Businessman Sameer Younis died on Sunday
Leading businessman and former President of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC) Sameer Younis died at home in Kingston on Sunday.
Current President of the JCC, Lloyd Distant, confirmed yesterday that he passed on early Sunday morning while resting at home in Kingston. He was 77.
“We regret his passing and we are grateful for his contribution to the chamber for more than three decades,” Distant told the Observer.
Younis chaired and served as managing director for a number of businesses, including Reva Garment Company, Fabrics De Younis, AA Younis Limited, Manufacturers Wholesale Limited, Younis Investments Limited and Designer Home Fabrics.
He served as President of JCC between 1986 and 1991, as well as serving as chairman of the Chamber’s Civic Affairs and Inner City Development committees and the National Council on Junior Achievement Jamaica Limited, as well as director of the CAST Foundation, Metropolitan Parks & Markets (MPM) and the Jamaica Manufacturers Association (now the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association).
He served the Chamber for some 40 years, and was responsible for a number of its social outreach projects, including its 40-year-old annual Grand Charity Ball which raises funds for educational projects for youths in the inner cities. This activity was so successful that the JCC Foundation renamed it the Sameer Younis Foundation four years ago, as its vehicle for outreach activities.
Younis also launched the Kingston “Clean as a Whistle” campaign, and advocated and implemented a comprehensive values and attitudes campaign, which covered the entire island. He was awarded the National Honour of the Order of Jamaica in 2013.
A very active sportman he played in golf, snooker and bridge, among others, and attended Wolmer’s Boys’ School in Kingston and the University of Michigan in the United States. He is survived by his widow, Leila, whom he married in July, 1965, as well as 4 sons and a daughter.
Balford Henry
