In the presence of a large gathering of family, friends and business associates, Jamaican icons, Maurice Facey and Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart received honorary doctorates from the University of Technology (UTech) two Saturdays ago. Following are edited versions of the citations prepared by UTech public orator, Pamela Kelly:

Maurice Facey – see him in the skyscrapers of modern Jamaica…

It has been said that “The real source of wealth and capital . is not material things. It is the human mind, the human spirit, the human imagination and our faith in the future” (Steve Forbes). The Hon Maurice William Facey, OJ, JP is one whose mind, spirit, imagination and faith in the future have made him a source of inestimable wealth to family, organisation and country.

After leaving school, the young Mr Facey entered the family business where for 15 years he honed his skills in sales and management. In 1959, as deputy managing director, he took his first steps towards the realisation of his vision for himself, in the context of an emerging independent Jamaica. Against advice, he boldly sold the family business and invested the proceeds into helping to reshape the physical landscape as well as the economic and social order of Jamaica.

He established the Jamaica Property Company, through which was conceptualised, and realised, the modernisation of what we fondly refer to as “up town”. A number of imposing, landmark structures stand in New Kingston – NCR, IBM, LOJ. Modern shopping centres were developed in Constant Spring, condominiums in Manor Park, housing developments in Drumblair, Acadia and Norbrook. Scotia Centre and the Air Jamaica buildings still tower above the streets of “downtown” -tangible monuments to Mr Facey’s contribution to the real estate industry in Jamaica.

Later, as executive chairman of the Pan Jam Group, a merger of Jamaica Property Company and the Pan-Jamaican Trust, his imagination, industry, dedication and determination found expression in widely differing endeavours: investment banking, life insurance, food manufacturing, hardware, tourism, agriculture and even what he describes with characteristic wry humour, as “a patriotic dip in sugar – a somewhat sticky business”. He once commented: “I glibly ventured into farming and breeding of race horses heedless of the good advice of a friend who warned me that “of the three recognised ways of losing money, horse racing may be the quickest and women the most agreeable, but farming remains the most certain.”

Chancellor, I do not know if he has proven the efficacy of this advice but he must have achieved remarkable success in many of these areas because he has been variously described by his peers as a Business Leader par excellence, a business titan, an economic ambassador and an inspiration for future captains of industry. In accepting these accolades, he has graciously acknowledged that throughout his business life he has “been shored up on all sides, guided and coached by a multitude of wonderful people”. That recognition in itself illustrates the generosity of spirit and greatness of the man.

Mr Facey’s commitment to public and social responsibility found expression in the Cecil Boswell Facey Foundation and the Kingston Restoration Company – a private sector/government partnership established in the 1980s, and now a prototype for other countries. Through these entities he has impacted the lives of more than 6,000 Jamaicans by revitalising inner-city communities, providing and encouraging, education and capacity-building, facilitating micro-enterprises and improving environment and shelter.

In addition, he has served on a number of national councils and boards too many to list here. Of mention, however, is his service to the National Gallery of Jamaica, the Jamaica Tourist Board and the University of the West Indies. And we must here publicly express our own gratitude for his significant contribution to the Caribbean School of Architecture housed on our campus and to our students who have benefited considerably from generous scholarships over the years.

For these contributions to the development of the nation and its people and for his abiding faith in, and love for, country he has been awarded the Order of Jamaica.

Winton Marsalis once said of Louis Armstrong: He knew how to take what could be and make it what is. Maurice Facey is another man who saw what could be and made it what is. His beloved family and our island are better for it.

Business executive; public servant; “a soft-spoken man whose disarming humility masks a brilliant imagination and an indomitable spirit.” Now that he has wisely left the madding crowds of the city to live in a place he calls Bellevue, I call upon you to welcome him into the halls of academia by conferring on him the degree of Doctor of Laws Honoris Causa.

…Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart – golden boy, superstar, master entrepreneur

Until Beijing in 2008 when the world was hit by a Bolt of lightning, not once but three times, Jamaica had one golden boy, one superstar, Gordon Arthur Butch Stewart, OJ, CD, Hon LLD, holder of more than 50 local, regional and international accolades and awards including Master Entrepreneur of the decade, Travel Man of the Millennium, and the Martin Luther King Jnr Award for service to humanity.

Indeed each of these honours marks a milestone in the journey of this celebrated man who speaks the language of Jamaica, is probably wearing a blue striped shirt under his gown and who would much prefer to be somewhere under a coconut tree, preferably on the beach, dropping or probably taking a six love (in dominoes) than standing robed on this platform.

The story of his passage to Master Entrepreneur and hence to this platform, reads like a movie script beginning not with his ultra-luxurious Sandals and Beaches resorts but when at about 10 years old, he caught and sold fish to the hotels near to his home and managed to convince a film crew that he could be trusted to transport Joan Collins, by boat, to and from the reef on which they were filming Dr No.

Fast-forward to his first major venture when, in 1968, he started ATL.

Vague memories come to mind of a car emblazoned with the Appliance Traders logo out of which would emerge what in Jamaica we call a “sweet mouth” salesman cum technician, to install or service the unit he had just sold. From its beginning, ATL and its irresistible salesman were “powered by service” and he also, perhaps, by a desire to prove wrong a teacher who declared him one of two boys most unlikely to succeed in life. It is no wonder then that ATL, while retaining its reputation for quality, has expanded into an empire of over 20 diverse companies that are collectively Jamaica’s largest private sector group employing over 10,000 loyal employees Caribbean-wide.

The scene shifts again to 1981 when this adventurer took “another road less travelled”. It was the path that would lead him to Travel Man of the Millennium. Armed with more enthusiasm than knowledge, he decided to purchase, against all advice, a run-down hotel in Montego Bay immediately facing the airport. In his words “If I had known what I was doing I would never have bought those hotels. In that first year I lost more money than I ever thought possible.” So rather than turn back, he soldiered on, building more rooms while turning adversity into opportunity. (Watching the planes fly in, waving goodbye from the hotel balcony and kissing the one you love as the plane flies by, became a selling point and hallmark of the Sandals MoBay’s experience rather than a nuisance.)

Today, the “king of all-inclusives” presides over an ever-expanding chain of resorts of international fame which enjoy year-long high occupancy rates and a 40% repeat guest factor and continue to win every major industry award. It is an industry defined by “product innovation, superior customer service and value beyond expectation” and its story is widely studied by students, as they research not only the hotel business but successful business enterprises in general. These students include our own who also benefit enormously from the internment opportunities provided them in the Sandals and Beaches chains.

There is a Hindu maxim which states: “He does not live in vain who employs his wealth, his thoughts, his speech to advance the good of others.” Mr Stewart has lived his life according to this maxim. He continues to give active support to over 100 community projects in the areas where the hotels are located and to a variety of other organisations throughout the island. His contribution to community and country has been recognised through several awards including the Martin Luther King Humanitarian award and the designation of Paul Harris Fellow (Rotary International’s highest honour). In 1992, he even received an award for a personal initiative to stabilise the Jamaican dollar in order to boost the struggling economy.

Chancellor, I present to you this man who built Appliance Traders to become a brand name, conquered the world of tourism, launched a newspaper, bought and sold an airline, a man featured in the Reader’s Digest and immortalised in a biography entitled All that’s Good – The Story of Butch Stewart. It is a story whose final scenes are yet unscripted. We look forward to their unfolding.

Innovative visionary; maverick; philanthropist; I invite you Chancellor, to add one more well-deserved accolade by conferring on him the degree of Doctor of Laws Honoris Causa.