General Accident honours netball stalwarts
SUNSHINE Girls head coach Oberon Pitterson and netball team captain Nadine Bryan were yesterday honoured at a special breakfast put on by General Accident at the Courtleigh Hotel in Kingston.
Both women, who are longtime employees of the company, were recently appointed to lead Jamaica’s charge at the 2011 World Netball Championships in Singapore from July 3-10.
“It’s a great day for General Accident,” Musson Group of Companies Chairman Paul B Scott said.
General Accident has for years produced a number of national players who have won local championships. It is also the employer of former national coach Maureen Hall and former Jamaica Netball Association (JNA) president Sharon Donaldson.
Scott bemoaned the fact that the National Indoor Sports Centre (NISC), which was built in 2003 to stage matches in Jamaica’s hosting of the WNC, was not used more often.
“It’s a real shame (but) it is a privilege for General Accident to be involved in netball in Jamaica.”
International Federation of Netball Association’s (IFNA) president, Molly Rhone, was pleased with contribution the insurance company had made to the sport over the years.
“It is a great opportunity to say thank you for what General Accident has done for netball. General Accident has helped to empower an awful lot of women in this country,” Rhone said.
Donaldson pointed out that both Pitterson and Bryan on separate occasions had been named Employee of the Year.
They both also represented General Accident in the local league competitions and former player-turned-coach Pitterson was grateful for the company’s input.
“This is simply a wow moment,” she said.
“When senior management recognises you not only for your work but the extra- curricular activities we cannot help but feel a sense of awe, honour, and humility.”
“While we cannot force the desired outcome what we can say is that what we are committed to is that we will die fighting,” Pitterson added of this summer’s world champs.
Meanwhile, General Accident presented a cheque in the amount of $300,000 as part of the JNA’s Adopt-A-Player programme to help offset Bryan’s expenses to the WNC.
