MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Auto industry player Bonny Neil and choreographer/educator Carolyn Russell-Smith were the toasts of the recent annual Vocational Service Awards Banquet of the Rotary Club of Mandeville.

The two, according to the service club’s president Pauline Channer, have been exemplary in their respective professions for more than 20 years and also “gave back” to the community.

The citation to Neil said that he made a business of his early passion for motor vehicles and started Neil’s Auto Service after becoming a casualty of the closure of the Alumina Partners of Jamaica (ALPART) in the mid-1980s.

“He had a dream to establish an automobile repair business, to offer impeccable service to a discriminating clientele and to provide mentorship and apprenticeships to young mechanics and technicians, thus allowing them to be exceptional in their trade. Over the years, he has seen his dream grow and flourish and bear much fruit.

“He has offered numerous holiday jobs and apprenticeships to young men willing to learn the trade. His business has become the standard for excellence in customer service and he has earned the name as one who deeply cares for each of his customers,” the citation said of the Dunder Hill, St Elizabeth native.

As an extension of the services now offered at the company’s Ward Avenue location is the event venue Mandevilla Place, which opened in 2008 hosting a range of functions including weddings.

The other awardee, Russell-Smith, operates Kulcha Theatre School of Dance which marked its 25th year of existence in this south central town in September.

She honed her craft at the Jamaica School of Dance (now Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts) and in England.

Russell-Smith’s citation describes her as “a woman with a passion for the upliftment of youth and for exposing them to the refining influence of the arts; a woman sensitive to the needs of the marginalised and dispossessed; a mother whose heart beats as much for the children of Jamaica as it does for her own child”.

Among her contributions is being a pioneer in the Caribbean Examination Council’s Theatre Arts Programme, serving as trainer and adjudicator for the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC), serving as the Local Chairperson for Dance and Child International (daCi — an association dedicated to dance for children and youth); staging an annual Children’s Christmas Concert in Mandeville; regularly providing scholarships to students to pursue dance as a form of therapy, and raising funds through dance concerts for charities such as the (Manchester) Infirmary.

Howard Harvey, career development officer of the HEART Trust/NTA LEAP (Learning for Earning Activity Programme) Centre emphasised the importance of technical and vocational education for sustainable economic growth.

Rotarian Trevor Heaven, who spoke on behalf of District Governor Jeremy Hurst, said the prominence of vocational service in the organisation is reflected in objectives such as the maintenance of high ethical standards in business and professions and the recognition of the worthiness of all “useful” occupations.

The Rotary Club of Mandeville this year celebrates 50 years of service to the community.