socio-economic future for Jamaica. Well done to all the recipients, and heartiest congratulations to them all,” added Carter.