Godfrey Dyer – TOURISM’S FORCE
CLARENDON-BORN-and-bred, the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association’s Lifetime Achievement Awardee for 2018 is Godfrey Dyer. His work led him to Montego Bay and subsequently into tourism.
When he left his first job at Knox Educational Services, Knox College, after 18 months, Dyer joined the Jamaica Constabulary Force, serving in St Mary, before moving to Kingston to become a Special Branch detective. In 1963, he was transferred to Montego Bay on a special assignment at the Sangster International Airport.
He resigned from the force as a detective corporal in 1972 and turned his mind to business, establishing an insurance agency and a resort villa management company in Montego Bay. Five years later, he purchased the 16-room hotel that launched him into the ranks of successful small hoteliers. The property, The Wexford Court Hotel, which he operated for 29 years expanded to 66 rooms, became a favoured place to stay for both local and overseas visitors, as well as a popular venue for meetings and other events.
SCORE OF ACHIEVEMENTS
There have been many more significant achievements to his credit. In 1983, Dyer co-founded the Hot 102 radio station and was its executive director for over 25 years. He scored a major success as co-founder, chairman and deputy chairman of Reggae Sumfest, the annual music festival that attracts lovers of Jamaican music from all over the world and substantially benefits Montego Bay’s economy. He ventured into housing development with the 40-unit Bayshore Townhouse at Ironshore and later the Shores Apartment complex.
Over the years, Dyer has served in several leadership positions, among them Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry president, Associated Chambers of Commerce president, and Montego Co-operative Credit Union president. He was also a Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica vice president and director of JAMPRO and the Jamaica Credit Union League.
One of his major national assignments was the chairmanship of National Hotel and Properties, a government agency that owned 19 hotels. He was also director of The Jamaica Pegasus hotel and the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association.
On Saturday, June 16, Dyer was awarded the JHTA award, along with longstanding hotelier Louis Grant of Sandals.