GRACE Jackson has presented a five-point action plan under the theme, “On a Mission For Change”, designed to take local track and field forward if elected president of the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) at tomorrow’s AGM.

The 1988 Seoul Olympics 200m silver medallist launched her plan and presented her team of candidates vying for various posts in front of a sparse gathering at Knutsford Court Hotel in New Kingston yesterday.

Her team includes Dr Jon Jones for the post of general secretary; Cathy Rattray-Samuel for assistant secretary; David Riley and Dr Paula Dawson as executive members; Dr Neil Gardner for fourth vice-president; Maurice Wignall for director of records, and Joseph Taffe for treasurer.

Rattray-Samuel, Riley, Wignall,

and Gardner are all former athletes, while Dawson specialises in

sports medicine. Jones, a dentist by

profession, has had extensive experience in sports and was an outstanding schoolboy athlete for Knox College.

Jackson did not name a full slate as she said she intends to draw from candidates on the other two slates to complete the executive body.

“Our philosophy is different. The times are different. We have three slates this year; we have more competent persons putting themselves up for office and choosing to go on different teams. We did not want to put up opposition against individuals which we thought were going to contribute significantly to the future of Jamaican athletics,” Jackson said.

Among those she identified as being competent leaders from the slates of other candidates were Ian Forbes, who is running for second vice-president on Lincoln Eatmon’s slate, as well as Dave Myrie and Michael Frater, who are up for the posts of first and second vice-presidents on incumbent Dr Warren Blake’s slate.

The five objectives of Jackson’s plan are: To develop a comprehensive athletes’ support programme; structure the national junior championship programme to foster post-secondary school development; strengthen existing organisational structure; develop a wide-ranging programme to certify coaches and officials, and develop an effective innovative and comprehensive marketing and rebranding campaign for increased sponsorship.

A careful step-by-step approach detailing how each objective would be achieved was also outlined.

Jackson told the Jamaica Observer that despite her plan to draw from various slates, she expects the ultimate goal of working together for the good of Jamaica’s athletics would mean the final team would be a solid unit.

“I genuinely don’t have a problem in working with different people. People will have their comments and criticism… as a leader you have to be able to absorb, put it in context and move forward.

“Part of the change that will happen is when you bring them all and they really see how you’re dealing with them and you’re not chastising them because of something they say. I think that they themselves will feel different,” she said.

Jackson said she had no fear of any attempts to undermine her position should she be elected as president, with persons from other slates working under her leadership.

“People will always try that; we face that in the workplace. The key is the type of leadership that you put forward… how you handle that because you must be able to recognise that early enough to be able to put in strategies that is going to be able to fix that in a real way,” she said.

“When you have team members that can understand that as well they can move towards that direction.”

The former athlete, who has master’s degrees in both sports management and computer science, added that her presidency will be inclusive because she plans to have commissions and committees similar to those of the parent body, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF)

“… As times have changed, we have recognised that we have had to change with those times, and so we are implementing those commissions and committees to be able to link with the IAAF in a much easier way,” she said.