We don’t think there’s a Jamaican who, after meeting Mr Brian George, was not impressed by his intellect, magnanimity and wit.

Indeed, Mr George’s good friend, distinguished attorney Mr Walter Scott, QC, spoke to those characteristics in this newspaper’s report yesterday on Mr George’s untimely and shocking passing.

“He was a very good senior executive, but with a conscience and with a generosity of spirit that is hard to find in senior management,” Mr Scott told us.

“He practised corporate social responsibility before it became commonplace to have it in corporations, and it was during his tenure as president and CEO of Supreme Ventures that it grew by multiples and strides, and probably the company would not be what it is without his tremendous leadership,” Mr Scott added.

No one can successfully challenge the truth of that assessment of Mr George. He, along with his business partners Messrs Paul Hoo and Ian Levy, who were the early faces of Supreme Ventures Limited, brought respectability to the gaming industry and expanded the company’s products that have not only changed the financial fortunes of thousands of Jamaicans, but have provided steady income to tens of thousands more.

Add to that, Supreme Ventures’ ongoing contribution to the development of sport and culture in Jamaica and you get a clearer picture of the impact that Mr George and his company have had on this country.

Indeed, the fact that Mr George was a Trinidadian never appeared to have dampened his unwavering commitment to Jamaica, even as he rightly celebrated the successes of his native land and our sister nations in the Caribbean.

For truly, Mr Brian George was a Caribbean man in every sense of the term – a man who had an abiding faith in the abilities of the region’s people and who believed that each country in our Caribbean community holds the potential to offer its citizens a better quality of life.

He enjoyed robust debate, and although he held strong views on a range of issues he never displayed disregard for other people’s opinions. For it was clear that Mr George understood and accepted the fact that a diversity of views is essential to the success of democracy and contributes to a vibrant society.

But even more than that is the undeniable fact that Mr George was simply a decent human being, a man who treated people with respect, regardless of their station in life.

That, we hold, is not a common characteristic among people of power and influence.

Mr George’s passing is indeed a time for mourning, but we should also use it to celebrate his life and reflect on how we live ours. We should, with all honesty, ask ourselves how well we have applied the lessons he passed on to us.

We extend our deepest condolence to Mr George’s wife, sons, family, friends and his colleagues at Supreme Ventures Ltd. May God grant him the peace he so richly deserves.