ISSA/GRACEKENNEDY BOYS & GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIPS LAUNCH REMARKS - WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 2019

Every time I think about Champs, I get a huge smile on my face. This is an iconic event, the only one of its kind in the world, and for GraceKennedy, our association with this event is something that brings us great pride. It is our single, largest sponsorship of any kind. GraceKennedy’s investment into Champs this year is $80 million dollars in sponsorship, plus approximately $40 million more in execution through our Corporate, First Global, Western Union and Grace Foods brands. 

That’s over $100 million! This is serious money, ladies and gentlemen, but it demonstrates that we are serious about this event. GraceKennedy and Champs have become synonymous. We conducted a brand recall survey recently – that is an exercise marketers do to determine the effectiveness of their spend – and Champs came out as the #1 brand awareness for Grace Kennedy.

We are grateful to have been a part of Champs through our strong partnership built with ISSA since 2007, and which we have renewed right up until 2025. We commend ISSA for their hard work with this event, and for having made it the widely anticipated, world-class event it has become.

Our investment in Champs is also an investment in the fulfilment of dreams. Many of our young people have been able to fulfil dreams they thought were impossible, as a result of outstanding performances in Track and Field.

We are passionate about Track and Field, and we demonstrate that, in part, through the engagement of our Brand Ambassadors, Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce and Hansle Parchment. These amazing young people got their start at Champs, as did several other noted Jamaican athletes. Among those great names is Kemoy Campbell, who I remember watching at champs, with outstanding distance performances. I am really happy that after having had a scare at the Millrose Games in New York earlier this year, Kemoy is now recovering. Thank God for life-saving equipment like defibrillators.

We cannot stress enough the importance of that piece of equipment. It can literally mean the difference between life and death. That fact really hit home to me when we lost footballer, Dominic James who collapsed on the field of play in 2016. His mother works with one of our subsidiaries, Allied Insurance Brokers and of course, Dominic attended my alma mater, St George’s College. It was a real tragedy, and should never happen again.

That’s why I want to recognise Irwin Clare of Team Jamaica Bickle, who has made it one of his missions to get defibrillators into Jamaican schools. I want to further demonstrate our commitment to Track and Field, and to Sports in general, by supporting Team Jamaica Bickle in that mission. I am announcing today, that GraceKennedy will purchase five defibrillators, to be administered to schools across Jamaica which are most in need of them. Irwin and I have spoken in this regard, and we are happy to be working together on this effort.

I would like to encourage the Private Sector in Jamaica to join GraceKennedy in this effort by donating defibrillators to schools.

Earlier I talked about the great job that ISSA does, year after year, in making Champs a success. Many of us come to the National Stadium, have a great time, then leave, not thinking about the huge undertaking this is for the organising body. The fact that the event runs so well and is so seamless is not by chance – it is a result of outstanding organising capacity and outstanding leadership.

I want to take the time to congratulate the leadership of ISSA this morning, and I know the team won’t mind if I single out one individual – Dr Walton Small – for a special ‘big up’. Dr Small’s counterparts have said that he has done an amazing job as the President of ISSA, and after six terms in that capacity, he will be retiring. I hear he will be spending more time in the West.

Dr Small, on behalf of the GraceKennedy family, I want to express sincere gratitude to you for a job masterfully done. Thank you for your contribution to track and field in Jamaica, and to the development of our young people. Your love for service is leading you down another path, and we wish you all the best.  

Dr Small has been part of an amazing team, and it is that teamwork which has guaranteed ISSA success with each Champs staging. To me, the takeaway of Champs is the importance of teamwork. Sponsors and partners come together as a team to support the event. Coaches and students form a team to get their best results. And at the end of the day, although many athletes will participate in individual events, they do it all for the glory of the team that will walk away with the championship on the Girls’ and Boys’ sides.

Finally, I want to encourage the athletes to continue to make excellence their hallmark, not only on the track and on the field, but also in their educational pursuits. I wish them the best for the 109th staging of the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls Championships and beyond.

Thank you and God bless you all.