Sports administrator Mike Fennell, Anglican priest The Rt Rev Alfred Reid, ophthalmologist Dr Garth Taylor and artist Basil Watson have been conferred with the Order of Jamaica, the country’s fourth highest national honour.

The four are among 97 persons recognised by the government for outstanding service in various fields in this year’s list of National Honours and Awards.

The appointments take effect today, but the awards will, in keeping with tradition, be presented on National Heroes Day in October at King’s House.

Among the Jamaicans who have been conferred with the Order of Distinction in the rank of Commander (CD) are Dr Deanna Ashley for outstanding service in the field of health care; former GraceKennedy boss Rafael Diaz, for commerce; social worker Scarlette Gillings; Justice Paul Harrison, for his service to the judiciary; Planning Institute of Jamaica Director-General Dr Wesley Hughes; late engineer Leo Lawson; Dr Trevor McCartney, for outstanding service to medicine, in the field of surgery; veteran trade unionist Dwight Nelson; Loraine Robinson, the permanent secretary in the local government ministry, for outstanding public service; Jamaica Labour Party deputy leader and spokesman on national security Derrick Smith, for his more than 20 years’ service to Parliament; Ambassador Ransford Smith, for service in the field of foreign trade; Gladstone Wilson, for service to broadcasting; and retired Victoria Mutual Building Society president and CEO Karl Wright.

A total of 47 appointments to the Order of Distinction, in the rank of Officer (OD), have been made. Among the recipients are educator Etheline Aiken; advertising executive Gurney Beckford; trade unionist Senator Navel Clarke; veteran cop Noel Eldridge; Samuel Fitz-Henley, for service to secretarial education and court reporting; agricultural scientist Dr Percy Miller Jr; deputy director of tourism Roy Miller; Frank Whittaker, for service in the field of industrial safety; Stephen “Cat” Coore, in recognition of his contribution in the fields of music and entertainment, and Kingsley “Ibo” Cooper, for his contribution in the development of Jamaican music.

Twelve persons have received the Badge of Honour for Meritorious Service, while the Badge of Honour for Long and Faithful Service has been conferred on another 12 persons, including Josephine Silence for her service at King’s House, the official residence of the governor-general.