Chatham SDA Church honours local St James community contributors
THE LOOMING weekend threat of Tropical Storm Ian failed to dampen the bright sunshiny spirit at the Chatham Seventh-day Adventist Church in St James as the members honoured local community stalwarts, Glenis Rose and Olga Cousley, on Saturday, September 24 for their respective societal contributions.
Rose, a justice of the peace (JP) based in Blytheston district and a retired information officer at the Jamaica Information Service’s (JIS) Montego Bay office, and Cousley, a midwife who had worked in the Chatham community since 2008, received citations and plaques from the congregation as part of the church’s Community Guest Day celebration.
In voicing his appreciation for the gesture of recognition, Rose, who had worked with the JIS for some 20 years prior to his retirement in 2016, noted that he always sought to give his best as a JP and a media practitioner.
“I have been a JP for nearly 15 years, and there are hardly any thanks received, but from deep down in my heart I give back to my community. Anybody who comes to Mr Rose for anything, I make sure I do my best and send them off with my blessings and with God’s blessings, so I feel much appreciated today from being with you,” Rose told the church members.
“Today you have made my day in the sense that I was not looking for anything like this. I feel like maybe spending another day with you, and I want to thank you very much for accommodating me today. I feel honoured and I feel blessed,” Rose added.
While she was not as vocal in giving her response for her received honours, Cousley was nevertheless all smiles as she thanked the church for recognising her years of service to the community.
“I just want to say a big thank you to you all, and heartfelt appreciation. I came to this area and I stayed for 14 years, and while I think I am leaving, my heart is still here. Thank you all, thank you,” said Cousley.
In presenting Rose’s citation, which was read aloud before the Chatham congregation, the church’s assistant treasurer Sherna Bennett-Warner described him as a resourceful, intelligent, and enthusiastic man of many talents.
“You have given distinguished humanitarian service to the people of western Jamaica, and in particular your home community of Blytheston and its environs. You have brought credence to your various places of work, as a past principal (of Orange Hill All Age School in St James), as part of the staff at JIS, and having been a notable and reliable JP, a freelancer, an excellent photographer, and a man with a calm demeanour, a personality with a wealth of experience,” said Bennett-Warner.
Meanwhile, in reading Cousley’s citation, the presiding Sabbath School superintendent Phyllis Cooke-Sterling described the experienced nurse as a dedicated and determined stalwart for the women of Chatham and its environs.
“You traverse through hills and valleys to answer your calls, and night or day, you never say nay. To all the women whose babies you delivered, they will certainly remember your name. A true dedicated, hard-working, resilient Jamaican nurse you are, as you execute your duties near and far,” Cooke-Sterling told Cousley.