LOCAL insurance company General Accident has presented an Award of Excellence to Jhaniele Fowler, ace goal scorer for the Sunshine Girls, in recognition of her outstanding performance at the World Netball Championships 2011 in Singapore.

In presenting the trophy to Fowler, managing director of General Accident Sharon Donaldson — herself a former president of the Jamaica Netball Association (JNA) — said General Accident wanted to honour the player for her outstanding achievement with a top goal conversation rate of 89 per cent, having scored 206 out of 229 chances during the World Championships from July 3-10 this year.

Donaldson said the six-foot-five-inch No 1 Jamaican goalscorer at the event had a comparable performance with the dominant shooters from Australia, New Zealand and England.

“You are indeed a superior lady as your performance is close behind top shooter Irene Vandyke of New Zealand, whose average conversion rate over the 16 years since she has been playing at the international level is 93 per cent,” Donaldson said.

General Accident has maintained a strong presence in the local Business House Netball League, having won the Senior League on several occasions.

“Our involvement in netball at that level has allowed us to interact with a number of players who display some of the core values of our organisation, such as discipline, team spirit and a passion for excellence,” Donaldson said.

Currently, both national captain Nadine Bryan and national coach Oberon Pitterson are full-time employees at General Accident. In addition, there are several former netballers who are on staff at the company.

“We find that the discipline they bring to the workplace, their team spirit and their drive to achieve excellence are all in keeping with our culture.

“In fact, they have all proven to be excellent team members on and off the netball court,” Donaldson noted.

Also present at the award presentation were Bryan and JNA president Marva Bernard.