Sport

Jamaica's Consul General appointed to Penn Relays Board

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Dr Geneive Brown Metzger, Jamaica's Consul General to New York has been appointed to the Board of the Friends of the prestigious Penn Relays Carnival.

The appointment became effective last December 16. With this appointment, Dr Brown Metzger has committed to assisting the Friends of the Penn Relays strengthen its relationship with track and field interests in Jamaica and other Caribbean Islands. The athletes are the key in this expanded mission.

The Penn Relays is the oldest, largest and most prestigious track and field relay meet in the world attracting more than 18,000 athletes to the event each year with many of the better high schools and colleges coming from Jamaica. The Jamaican schools have been dominant since they began attending the relays back in 1964.

This is not the first time that the Consul General has donned a Penn Relays hat. For the 2011 games, she was appointed Honorary Carnival Referee, sharing centre field at the honours ceremonies with the official referees. In Jamaica's long and remarkable history with the relay carnival, seven Jamaicans have been named Honorary High School Referees, but this was the first time a Jamaican was honoured at the highest level. The Relays' three days of competition attracts more than 100,000 spectators, of which nearly half are Jamaican.

The Board of the Friends of the Penn Relays undertake a series of activities each year leading up to the main event, which primarily draws teams from throughout the United States and Caribbean, but includes athletes from all six continents. The board's activities include securing sponsorship to fund the relays and building relationships with various athletic stakeholders.

Marketing of the Penn Relays brand is also a big part of the push for the board which includes recognisable names such as Hollywood star Bill Cosby, former US Olympic Medallists Josh Culbreath, Herb Douglas Jr, and Herman Frazier, as well as luminaries from the business and academic communities. The chairman of the board is CK Buddington, while Dr Cosby serves as the honorary chair.

"Jamaica's reputation in track and field and sports in general, presents an opportunity for economic development," said Dr Brown Metzger. "Just as professional skiers the world over, go to Utah to train each year, Jamaica has the potential to be a first-class training ground for track and field athletes from around the globe," she said.

The University of Technology, Jamaica, is on to this and Dr Brown Metzger is co-chair of UTech Western Campus which is organising a thrust to help bring this about. "Dr Metzger is a key player where UTech is concerned. We've already realised tremendous benefit from her support in just the last few years", said Dr Errol Morrison, President of UTech.

Since establishing a working relationship between the Office of the Consulate and the Friends of the Penn Relays in 2008, the Consul General has organised a mission from the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech) to the University of Pennsylvania, which included UTech's Director of Sports, athletic coaches, and the Head Bursar.

Subsequently, the Consul General organised a Penn Relays mission to Jamaica, which included UPenn faculty, their Director of Sports, and a Wharton Business School faculty member. The itinerary included a visit to the IAAF High Performance Training Centre at the University of Technology, home of world and Olympic medallists, and meetings with the Minister of Sports and other Jamaican track and field stakeholders.

One result of this exchange was a study, overseen by the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton Business School, on the potential impact of sports development on the Jamaican economy.

"The Consul General has broadened our vision as to what is possible between the Penn Relays, Jamaica, and the Caribbean community, including how we could collaborate to our mutual interest," says CK Buddington, chairman of the Penn Relays, adding that, "her marketing expertise and vision of the Jamaica/UPenn relationship will be invaluable to the board".

It has been confirmed that special honours are being planned by the Board of the Friends for the 2012 Penn Relays to mark Jamaica's 50th year of independence. Consul General Brown Metzger and Buddington expect to be in dialogue with Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller, who is also the Minister of Sport, as well as the Minister in charge of Jamaica 50 about these plans.

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