THE five recipients of this year’s Governor-General Achievement Awards for the county of Cornwall were honoured Wednesday for their service in the fields of education, social work, tourism and the business sector.

They are:

* educator and Justice of the Peace, Basil Hubert Bennett from St Elizabeth;

* hotelier Daniel Anthony Grizzle from Westmoreland;

* social and community worker, Lorene Holness-Muir, JP from Hanover;

* educator Advira Virginia Lawrence from Trelawny;

* and self-made businessman Ganze Thompson from St James.

The idea of the awards was developed in 1992 to single out those Jamaicans who rose from modest economic backgrounds to elevate themselves and others.

This year’s awardees were hand picked from a list of nominees by a joint committee of parish leaders and custodes. During Wednesday’s ceremony, the five were praised for their contribution to the community and were lauded as role models who, in their struggles, have demonstrated spirit, integrity and hard work.

“Many of these people were remote, nobody knew of them and nobody knew of the great work they were doing,” Governor-General Sir Howard Cooke told the Observer after the ceremony. “But by setting up this committee, we are able to unearth some of the salt of the earth. They are really first class and have been doing great humanitarian jobs,” Sir Howard added.

Basil Hubert Bennett

The afternoon’s first recipient was Basil Bennett, a JP who has served his parish for nearly three decades. Lovingly referred to as “teacher Bennett”, he was born of humble beginnings on October 8, 1948. He is the last of 11 children.

A hard worker from the start, Bennett overcame many hurdles to pass the Jamaica School Certificate Examination and become a pre-trained teacher. But not content to settle at that level, he went on to Church Teacher’s College at the age of 23 to obtain a Trained Teacher’s Certificate.

Still sensing the need to continue his growth, Bennett also completed a diploma at the illustrious Bethlehem Teachers College before he returned to his Alma Mater, Nain All-Age. He became principal of the school in 1979 and worked tirelessly to elevate it to its current status as a primary and junior high School.

Daniel Anthony Grizzle

The second award was bestowed, in absentia, upon Negril hotelier, Daniel Anthony Grizzle, who was unavoidably absent.

A self-made man, Grizzle, who was born on January 8, 1943, was the first of six children to a family of small farmers.

At 15 years-old, after attending all-age school in Hanover, he migrated to England with his mother. While in England, Grizzle worked as a welder and continued his education before returning to Jamaica at the age of 27. Armed with both a City and Guilds Diploma from Hansworth Technical College and an Agricultural Diploma, Grizzle then plunged into farming, specialising in sugar-cane, vegetable and livestock.

In 1976 he leased a piece of property known as “Mirage” in the West End section of Negril and began operating a restaurant. This marked his entry into the field of tourism and by 1979, he bought the “Mirage.” A year later, Grizzle purchased the Charela Inn, thus cementing his foothold in the tourism industry.

His commitment did not stop there, as he became one of the founding members of the Negril Chamber of Commerce. He has served as both president and vice-president of that organisation.

Lorene Holness-Muir

The awardee from Hanover, Lorene Holness-Muir JP, was born on November 20, 1932. One of her parents’ three children, Muir has not forgotten the days when her headmaster supplied her with free books and extra lessons.

And she made her benefactors proud as she pursued her dreams over the years. For example, Muir was made a certified midwife at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital and she was the Urban Development Corporation’s (UDC) representative for the joint government of Jamaica/ UNICEF project in Brazil in 1982. Muir was then stationed as a midwife in Cascade, Hanover from 1959-1973 followed by a stint as a nurse and guidance counsellor at the Social Development Commission’s Kenilworth office.

She undertook numerous other community-based assignments, and her last role was UDC Community Development Officer.

Advira Virginia Lawrence

Equipped with the maxim ‘with every door that closes another will open’, the awardee for the parish of Trelawny, Advira Virginia Lawrence, triumphed over poverty to become head of the Hope Basic School. The third of five children, Lawrence was born on February 5, 1941 and lived with her grandmother as her mother — who was the sole breadwinner — worked in Falmouth. Constantly motivated by her teachers and grandmother, Lawrence excelled at the White Hill Elementary School.

She left home at the age of 16 with the hope that her mother would finance her future educational studies. But with other children to care for, her mother was unable to provide the assistance the young girl sought.

But despite the challenges, Lawrence emerged victorious in 1973 when, as a pre-trained teacher, she started working at Falmouth’s first basic school. From that point onward, she continued her struggle to obtain formal education and eventually become the founder and head of the Hope Basic School in Falmouth.

Ganze Thompson

This year’s final awardee for the County of Cornwall, Ganze Thompson, is the owner and founder of Montego Bay’s famed Speedy Prints. Born on February 12, 1944, Thompson found himself, 15 years later, living in the Canterbury area of St James while taking odd jobs to support himself and his mother.

It was through this medium that he gained a job as an apprentice at the St James Printery, an occupation that would come to mold his life.

In 1970, after honing his skills at the printery, Thompson opened one of his own. One of his most memorable memories is the day Speedy Prints was born, emerging from a mere printing press of canvas and two sticks at the back of his home