MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Former Manchester Chamber of Commerce President Wendy Freckleton was Sunday elected as the People’s National Party’s (PNP) divisional chairman for the Knockpatrick Division in Central Manchester.

The divisional meeting, which took place at the May Day High School, saw fellow comrades indicating their willingness to help Freckleton take back the seat from the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). The PNP’s Goyfield Harrison, who served in the division from 2007 — 2011, was defeated by the JLP’s Cleon Francis in the last parish council election.

“I promise to build on the foundation that he (Harrison) laid. Leadership is not just about what I can do; leadership is about what everybody can do with me. When you are organised nobody can stop you. We want groups that function,” Freckleton said.

She said that her aim is to strengthen and develop the communities in the division.

Community leaders were urged by the new divisional chair to establish the priority areas in their respective community and work with her to see how best the goals could be achieved.

Freckleton, managing director for Mandeville Publishers, which publishes the Mandeville Weekly, said, too, that one of her aims is to have a division where young people are productive.

“We are going to ensure that young people are given the opportunities. Already I have engaged HEART to come into the division and see how they can sign up young persons for several programme and how they can be a part of what I will be doing. We are going to establish an economic centre where young tradesmen can come in and access machinery and get their work done,”

she said.

Central Manchester member of Parliament and general secretary of the PNP, Peter Bunting told the gathering that they have elected a “high calibre” leader with principle.

“I don’t think it would be unfair to any previous leader to say that she was without doubt one of the most dynamic, if not the most dynamic president of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce. She worked very hard to lift the profile of the chamber, but apart from that the tangible projects that she led the Chamber in executing in various communities in Mandeville and across Manchester is very commendable. She and her husband (Anthony Freckleton) have a long and proud history of service; all over Jamaica you can hear stories of their contribution in various communities,” said the MP.

Bunting added: “She showed care and concern for the organisation (Manchester Chamber of Commerce) and did not want to risk pulling it into any political controversy and so she did what in her mind was the principled thing (resigned). To my mind it wasn’t necessary because she is not a candidate yet and there’s no election around the corner; so there’s no campaigning for her to have used the position,” noted Bunting.

PNP Region 5 Chairman Wensworth Skeffery and Mayor of Mandeville and Councillor for the Bellefield Division Brenda Ramsay were among those emphasising the need for early preparation and organisation in order to regain the Knockpatrick Divison.