Second annual JN Group Expo a success

THE SECOND annual Jamaica National Group Expo, held recently in Canada, has been hailed as a resounding success.

Thousands of patrons entered the expo as soon as the doors were opened at 9 a.m. on April 28, in Brampton, as they sought to access services provided by The Jamaica National Group and its 40 exhibitors, comprising Government of Jamaica agencies, housing developers and real estate agents.

For retired nursing aide Gladys James Reynolds, the JN Group Expo was an excellent initiative.

“I needed information about property investment and life insurance. I found the JN Expo very informative. I was also able to ask questions and received answers from government agencies, such as the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA) and the Registrar General’s Department (RGD),” she said.

HIGH POINT

The high point of the expo for James Reynolds was when she won tickets for two for a trip to Jamaica, courtesy of The Jamaica National Group.

“I’m so excited!” she declared, shortly after receiving her prize from Earl Samuels, chief development finance officer, who was representing Earl Jarrett, chief executive officer of The Jamaica National Group and chief patron of the JN Expo.

For exhibitors PICA and RGD, their representatives were overwhelmed by the high number of requests for applications for: passports, citizenship and unconditional landing status; and, in the case of the RGD, applications for birth certificates.

“The day was exciting and interesting. It gave me an excellent perspective of the Jamaican diaspora in Canada,” said Andrew Wynter, chief executive officer of PICA, who led his team at the JN Expo.

Wynter said 90 per cent of the requests were applications for passport and the other 10 per cent were about citizenship and unconditional landing.

Deidre English Gosse, chief executive officer of the RGD, was equally satisfied to participate in the second staging of the expo.

“This is an excellent initiative. The crowd was overwhelming,” she said, referring to the long queues at the RGD booth.

“Overall, the event was better organised than last year, and I was very impressed.”

CONTRIBUTED Khamar Facey (left), e-banking relationship supervisor at JN Bank, and Saniah Spencer, chief, marketing and product development at JN Bank, engage patrons on mortgages at the recent JN Group Expo in Toronto, Canada.