JTA opens multimillion-dollar regional office in MoBay

Barrington Flemming, Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

The Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA) officially opened its $50 million Western Regional Office at the Fairview Shopping Centre in Montego Bay last Thursday, a day which also marked the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the organisation.

JTA president, Dr Mark Nicely, said the facility would benefit teachers in this part of the island.

"The new office with improved amenities is a springboard to improving quality of service to the nation's teachers in the parishes of Trelawny, St James, Hanover, and Westmoreland. We have no regrets in spending the $50 million because the teachers in the west deserve it," Nicely said.

He said the opening of the new office on the JTA's anniversary was most appropriate as it ushered in a new phase of the association's development.

"This building signifies the continued evolution of the Jamaica Teachers' Association and its relevance to its members. Implicit in the realisation of an organisation's anniversary is the reality of a past and the significant contributions of its foundation members," said Nicely.

Mayor of Montego Bay, Councillor Glendon Harris, in bringing greetings, commended the JTA.

"For many years, teachers in the west had to visit a small, somewhat unattractive office space from where the JTA's Regional Officer, Evelyn Tugwell, and her support staff have been contributing to the controlled and sustained growth of western Jamaica," said Harris.

For his part, president-elect of the JTA, Doran Dixon, said he was pleased with the elegant new offices, saying that while it was regional, it would serve teachers from any parish or region in Jamaica.

"Teachers from any parish needing the services of the JTA, once they come here, would be comfortable and joyful as this, too, is their office," said Dixon.