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NCB salutes Nation Builders

Published:Friday | October 28, 2011 | 12:00 AM
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Bookophilia duo Ruth Chisholm (left) and Andrea Dempster relaxing during cocktails.
Stuart Barnes (left) shares a hearty handshake with Patrick Hylton.
The Start-Up Award goes to DDB Island 1962 Co Ltd, represented by Darrell Burgess. Presenting the award is Audrey Tugwell Henry, senior general manager, retail-banking division, at NCB.
Saluting the champ! NCB Chairman Michael Lee-Chin (left) and Group Managing Director Patrick Hylton congratulate Jackie Minott of Jamaica Standard Products, which took the NCB Nation Builder Award. - Photos by Colin Hamilton/Freelance Photographer
From left, Evrol 'Blackie' Christian of Little Ochie, Bernadette Barrow, NCB's assistant general manager for small and medium enterprises, and Jason Henzel of BREDS Treasure Beach Foundation.
The big winners of Jamaica Standard Products (from left), John O. Minott, wife Kerry Minott, and dad Jackie Minott pose at the NCB Nation Builder Awards.
Cute couple Sheree and Wayne Martin out at the NCB Nation Builder Awards.
Cheryll Stewart (left) of HEARTTrust/NTA and Yaneek Page of Future Services Ltd (region-one winner of the Women in Business Award) smile for the camera.
Looking out! Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones (left), founder of The Black Farmer line of meats and condiments, and guest speaker at the NCB Nation Builder Awards, and Dr Marshall Hall, MC for the event, check if there are any questions for the entrepreneur.
Deputy group managing director of NCB, Dennis Cohen (right) shares camera time with Gavin and Sanya Goffe.
Founder of The Black Farmer, Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones (left), born in Frankfield, Clarendon but made his fortune in England, shares a pic with fellow Clarendon man Michael Stern, state minister for industry, at the NCB Nation Builder Awards.
Stuart Barnes (left) shares a hearty handshake with Patrick Hylton.
Silburn Clarke (left) of Spatial Innovision, accepts the Innovation Award (national) from Dennis Cohen.
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Daviot Kelly, Staff Reporter

From the staff using computer tablets to register guests outside the Jamaica Pegasus hotel, you knew the National Commercial Bank Nation Builder Awards was going to be something classy.

The four-year-old event recognises the achievements of Jamaican small- and medium-sized businesses, especially how they give back to the community and help build a better society. The event was rife with high style and entertainment as reggae idol Freddie McGregor and his band kept guests moving, starting with favourites such as I See It In You and Push Come To Shove. In his encore, he delivered Just Don't Wanna Be Lonely before ending with some hip-shaking ska.

So from a reggae bigwig to another great Jamaican, guest speaker Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones, founder of the Black Farmer line of meats and condiments. He did away with a podium, preferring to walk around and 'chat' with the audience. He chronicled his life from early childhood in Frankfield, Clarendon, to the slums of Birmingham when his parents migrated. Dyslexia hindered his progress in school and he left high school barely literate. But his father had a small plot that he was in charge of, and the then 11-year-old Emmanuel-Jones promised himself he would own his own farm one day.

Fulfilling his dream

He tried the army to no avail but with bullet-proof confidence, made a name working at the BBC. He finally fulfilled his dream, buying a 40-acre plot in Devon and, in 2004, The Black Farmer brand was born. Today it is reportedly the second leading super-premium sausage in the United Kingdom. He left guests with some riveting anecdotes, some of which he said he got from his father. Two things you need to succeed - to have absolute focus and a positive attitude. He said anyone can be an entrepreneur, because it's about taking a chance. He marvelled at how fear (of failure) can hinder progress, but said the antidote to fear is passion, as it helps over all hurdles.

To the awards, this year the big winner of the Nation Builder Award was Jamaica Standard Products. The other winners were: Impact Awards (Organisation and Individual) - Mustard Seed Communities and Giuseppe Maffessanti respectively; Women in Business Award - Rondel Village's Christine Wright; Start-Up Award - DDB Island 1962; Innovation Award - Spatial Innovision; and Vision Award - Natalie Fletcher and Candace Carby (in absentia).