Jakes Hotel, Villas and Spa mixing sports with tourism
JAKES HOTEL, Villas and Spa has been on the hospitality landscape at Calabash Bay, Treasure Beach, St Elizabeth, for almost 25 years. In that time, it has grown to be synonymous with Treasure Beach and the Calabash Literary Festival.
The seaside, family-operated business is regarded by its chairman, Jason Henzell as “a cornerstone in the community”. Because, among other things, he said, “At Jakes, we have an incredible team . We take care of our Jakes family, and they, in turn take care of our guests.”
But the operators are not resting on their laurels, hard at work counting their blessings. They are giving back to the community. And through their non-profit organisation, the Breds Treaure Beach Foundation, and in collaboration with the Philadelphia Men’s Basketball League, based in Pennsylvania, USA, they have been hosting a basketball summer camp at its sports park for the past five years.
The main purpose of the camp is to engage and motivate youths in the parish through sports and social development. The objective is to get youths to go back to their communities and apply the life lessons learnt at the camp. “It’s about empowering the youths,” Henzell said.
This year’s installation was held from August 14-18. Between 500 and 600 participants were bussed to and from the park throughout the five-day event. When Hospitality Jamaica visited on Wednesday, August 16, about 400 youths were in attendance. It was Day Three and Henzell said that it was “fantastic” so far.
They were guided by 50 coaches, who have raised money to provide transportation, food, and uniforms for the campers. “The level of passion, interest, motivation, and inspiration they brought to our local kids is phenomenal,” Henzell said. And that is perhaps why the camp is an event that the youths have been looking forward to since its inception.
Yet, it is not only the youths who eagerly anticipate the camp, which has grown from year to year. According to Javid Genus, office administrator at Breds sports park, who helps to coordinate the event, it keeps the “community buzzing”. “It’s good not just for the sports park, but for the community as a whole, as the number-one destination for not just hosting camps, but for tourism and social development, as well,” Genus said.
But the thrust is also about giving the coaches a chance to motivate and feel good about themselves, Henzell said. They pay their own fares to enjoy the warm Jamaican hospitality but are given “a very, very, very big” discount to stay at Jakes. And this year, some of the coaches have been accompanied by their partners and children.
“So, it’s becoming more like a family affair,” Henzell said. “I can tell you one thing about tourism and business, whenever you start
with a person, and then it goes to a couple, then to a family, that’s when you know you are on to something successful.”
The success of the programme, it seems, is the reason why some of the coaches and participants have attended every year. Coach Wendell Allen, who told Hospitality Jamaica that Treasure beach was “a great small town” is a three-time participant. He said that they could have gone elsewhere, like in “North Philly”, but they chose Treasure Beach because “there is something special about Treasure Beach that makes us want to come back”.
Michael Kahler, coach and photographer, a storyteller by way of photojournalism, came because he wants to learn about the Treasure Beach area and to document how “basketball can push things along”. He said that he loves the music and culture of Jamaica, and “it calls me. So when certain opportunities arise, you got to go.”